Zap Mama Biography
Female vocal group Zap Mama came to international prominence in the 90s by perfecting a blend of traditional a cappella African singing and musicianship with tinges of various international pop styles. The group's varying line-ups are led, in articulate fashion, by the Belgium-based Marie Daulne (Zaire). After releasing their first two records (1991's Zap Mama and 1994's Sabsylma) on Belgium's Crammed Records imprint, Zap Mama was subsequently signed to Luaka Bop by label founder David Byrne, who took a personal interest in their development. Their first two albums were overwhelmingly geared towards vocal music. Their self-titled debut, later re-released with huge success by Luaka Bop under the title Adventures In Afropea 1, featured Daulne, Célia Kankonda, Céline T Hooft, Sabine Kabongo, and Sylvie Nawasadio. The album offered an intoxicating hybrid of African and European phrasing and rhythms. Daulne, Kabongo and Nawasadio returned on Sabsylma, which shifted the focus to Middle-Eastern and Antipodean influences, and featured new vocalist Sally Nyolo (b. c.1965, Eyen-Meyong, near Tala, Lékié, Cameroon).
These themes were continued on 1997's 7, Daulne's first album as part of a new international contract with Virgin Records. However, this time the musical backing was much more forceful, with none of her original vocal cohorts present. As Daulne told Billboard magazine on its release: "With instruments, music talks to the body; drums and bass make your body move". The album included collaborations with Spearhead's Michael Franti on a revision of Phoebe Snow's "Poetry Man", a splendid version of Etta James' "Damn Your Eyes", and a collaboration with reggae DJ U-Roy, "New World'. The follow-ups, 1999's A Ma Zone and 2004"s Ancestry In Progress, reflected Daulne's love of hip-hop and urban music, marking a further move away from her a cappella roots.
Source: The Encyclopedia of Popular Music by Colin Larkin. Licensed from Muze.
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