: ' .. .:.... . ' ' ______________ : ________ : ' \ / .. .:. .. \ / : : \ /_________ \ / . .. ... .. . : .\ / /___ /\ \ / ______________ ___ _. : \ / / \ / \ \/ / \ \ \ \ \ . ...:..\ / _______/ \/ \ ___/__ / / / / / : /\ / / \ \/ \ / / / . sH! ' / \/ / / / \ / / . ... .:.... .. . :/ _______/ / / / _______/__ ___ __ .\ / / / / / / / / / / / \ / / / / / / / / / / / . . \ /\______/ / / / / \___ / / : \/ ____ \ / / / / / : \ / \ /\____/\ / / : : ________\/ \ / \ / / : ' \ / \/ \ /\ / : . ..:.. . \ / \/ \ / \ / \ / . ' : \/ F A N G \ / : ' ____ \ / . . .. .. .:.. . \ / presents \ / . . \/ \/ : : . ..:.. , : Artist......: Star Feminine Band : Album.......: Star Feminine Band : : Label.......: Born Bad Records .. .:.. . Genre.......: Rock : Catnr.......: BB128 . ' Source......: CD , ; Rip.date....: 2021-04-03 Str.date....: 2020-11-13 Quality.....: 271kbps/44.1kHz/Joint Stereo . :.. .:. Url.........: http://www.bornbadrecords.net ' ' , ________ ________ \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / # title time \ / \/ \/ 1. Peba 3:48 2. Rew Be Me 3:21 3. Femme Africaine 3:44 4. Montealla 3:24 5. La Musique 4:39 6. Idesouse 5:08 7. Iseo 3:06 8. Timtitu 4:03 ______ \ / ________ Runtime 31:13 ,\ /... . . .... .... \ / ' Size 63.87 ______ :\/ ', \ / , \ / ' '... ..\ /.. .. .....:. .. .... .. . ..\ /. : Release Notes: \/ , \/ , ' ' ,: Andre Balaguemon has a flair for the trumpet and for getting :, : things done. In 2016, this single-minded multi-instrumentalist : :' from central Benin moved to Natitingou in the remote ': ,: agricultural northwest of the country, and had a chat with the :, : mayor. He had the idea to set up music workshops for local : :' girls, using his own instruments so they wouldn't have to pay. ': ,: The mayor got on board, wrote a radio appeal for volunteers, and :, : provided a rehearsal space. Eighteen girls turned up outside the : :' town hall. ': ,: :, : Four years and several serendipitous encounters later, a honed : :' group of seven girls (including Balaguemon's two daughters, ': ,: Angelique on drums and Grace Marina on keys) have been formed. :, : Star Feminine Band's debut album – recorded live in just two : :' days – sees them cross linguistic and stylistic borders, taking ': ,: in local Waama rhythms, Congolese rumba, highlife and Sierra :, : Leonean bubu. Exuberant songs are composed, written and arranged : :' by Balaguemon ("The girls bring their ideas, but I do ': ,: everything") and unfold in multiple languages (Waama, Peul, :, : Ditammari, Bariba, Fon, French), with ululations and : :' call-and-response so good you can't not get on your feet. As ': ,: 10-year-old Angelique puts it: "When we play, everyone dances." :, : : :' If four-time Grammy winner Angelique Kidjo is Benin's greatest ': ,: star to date, Star Feminine Band are its bright future. This is :, : no lazy contextualisation: these teenagers and their unstoppable : :' band leader are taking up Kidjo's baton as beacons of female ': ,: empowerment, musical excellence and inextinguishable joy. :, : : :' A girl band in Benin is by its very nature political. Since its ': ,: post-independence 1960s heyday, local orchestras have been a :, : central fixture of the Beninese music scene, with the most : :' famous of them all, the Orchestre Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou, ': ,: serving as Kidjo's own launchpad. But women, if they were :, : involved at all, were only ever singers and dancers. "People : :' don't like girls to play instruments here," Balaguemon says. ': ,: Some of his proteges hadn't ever seen keyboards or a drum kit :, : when they signed up. : :' ': ,: Undeterred, he spent the first two weeks teaching them to clap :, : to the beat. He taught them discipline, too: if you couldn't be : :' punctual, you were struck off the team. They now practise three ': ,: school evenings a week and on Sundays, plus every day from nine :, : to five during the holidays. Are rehearsals difficult, I ask : :' 13-year-old Grace Marina. "They're fantastic!" she replies with ': ,: a grin. :, : : :' All of which only goes some of the way to explaining their ': ,: collective aplomb on stage. Bass player Julienne Sayi is the :, : epitome of indie cool; Angelique fronts their debut hit Peba : :' like a boss; all seven of them sing and play, knocking complex, ': ,: shifting rhythmic patterns right out of the park. "I don't get :, : stage fright," says Julienne, "a little nervous maybe, but the : :' fear disappears quickly." Sandrine Ouei says she loves being up ': ,: there; Urrice Borikapei says it makes her feel powerful. Their :, : instruments are the kan'kare and the kanganmou – traditional : :' drums you never normally see girls playing. ': ,: :, : For Balaguemon, starting the band was about addressing "the way : :' men mistreat women". Ever since he witnessed a man beating up ': ,: his wife as a little boy, gender inequality and injustice has :, : incensed him. "Women are not valued. Their rights are limited; : :' in the minds of men, women are limited." His countercultural ': ,: feminism is steeped in his relationship with his mother, which, :, : he says, is more akin to that which a daughter might have. "My : :' mother is everything for me. And she loves this project." As ': ,: does Edwige, his wife – the "band's mother". :, : : :' Balaguemon isn't just offering free musical tuition, but ': ,: independence. Teen pregnancies are a hot-button issue in this :, : region and a girl's education is usually the first thing to give : :' way; job prospects for women are also limited. So he drew up ': ,: contracts for each member (to be signed by a parent and a :, : witness) stipulating that she continue with her schooling and : :' not be forced into marriage. The band won't stop at graduation ': ,: either. "Star Feminine Band is together for ever," he says. :, : : :' Grace Marina hopes they'll write songs about children's rights ': ,: next, and the lyrics all have this direct "do the right thing" :, : quality to them ("Get up! Stand tall! Don't sleep! The world : :' needs you!"). It is pure cosmic poetry to hear them chant in ': ,: unison, "You can become president of the republic / You can :, : become the country's prime minister" as Kamala Harris becomes : :' the first woman – of colour, to boot – to be elected to the US ': ,: vice-presidency. :, : : :' In March, Kidjo told a United Nations' International Women's ': ,: Day audience: "As long as we stay on the level of talking, just :, : talking, we won't get nowhere. If we want gender equality, we : :' have to stop talking, and start acting." She might not yet know ': ,: their names, but her countrywomen Sandrine, Urrice, Grace :, : Marina, Angelique, Anne Sayi, Ines Bio and Julienne are putting : :' in the hours. ': : ' '.. ..' .. . :........... . . . . ............: . . ______________ ______________ \ / \ / \ / Shout out to all our homies from: \ / \ / \ / \ / iPC BOSS HiT2000 1way UKi i8 RNS \ / \ / RAGEMP3 MANDY DV8 pLAN9 BUTT \ / \ / \ / \/ ____ ____ \/ \ / F A N G \ / \/ 2 0 2 1 \/