République Amazone
April 1, 2017 2:37 PM   Subscribe

When West African chanteuses including Angelique Kidjo, Nneka, and Mariam Doumbia, form a supergroup, you get Les Amazones d'Afrique.

Purchases of their single "I Play the Kora" support the Panzi Foundation, an organization working to provide obstetric and other medical care to survivors of sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The band was named in homage to the Dahomey Amazons, women soldiers who protected the Kingdom of Dahomey from the early 1700s through the end of the 19th century, and to Les Amazones de Guinée, the first all-women band from West Africa, founded as l'Orchestre Féminin de la Gendarmerie Nationale in 1961.
posted by ChuraChura (8 comments total) 45 users marked this as a favorite
 
I've just had a crap day and thank you so much because now I'm grooving to this powerful music.
posted by Jesse the K at 2:40 PM on April 1, 2017 [2 favorites]


So glad to see this here! Thank you!
posted by MonkeyToes at 2:56 PM on April 1, 2017 [1 favorite]


I clicked on the Angelique Kidjo link for some background music while grading, and it's just the thing to shore up my flagging spirits.
posted by GenjiandProust at 3:45 PM on April 1, 2017 [1 favorite]


The recent ubiquity of the term 'Amazon' leaves me mildly surprised that Jeff Bezos hasn't tried to acquire the copyright to Wonder Woman. Still I wonder how much trouble Les Amazones d'Afrique would get into trademark-wise if they spelled Kora with two "r"s.

Still, good music.
posted by oneswellfoop at 4:01 PM on April 1, 2017


Terrific!
Pretty sure I first learned of Kidjo through Metafilter, and now I have more music to investigate when I can find the time. Also terrific that (apparently) the lyrics are so straightforward and easy to take in, even for someone with only dim memories of high-school French!
posted by martin q blank at 4:22 PM on April 1, 2017 [1 favorite]


Amazing music, thank you for taking the time to post this.
posted by Dip Flash at 5:46 PM on April 1, 2017 [1 favorite]


If you're curious about the Kora, I've been listening to this Toumani Diabate and Ballake Sissoko kora recital and Ballake Sissoko and Vincent Segal's kora and cello concert for writing and relaxing.
posted by ChuraChura at 6:23 PM on April 1, 2017


I saw Kidjo live a few years back, one of the most invigorating experiences of my life. Thank you for this!
posted by Gin and Broadband at 12:55 PM on April 2, 2017


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