Adventures in Afropea, Vol. 1 [ORIGINAL RECORDING REISSUED]

Zap Mama

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 8, 2005)
• Original Release Date: 1993
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording reissued
• Label: Luaka Bop
• ASIN: B0000CC83A
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #96,229 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Unearthly harmonies born of Pygmy song, Moroccan chants and exhuberant scat made Zap Mama global a cappella queens. Now for the first time they meet the roots throb of bass and drums, shot through with equal parts highlife and hip-hop. Zap Mama is soul music for the diaspora. "If your ears are open," mama Zap Marie Daulne says, "you'll understand."

"Marie Daulne and Zap Mama make music that sounds like a one-woman multicultural movement, melding African percussion, American soul and European urbanity."

Time

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brrlak! This album is din din divine....., June 9, 2004

By	D. Pawl "mariposarosa2" (Seattle) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

I know, shameless puns derived from the song titles. Anyway, I couldn't think of a better way to express the delight I have for this album everytime I play it in my stereo! Zap Mama's style is hard to describe. It is a fusion of sounds. We have improvisational harmonies, chants, latin elements, a pygmy chant and African-derived percussion and rhythms. But, guess what? The only instruments are the voices of the five magnificent women who are Zap Mama.

Some of my favorite tracks are "Brrrlak!" (hence, the title of my review), "Abadou (a Syrian song about a man crying over the loss of his favorite woman from his harem)," "Din Din (an original, abbreviated interpretation of a traditional Spanish song from the 16th century)," and "Guzophela (an anti-apartheid song)." Not only do these women have a flair for harmony, intepretation and unbridled spontaneity, they are also fine artists. I am so glad that this innovative musical quintet has continued to perform and collaborate together. Can't wait to hear the other albums!
Check it out!

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A world journey awaits., February 29, 2004

By	Edward Crawford "Beatles Fan" (Randolph, MA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The cd is simple. Simple cover art, and all the performers are using their voice. It's a cd that flows great. This is unlike anything else in my collection. You get sounds and chants from Africa and Europe, with some English thrown in. Just sit back, relax and let the sounds take you where they may. The sounds do sound familiar in a way. This is probably the best way I can describe this cd. Most other music is easy to review, but you just have to experience this cd.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Afro-pop with bits of disco, doo-wop, madrigal, Arab lament. , March 22, 2006

By	Frank Camm (Northern Virginia) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Wide variety of styles for sweet African voices, all distinct from one another. Most songs draw on Afro-pop, but they capture bits of disco, doo-wop, madrigal, and Arab lament. Some are more sound effects than songs. Some are static chants without real lyrics. One or two are too sweet. The closest parallel is Sweet Honey in the Rock, but Zap Mama is uniformly happier, lighter, even on Apartheid songs. Sample of variety: tr 1-Mupepe (closest to ethnographic); tr 6-Plekete (closest to Bobs); tr 9-Din din (sounds like a madrigal); tr 11-Guzophela (South African doo-wop). Stand-outs: tr 5-Take me CoCo. tr 13-Marie-Josée (classic polyrhythmic, sweet Afro-pop). tr 14-Ndje Mukanie (Afro-pop rich and smooth as herbed honey).