Clyde and the Nightswingers came together to record the Theme song for a 1967 “Art Film.” If LSD ingested during a gathering of members of the U.S. Air Force and delinquent girls is your idea of an Art Film, then the only way to see it is to close your eyes and let The Enormous Midnight seep into your brain. The film is lost, but Nightswinger sounds are found on this Arcania International LP. Sounds kind of psychedelic, yes. But there’s more to the story and indeed a story it is. For the most part we hear a Garage band that seems to have been dropped into a vat of acid, then coming out as if totally Psyched! So – experimentation! That adds to a lost, M.I.A. quality, with a folkie (Clyde) trying his best to conjure up “lyrics as art” while singing/screaming them across this entire album. Yes, this tells a story, but despite death wish words and a long night of the soul, it ends happily. Because it’s just a (fuzzy/feedback/explosive/electrical) dream. But not music to go to sleep to.

fast finger piano-punk from germany. all lyrics in german. no crust,d-beat,grind,hc-punk !! this is the new wave of punk ! a wild and fantastic mix of german anarcho classics like TonSteineScherben,Quetschenpauer with dirty garage/77-style punk like The Shocks,Zack Zack, Spits and so on. lp comes in full-colour gatefold cover, incl booklet. lmtd to 500 copies.

Straight from the depths of an unused Boston-area concrete laboratory comes the debut of Sweeping Promises. Written and recorded with a patented ""single mic technique"" just before quarantine, ""Hunger for a Way Out"", is a post-punk leaning gem of unpolished DIY sound. The title track kicks things off in absolutely classic fashion, full of spirited hooks that echo the early Rough Trade sound. Angular guitars and sharp synth notes float atop a raw rhythm section, while Lira Mondal's effervescent vocals truly define Sweeping Promises' sound. There's something simple yet otherworldly about these tracks - you have the DIY prowess of Kleenex/LiLiPUT and Girls at Our Best!, a brooding new wave-y minimal synth sound woven in, and an undeniable pop-leaning appeal captured in vibrant monaural glory. It's hard to mistake these ten tracks of naturally urgent and driving post-punk for anything other than sheer brilliance. Sweeping Promises deliver in spades on ""Hunger for a Way Out"".

an All-Girl Foot-Stompin' Bovver Rock Compilation!

Sharpies were the terror teen cast of a Richard Allen novel that never was. Although largely synonymous with the early-to-mid 1970s, reports of their violent clashes with rival gangs of Mods are documented as early as 1966. Bored, working-class, suburban kids, their teenage rampage began in Melbourne, Australia, but soon there were Sharpie gangs forming in Sydney, Perth and beyond. For a while they were the untouchables, ruling dances, discos and public transport with their fists. Sharpies were fiercely territorial and divided into different chapters according to location. They would often wage aggressive wars within their tightly delineated sub-gangs, although Mods always remained their arch-enemy. Sharpies were the scourge of the railways. Although they would seldom attack members of the general public, if you gave them a second look you’d be lucky to escape with your wallet intact. Violence was their world, but always with a strict moral code. Sharpie boys and girls wore similar uniforms: a slim-fitting, ribbed and collared cardigan called a Conny, T-shirts, tight jeans (Lee or Levis) and big platform shoes. Girls’ shoes had 100% cork heels. Boys’ shoes were often two-coloured. Hair was worn short or shaved with long wisps at the back, influenced by the British ska, mod and skinhead subcultures. Sharpie girls had their hair slightly longer and often with coloured streaks - Bowie-red was their colour of choice. Boys often bleached their hair. Tattoos were popular, although many were homemade and poorly executed. Their diet was anthemic glam-rock (Slade, Sweet, T.Rex, Bowie, Gary Glitter) kung-fu movies and A Clockwork Orange. The music of local heroes like Lobby Loyde and The Coloured Balls, AC/DC, Skyhooks and Hush provided their daily soundtrack. They even had their own tribal dance, a rhythmic sway with knees bent and fists clenched and pumping upwards across their chests. As the 1970s drew to a close, and new styles like punk and disco began to emerge, Sharpies started to fade. By 1979 they were all-but gone. Today they are recognised as an important part of Australian youth culture and social history. Enjoy their music...

All girl Volume, with Linernotes and 45 sleeves (black and white) on the back.

More obscure Glam Rock that never made it.

1977 gegründet gilt Chuzpe wohl als eine der ersten - wenn nicht sogar die erste - Punkband Österreichs. Nach Hitparaden Songs wie dem Joy Division Cover von "Love will tear us apart" orientierte sich die Band um Robert Räudig musikalisch schon 1980 in eine etwas andere, poppigere Richtung. "Terror in Klein Babylon" ist jedoch eine Zusammenstellung älterer Songs - die Bezeichnung "Outtakes und Demos" würde der Qualität dieser Songs jedoch nicht gerecht werden. Druckvoll gemastered, mit Linernotes und Texten versehen, und großteils unveröffentlichten Liedern, wenn auch Klassiker wie "Beislanarchie" nicht fehlen dürfen.

Freak Genes continue their descent into angular electronics with Power Station. Musicians are replaced by machines, natural sounds are swapped for noises. The result is synthetic pop for problem times. Charlie Murphy (Internal Credit / Isolation) and Andrew Anderson (Proto Idiot / KAKE?) orchestrate affairs, wrangling synths, drum machines, guitars and found sounds. Think 154-era Wire but with a reduced budget, or DAF minus the disco. The album was recorded in bedrooms and borrowed spaces from 2018 to 2020. It was mixed and mastered by Mikey Young. Formed in 2016, Freak Genes previous albums are Playtime, Qwak Qwak and III. They’ve performed in both shitty and swanky venues across Europe. They’ll be on stage again in 2021, pandemics and other global catastrophes depending.

Direct from Kansas City and encased in a layer of four-track analog glory comes the debut album from Silicone Prairie. You may have enjoyed Ian Teeple in action with Warm Bodies or The Natural Man Band, though Silicone Prairie is where Teeple has been focusing his solo creative energies over the past couple years, culminating in these 13 tracks. A trebly & jittery, landlocked Midwestern punk sound comes into effect straight out of the gate, much in the lineage of Gulcher's 'Red Snerts' comp or the Dow Jones side of 'Hoosier Hysteria' - with a dash of hardcore DEVO or even D.L.I.M.C. thrown in for contemporary spuds. But there's far more to Silicone Prairie - with quantitatively great songwriting and instrumentation bursting any preconceived sub-subgenre bubbles and occupying a kindred creative plain that made just about any Mould, Kirkwood, or Sage composition of the mid-80's oh so delightful & memorable. Heck, there's even a synth-heavy instrumental dedicated to electronic pioneer Patrick Cowley. 'My Life on the Silicone Prairie' dances across the sonic spectrum, from bedroom jangle to basement devolution, carrying big guitars, sharp synthesizers, and a hopeful grin into 2021 and beyond. A carefully crafted debut alive with the kind of creative rock'n'roll energy that simply cannot be quarantined, now or ever.

France, 1990. Fun Radio, NRJ, Skyrock set a new pace, and their crushing hegemony irrevocably marks the end of the free radio utopia. The giants become vital in the hit industry and carry on fuelling France’s greatest invention: la variété. A quintessentially French version of British dance pop with a very specific tang to it, too coy to emulate trendy clubs’ and rave parties’ music, europop cautiously tests the waters of what will soon turn into a tsunami : house music.

if you went down the wrong alleyway, took a shortcut through the park or crossed the wrong open space after dark in the UK in the 1970s, you stood a fair chance of being accosted by someone with a big mouth, low morals and some gurning mates to impress, usually reeking of fags and cheap booze and always ready to put the boot in. And, before you could say, “sickening violence”, a short but chaotic scuffle would ensue and a winner eventually emerge, battle scarred and bruised. The boot boy was the worst kind of hooligan. There wasn’t anything you could do or say to appease him. You had the same chance as a fly caught up in a spider’s web. Zero. Your best bet was to run. His intent was always to give you, and vicariously the rest of the world, a good kicking. Thugs, long-haired louts, short-haired louts; the anti-hippy. Birds, booze, bovver and football on their criminal minds. So fasten your braces for a white knuckle-duster ride. 14 bovver rock bruisers for all of you peace-loving losers. Somebody’s going to get their head kicked in tonight... Put the boot in.

This is the incredibly rare and Coltrane influenced debut of Brazilian sax great Victor Assis Brasil (1945-1981) for the cult label Forma, of Roberto Quartin. Vitor Assis Brasil lead this session on January 11th 1966 with his quartet which featured the legendary pianist Tenório Jr plus double-bassist Edison Lôbo and drummer Chico Batera. It’s one of the greatest jazz albums ever recorded in Brazil and the highlights go to the originals and the wonderful João Donato tracks. Victor Assis Brasil was the best Brazilian jazzman of his generation, having being praised by international critics. Vitor Brasil showed early evidence of talent for music, excelling at the harmonica and the drums. In 1961, at age 16, he was presented with an alto saxophone. In 1965, while already a professional, Brasil recorded his first album, Desenhos, consolidating his pioneering role as a Brazilian jazz musician. He studied at Berklee College of Music and later taught improvisation technique in Brazil. During the following four years he spent in the U.S., Brasil wrote most of his 400 works. Also from that period are his albums Trajeto, Victor Assis Brasil Toca Jobim, Esperanto, Victor Assis Brasil Quinteto, and Pedrinho, his last one. His last three years of life were marked by noted international performances. This is Victor Assis Brasil – “Desenhos” (1966), for Forma, featuring the sax of Victor with the accompaniment of Tenório Júnior (piano), Edson Lobo, with the age of 19 (bass) and Chico Batera (drums). Victor had 19 years old at this recording session.

Beynelmilân is delivering some funky turkish sound to your ears. A drumbreak in each track, psychedelic vibes and funky groove revisited classic turkish folk songs. If you like 70’s anatolian Rock/Pop, Yeralti Oyun Havalari (Underground Belly Dances) is for you for sure. He recently contributed 2 tracks to the new Arsivplak record ’Mirror’, which is a compilation of turkish disco folk with the typical psychedelic touch. After it was only released on tape finally with the slightly different vinyl version of Yeralti Oyun Havalari, there is a full length LP containing 10 delightful tracks to take you on a trip to the turkoholic mekka of 70’s anatolian psychedelic rock. Beynelmilân knows how to bring some heat to the dancefloor with tunes like ’Adam Mi Oldun’ but also brings you down to a hypnotizing trip with tracks like ’Yaniyorum’ which is topped with some melancholic vocals. Never missing the heavy drum breaks and intense melodies topped with some discoid flavour. Limited edition of 500 copies!

I want to say thanks. On 28.03. I launched the Sounds of Subterrania Artists Fund, a solidarity action for artists, affected by the effects of the Covid-19. Part of this project was the publication of a special artist edition, designed by Jochen Mönig and printed by Philip Janta. Now, almost 4 months later, I have it in my hands and it is needless to say, that it can now go on a journey to you. I want to say thank you for every donation. Your support actually helped and even if we didn't reach the goal, it was a big help for Faratuben and Bibi Ahmed. Real solidarity and humanity can always be recognized by the commitment to unknown people. That this was important to many of you means a lot to me and it makes me happy. In this context I would like to announce, that further limited artist editions will follow. The proceeds are also used for social and cultural projects. The regular album "Sira Kura" by Faratuben will be released in October. If you don't want to wait that long, you can buy one of the last copies of the special edition in my webshop. Thank you for your attention and solidarity. Ewi yoo ta mi be ura sio ma’e, Faratuben a toubara, Ma farafina ro, Wa se ma we, a wa di ma we, a wa bwe ma we dimignan siwo wa yere fi wena wa wure a de’ere ro wa se ma we, wa di ma we, wa bwe ma we do you not see faratuben? a group composed of white and black we eat, we work and we play music together. there is nothing more beautiful than sharing, help between brothers. we say no to racism. we eat, we work and we play music together.

Between Aarhus and Bamako lie 6,593 kilometers – and a deep socio-economic divide. This is why people have long been drawn from Africa to Europe. Unfortunately, the opposite is rarely the case. “Sira Kura”, the debut album from the Danish-Malian band Faratuben, shows what is possible when musicians move out of their comfort zones and meet at eye level. The music from this Bamako-based band is not just another variation of Afrobeat, nor a retrospective reminiscence of Fela Kuti. It is an electrified version of the centuries-old Bwa and Bobo music, and differs from the traditional Kora sounds of a Toumani Diabaté and Salif Keïta with its increased pressure and tempo. The three Danes, Mikas Bøgh Olesen, Jakob de Place and Mads Voxen, came to Mali as part of an exchange program of the Conservatoire de Arts et Metiers Multimédia (CAMM), where they heard traditional Bobo music for the first time. Bobo is what the French colonizers called the Bwa people, an oppressed minority living in Burkina Faso and northern Mali. The percussive music of the Bwa is driven by various percussion instruments and the sound of the balofon, a type of xylophone with calabashes suspended below. The three Danish music students were completely enthralled with this dynamic sound that accompanies religious ceremonies as well as weddings and parties in Mali. Guitarist and studio owner Dieudonne Koita, vocalist Sory Dao and balofon virtuoso Kassim Koita, formed a band that was originally intended to perform only once: at the Bamako Jazz Festival. The name Bobo Jazz Experience was used on the posters at the time. But the performance was too grandiose not to continue. At the Bogolan Studio in downtown Bamako, the musicians recorded the songs “Terete” and “Pari” a short time later, which rapidly went into heavy rotation at the TV station ORTM and on various Malian radio stations. In the meantime the band had decided on the name Faratuben, a combination of the words “farafin” (black) and “toubabou” (white). The musicians often live and rehearse together in the mountains outside Bamako, in a village called Kati, which the Koita family calls home. The Koita family is a large clan that has produced many important musicians. “Electrification is quite new in our tradition, and the first person to play Bwa music on an electric guitar was our father, Pakuene Koita”, says Dieudonne. His brother Kassim has been voted best balofon player in Mali four times. Faratuben are also becoming more and more successful in Mali, playing at weddings, parties and increasingly at big festivals like “Spot on Mali Music”. In short, it was high time for a debut album! “Sira Kura” is extremely varied fusion, in which the pulsating polyrhythms of Bwa music are organically combined with elements of jazz and art pop – played at a dreamlike higher level. “A modern mix of 10CC and Osibisa”, as keyboarder Mikas calls it. And indeed, such overwhelming melodiousness and such complex songwriting is rarely found in Afrobeat. In Bambara, one of the many languages spoken in Mali, “Sira Kura” means “new direction”. But Faratuben is about more than parties and good moods. The rousingly combative “Mi Njan Mure Mure” tells of days when Mali was a French colony: “You took our land, you took our space, you torture us, you treated us with barbarity.” The musicians see their band as living anti-racism. As Dieudonne says: “I never thought before that I could meet white people on an equal footing and on one level. That white people live, eat and sleep in my house and live together with my family, just like I do. Such a thing is very rare in Mali. We are happy and proud that through Faratuben we can show that it is possible to create a community beyond race and skin color.” Meanwhile, the band has also gained a loyal fan base in Scandinavia. In Denmark, where the album was released last year, “Sira Kura” was awarded the Danish Music Award for the best “globalpop” album. And in August, the musicians also received a nomination for the DMA Roots Award. Faratuben are now back again after being stuck in Aarhus from March to August due to Corona, and could only return to Mali at the end of the month. In their luggage, they carry the songs for their second album, which were written during their quarantine. But, until then, “Sira Kura” will ensure that autumn in Germany sizzles. Bwa music rules!

Legendary Austrian Punk. Reissue. Originally released in 1982 when your parents still listenend to Goobay Dance Band. Includes insert / lyric sheet for you do sing along, a postcard and two stickers.

Rising like the phoenix from the ashes of the first version of the band; The Haskels served up heavy doses of three minute, adrenaline-fueled hard punk pop, as evidenced on the highly sought after, Killed by Death bootlegged, “Taking the City by Storm” EP released in 1981 on their own Milwaukee Hits label. Now the full story of the band can be heard, seen, and told. As the decade turned from the rust belt 70’s to the Reagan-era 80’s, the original Haskels (see their self-titled LP released last year on Splunge) split into two factions, with the local punk/new wave/post-punk scene moving to the gritty Starship club in downtown Milwaukee. The Haskels were instrumental in getting bands to play the venue, including the Oil Tasters, Plasticland, Ama-Dots, Shivvers, Die Kreuzen and a burgeoning Violent Femmes. The version of the Haskels represented here initially included Presley Haskel and Gerard LaValliere, fresh from the first line up of the band; joined by the crack rhythm section of Bobby Mitchell and Vodie Rhinehardt. Later tracks, including the EP were recorded by the Presley/Bobby/Vodie trio. In either case, the material is a match made in punk pop heaven; coupling Presley’s knife-sharp songwriting sensibilities with a tight unit of A-Team musicians driving the music forward. “Taking the City by Storm” includes 14 tracks of rare and never before released material from the Splunge Archives. The release is comprised of demos, live tracks and the entire, highly coveted “Taking the City by Storm” EP, remastered for the first time. Co-released with our pals at Bachelor Records, we’re sure you’ll dig hearing these long-lost gems.

Due to the absence of its main players during the heydays of modern jazz, Belgium will not be remembered for a unique jazz sound or an extensive discography. However, the little country produced a number of highly talented musicians who played lead roles on the international jazz scene. 'Let's Get Swinging: Modern Jazz in Belgium 1950-1970' retraces their steps and presents some of their finest works, including guitarist Philip Catherine, saxophonist Jack Sels, multi-instrumentalist Jacques Pelzer and vibraphone player, percussionist and vocalist 'Fats' Sadi Lallemand.

For many years, Tommy Marolda has been a versatile member of the American music industry: a multi-instrumentalist, producer, engineer, composer, Grammy-nominated songwriter...the list goes on. But record nerds like me know Tommy because of a single weekend in 1979. He was scheduled to record demos with the Smithereens in his New Jersey home studio, but their last-minute cancelation gave Tommy a small window to record something of his own. After three days of hitting the record button and dashing back to his instruments, Tommy had more than 30 slabs of pop perfection on tape, 12 of which became his seminal power pop LP 'The Toms'. Other tracks from that weekend session have trickled out via reissues of 'The Toms' over the years, but little did anyone know Tommy recorded enough material to fill up three long players! Presented here are the last of the 1979 Toms sessions. Savor them like the rare commodities that they are."

L’autoroute blanche, la piscine le dimanche, le Mont Saint Michel… all join the scene, Cyril Cyril stirs the snow globe, Helvet underground as they are called. Cyril Cyril’s Sunday is a trance, we arrive, people gather. The samples vocals, hesitates, moans a little, Miami Beach, OK let’s go. This is how Cyril Cyril introduce their new album “Yallah Mickey Mouse“. Once again, they take back their instruments and their roots with their ruffled tips. It is not about untangling. The sonorities are sculpted in vibrating marbles with indocile fossils. A visionary sonic narration, an invitation to an unorganized journey. Multiple influences are called on in the frame of this project of personal emanations and studio research. A tribute to the friends of Hyperculte in memory of an Egyptian camel, winks to the phrasing of Cha Cha Guitry, to the animal of Gerard Manset or to the hand of Indochine. We are here, they are on stage. In the beginning, we are only human. The voice speaks, images stand in front of our eyes, now we have to make room for them. So we move a little bit, we swing to let the mirages of the oil lamp flow. Cyril Bondi is at the drums with his custom instruments, his body is trained to the groove of the wizards, and the fanfare of delirious insects starts. Cyril Yeterian is on the banjo or on the electric guitar. His storyteller’s voice, that has travelled time and migrations, resumes the stories suspended since our last meeting. This song. A ground swell, the ground vanished under our feet, we find ourselves upside down, we feel like dancing on our hands. These rhythms. Hands on the sand, we tap, slide and resonate. Cyril Cyril carries our voices, including the ones of those who are no longer here. They come back, it’s crazy how modern they are, and then without embarrassment too, without embarrassment and generous, happy to be able to regain a little youth, it looks lost, they sing. Cyril Cyril carries their voices. It’s beautiful to see how lost we are, how we are searching, it’s the music that keeps us standing, inspired, engaged, tangled, it comes out of all the bodies that listen to it, it radiates an transcendent power. Our reeds, our hands, undulate, breathe, like this music. Cyril Cyril carries our bodies. The ternary scale of our emotions and our smiles that come back. The wave makes us lose ourselves, but the harmonies gently overtake this feeling as we lay on the sand. Also, the irony. The figures of power, the small march of insects accompanies them while laughing, these presidents. And always the surprise, bells ring in all our ears, those of our skin, our eyes and our hands, which have become our feet, we no longer know. We transform ourselves. And this joy that always comes back. Cyril Cyril carries our senses. These sounds, these rhythms, remind us of something. The memories are richer than those we could have gathered in a lifetime. Cyril Cyril opens our minds. We resonate more and more, we get more and more entangled, everything intertwines, the sounds and their lights. We are the Kaméaméa generation, and the frontiers we no longer want are shattered. The music must not stop. Yallah! The psychedelic organ melody accompanies the voice which rises in the higher frequencies, the percussions encourage us. We accelerate the pulsation, we get closer and stomp together, we want the head of Mickey Mouse. Echoes of bird songs, of a bestiary. We are animals, the carnival of animals, if they still want us. We are not going to leave each other like that, one last dance, we rush, now we know how to reverse the poles, the borders are abolished, everything circulates, the sounds, the joy of being together, Cyril Cyril carries us away.

Without warning, a group of young girls from a remote region of Benin is shaking up the world of garage rock with breathtaking freshness, ingenuity and energy, playing spot-on, loud and clear. a musician named André Baleguemon decided to form an exclusively female band rooted in the concerns of its time. He puts the spotlight on the guitar, drums and keyboard, instruments he has admired since his childhood, symbols of modernity in this remote region. His observation is simple: “In the North, girls have no room to advance and women are put aside. I simply wanted to show the importance of women in the societies of North Benin by forming a female orchestra “. Originally from Tchaourou, a vast commune located in central eastern Benin, André Balaguemon developed a passion for music at a very young age. During the 1990s, he joined the Sam 11 orchestra in Parakou, in the northeastern part of the country, where he successively played trumpet and guitar. In 1999, he spent some time in Cotonou before settling in the northwest, in order to reconnect with his roots and musical passions. On July 25th, 2016, with the support of the city of Natitingou, André launched a press release on Nanto FM offering to help train girls in music for free. A few days later, dozens of aspiring musicians showed up at the Youth Center. “The girls who came didn’t know anything about music. We selected seven girls of the Waama and Nabo ethnic groups from the surrounding villages, some had never even seen these types of instruments before. “ Since the independence era, having your own instruments has always been the prerequisite of any self-respected African orchestra. With drums, two guitars, keyboards and some added percussion purchased by André, the first musical tests began with his new recruits, a handful of young girls among the most motivated. The girls quickly became passionate about their new musical activities, learning how to play drums, guitar, piano and sing vocal harmonies. Their progress was astounding. An intense work of musical training took place, starting with drum workshops, their favorite instrument. Angelique and Urrice on drums and vocals, assisted by Marguerite, the third drummer. Sandrine is on keyboards, as is Grace, who also sings vocals. Julienne is on bass and Anne on guitar. As the founding influence of their approach, André readily quotes Angélique Kidjo, “our main inspiration. She is a woman you cannot ignore. Miriam Makeba is also a source of pride, as is Sagbohan Danialou, Stanislas Tohon. Kaba Diya, the great regional orchestra, also inspired us a lot. ” André’s determination is one of the key elements of this human and artistic success. The girls have already performed dozens of concerts in the region, forging and expanding an already solid repertoire, while attracting an ever-increasing local audience. In addition to musical progress, he has been personally involved with each family, showing them the importance of his project, both musically and humanly and in particular the fact that each girl must remain in school and not be forced into marriage. There are very few female bands in the history of popular African music. If the Amazones de Guinée, la Famille Bassavé and les Colombes de la Révolution in Burkina, the Sœurs Comoë in Ivory Coast or the Lijadu Sisters in Nigeria notably come to mind, Star Feminine Band has no equivalent in Benin. The originality, carefree attitude, freedom, and above all the talent of these young girls is undeniable. At the end of 2018, their encounter with the young French sound engineer Jérémie Verdier accelerated the course of things. On a mission in the region, he called on his Spanish friends Juan Toran and Juan Serra who showed up with their recording equipment in order to record the band’s first songs in the annex of the local museum. Random encounters and fate led Jean-Baptiste Guillot to hear the tapes. He decided to go meet them at the end of 2019. This short but memorable journey sealed the fate of the record you are now holding in your hands. Now aged nine to fifteen, the seven girls of the Star Feminine Band continue to go to school. André installed a rehearsal room in an annex of the Departmental Museum of Natitingou. Several times a week, the seven young girls get together, inhabited by the noblest aspirations, those of singing their culture, their feminine condition and their possible emancipation. They rehearse three times a week, from 4 to 7 p.m. During school holidays, they rehearse daily from Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. It’s 2020 but the situation of women in many rural areas of the African continent and also sometimes in large metropolises, has hardly changed since the 1960s, the era of independence when it was believed that everything would change in this continent that was searching for modernity, culture and emancipation. Although there were some followers of the Me Too movement in Africa, it hardly touched the most remote parts of the continent. The Star Feminine Band is taking off. Performing several concerts in Natitingou but also in the surrounding villages. Each time they play in public, they bring together an ever-increasing and curious local audience when it comes to this one of a kind training. Women come en masse, as well as parents with their children, but also many elderly people, in a region where cultural activities are often limited to agricultural or funeral ceremonies. André Baleguemon and his talented protégés adapt songs of traditional inspiration, in a vein of modernized folklore. “We play waama rhythm dances, we want to honor them. We compose songs in French, waama and ditamari, two unknown ethnic groups from the North. We also sing songs in the Bariba language, as well as the Fon language, the main language in Benin, in the new repertoire, in order to be understood by as many people as possible.” Peba is sung in waama. It’s about girls going to school in order to be themselves. Sung in French, the lyrics of La Musique and Femme africaine speak for themselves. Timtilu is sung in ditamari. In this song, the girls give the advice to not abandon your culture, but rather to honor it. A song of emancipation in the peul language, Rew Be Me Light, is an ode to women, an encouragement to succeed in your own career and succeed as a woman. A unifying song, Iseo is sung in bariba. “Men and women, let us rise, from the south, from the center, from the north, let us unite and be one so that the country can evolve”. This song is about bringing together the regions and the diversity of cultures in Benin. Praise be to God in peul, Montealla’s interpretation was inspired by mandingo. Sung in bariba, Idesouse indicates that girls must go to school until the end of their studies in order to defend the values ??of women. They have to fight all the more in order to gain this recognition. Through all of these songs, each of the Star Feminine Band members brings their own inspiration. André composes all their songs. He admits: “They bring their ideas. The dream of these girls is to become international stars. They must show the importance of women throughout the world. Speak of Africa, accomplish great missions around the values ??of women. They talk about female genital mutilation, abuse and violence against girls. We want to include these subjects in the political debate in Benin, then elsewhere in Africa if this is ever possible ”. With much confidence, an undeniable ecumenism and charisma, Star Feminine Band is one of the prides of the Atakora region. The band is even starting to instigate vocations, while sowing the seeds for the next generation of provincial girls, driven by an iron will, forged of the same mineral as the weapons of Kaba, forgotten hero of the Atakora. True heroines of everyday life, the seven girls of the Star Feminine Band embody the future and the next generation in search of recognition. “In the 1960s, God was a black girl who sang” used to say New York composer duo Carole King and Gerry Goffin. Sixty years later, in one of the forgotten provinces of the African continent, this adage takes on its full value.