Marie Daulne
Daulne was born in Isiro, Haut-Uele District, Democratic Republic of the Congo to a Belgian who was killed that same year by Simba rebels, and to a local Congolese woman.
[4] Daulne was raised in Belgium and as of 2007 calls Brussels home, but lived in New York City for three years starting in 2000.
Daulne insists that "one tune on each of her reggae-, soul-, funk- and hip-hop-infused albums be a traditional Pygmy song.
Daulne was born in Isiro, Haut-Uele District, one of the largest cities in the northeast of the Democratic Republic of the Congo,[7] as the fourth child of a white civil servant,[3] Cyrille Daulne, a Walloon (French-speaking Belgian) and Bernadette Aningi, a woman from Kisangani, formerly Stanleyville, the third largest city in Congo Kinshasa.
[4] When Daulne was only a week old, her father was attacked and killed by Simba rebels, who were opposed to mixed-race relationships.
[11] "It was hard as a kid, you want to look like everybody else, and there aren’t many black people in Belgium – compared to England, or America or France," says Daulne.
"[12] Daulne felt a special connection to blue songs like Damn your eyes by Etta James.
"[3] But although Daulne was encouraged to adopt the language and culture of Belgium, her mother kept Congolese music alive in the household.
[15] "Our mother would make us learn the polyphonic singing, but at the time we thought it was boring because it was traditional," says Daulne.
[3][15] "When I left home, I missed those songs, and in the school choir, I wondered why we didn't use African harmonising.
"[15] But Daulne didn't really get interested in singing until an accident she sustained while dancing in a stage show[17] left her unable to participate in athletics.
"[12] In the documentary film Mizike Mama, Daulne and her family recall a reverse cultural tug-of-war for her allegiance during her childhood.
From my African heritage, I receive a lot of different harmonies and sounds and ways to express melody and probably all of this makes up what I do," says Daulne.
"[22] Daulne defines her music over the years as evolving from an a cappella quintet to instruments and a lead voice.
[1] Daulne auditioned scores of female singers looking for the right combination of voices for an a cappella ensemble.
"[25] Daulne felt she was channeling the spirit of her Congolese ancestry so instead of using her own name, she called the group Zap Mama.
[24] Zap Mama received initial support from the French Belgian Community Government's cultural department but the group soon came to the attention of Teddy Hillaert when he saw them perform at the Ancienne Belgique in Brussels The group began recording their first record Zap Mama at Studio Daylight in Brussels.
Belgium[27] The album was completed in October 1991 and released by Crammed Discs, the Belgian record label of Marc Hollander and Vincent Kenis.
They research and reinterpret certain forms of traditional music, but from a semi-European standpoint, with a lot of humor, and a vision which doesn't lack social and political content."
Luaka Bop Records repackaged the first Crammed Discs release for American listeners in 1993 as Adventures in Afropea 1.
"[26] Zap Mama went on tour playing New York's Central Park, Paris' Olympia, the Jazz-festival of Montreux.
[6] After the success of Adventures in Afropea 1, Daulne said the record company "wanted to mould us into a poppy girl band, but I said, 'No, you'll kill me', and I stopped.
[18] The film focuses on Daulne and discusses the implications of membership in a racially mixed group that consciously fuses African rhythms and vocal tones with European polyphony.
[10] After the success of the first two albums, Daulne put her music on hold for a few years to birth and mother her daughter Kesia.
[7] In 1996, Daulne decided to dissolve the group and make a formal break from a cappella, retaining the Zap Mama name but looking for new collaborators in the United States.
This is the source of modern sounds, the history of the beat, starting from little pieces of wood banging against one another, and arriving on the big sound-systems today.
"[20] "What I like about the Roots is their instruments, the jazz background, which is helping to have a real, acoustic, organic sound," says Daulne.
[28] Daulne moved back to Belgium after three years in the United States[29] and now calls Brussels home.
[26] Supermoon is also one of Daulne's most personal statements[28] with songs like "Princess Kesia," an ode to her daughter and how she is no longer a baby but a beautiful girl.
"[25] An active humanitarian, Daulne devotes much of her time working to protect human rights and fight global poverty with organizations such as Amnesty International, Doctors Without Borders, CARE, and the United Nations.
