Musow Danse: 'powerful performances' from Les Amazones d'Afrique

The ever-changing all-female supergroup's third album mixes socially conscious lyrics with rousing rhythms

Les Amazones d'Afrique
The new album from Les Amazones d'Afrique 'seduces with glee'
(Image credit: Karen Paulina Biswell)

Les Amazones d'Afrique began in 2017 as a "sisterly supergroup of singers" from the west African country of Mali.

The group's name is inspired by the Dahomey Amazons, "an army of female warriors" who protected the West African kingdom of Dahomey for 200 years, said Chinonso Ihekire in Rolling Stone. Their goal was to champion gender equality and draw attention to the "pressing issue of violence against women".

Although their line-up has changed so many times that they make the "Conservative front bench seem a model of consistency", said Clive Davis in The Times, "women's rights are still the group's raison d'être".

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Mamani Keïta, the only original member, is joined by Beninoise singer Fafa Ruffino, Ivorians Kandy Guira and Dobet Gnahoré, Nigerian singer Nneka and the Congolese star Alvie Bitemo for this latest album, "Musow Danse", meaning "women's dance". There is also a "dominant presence in the studio" from Irish producer Jacknife Lee, whose pop credits range from U2 to Snow Patrol and Taylor Swift, said Davis.