Zap Mama

Zap Mama was originally an all-female a cappella quintet founded by Marie Daulne, a Belgian artist with roots in Zaire/Democratic Republic of Congo. Since the release of 7 in 2002, Daulne's Zap Mama project has evolved into a 7 person band with two backup singers, keyboards, bass, drums and percussion/decks. The music is jazz, RnB, cabaret and beatboxing all at once! Daulne's cross-genre style might be the product of an interesting and varied past: Her father, a white Belgian, was killed during the revolution of 1960 while her mother was pregnant with her. The remainder of the family fled to the forests and found refuge with a tribe of pygmies. Daulne was raised primarily in Europe, but when she heard a recording of traditional pygmy music at age 20, she decided to return to Africa to learn about her heritage. She was trained in pygmy onomatopoeic vocal techniques before returning to Europe to found Zap Mama.