ZITA SWOON GROUP's brilliant Wait For Me album wonderfully combines raw acoustic blues with traditional Mandinka music, and results from the encounter between the band and Burkina Fasso musicians Awa Démé & Mamadou Diabaté Kibié.
Zita Swoon has been one of Belgium's most popular rock bands, ever since Stef Kamil Carlens left dEUS (which he co-founded with Tom Barman) and started the group around the mid-'90s, under the name Moondog Jr. (soon rechristened Zita Swoon, at the request of Louis Hardin, the original Moondog).
After releasing a string of successful ...
Zita Swoon Group: album launch, exclusive shows, video
"Wait For Me", the very awaited new album by the revered Belgian band, features 2 guests from Burkina Faso.
Here's the video for the first single, "Sababu", which includes footage shot during the band's stay in Burkina Faso.
For "Wait For Me", their first song-based album in 4 years, the Antwerp collective (led by Deus co-founder Stef Kamil Carlens) has worked with burkinabe diva Awa Démé and master balafon player Mamadou Diabaté Kibié. The songs (which can be loosely described as a blend of raw, acoustic folk/blues with traditional West African music) manage to wonderfully weave African and "northern" styles styles within an almost pop-like song format with seemingly effortless ease.
The release will be celebrated by a handful of selected European shows in early March (including the AB in Brussels on March 4, the Lido in Berlin on March 5, The 104 in Paris on March 8, the Tivoli in Utrecht on March 16 - details here).
The band will be back for dates in late Spring, a festival tour in the Summer, and a club/theatre tour in the Fall
"Wait For Me" is Zita Swoon Group's first release on Crammed, and we're extremely happy and honored to start a long-term collaboration with such an exciting band.
More info on "Wait For Me" here.
