In Paris

The tween and teenage girls of Benin’s Star Feminine Band knew nothing – zip – about playing music before 2016 when they took part in a music training initiative in their tiny home village of Natitingou. Their sunny charisma and winning blend of Ghanaian highlife, Congolese rumba and folky Beninese sato, an energetic vodoun rhythm, all of it sprinkled with pop smarts, claimed the attention of French engineer Jérémie Verdier, who sent a demo to Born Bad records in Paris. The band’s ensuing self-titled 2020 debut was hailed everywhere from Songlines (a Top of the World in January/February 2021 #164) to BBC Radio 6 Music and The Guardian for its fresh sound and for the fact that its players – including the 11-year-old drummer – were clearly having a blast as they set about breaking taboos. Like much of daily life, music in Benin is traditionally dominated by men; some traditional practices can be exploitative and harmful. Songs co-written and sung in French, English, Waama and Ditammari languages champion female empowerment, and on In Paris the themes and the music are stronger than ever.

The album’s ten tracks showcase a confidence born from practice and conviction. Catchy lead single ‘Le Mariage Forcé’ rails against arranged marriage for children and ‘Le Excision’ against female genital mutilation, while the English language tune ‘Woman Stand Up’ feels like a rallying call. A collaboration with Beninese diva Angélique Kidjo is only a matter of time.