{"product_id":"star-feminine-band-s-t-lp-1","title":"Star Feminine Band - S\/T LP","description":"\u003cmeta charset=\"UTF-8\"\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eIncludes six-page booklet and download code. Without warning, a group of young girls from a remote region of Benin is shaking up the world of garage rock with breathtaking freshness, ingenuity and energy, playing spot-on, loud and clear. A musician named \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eAndré Baleguemon\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e decided to form an exclusively female band rooted in the concerns of its time. He puts the spotlight on the guitar, drums, and keyboard, instruments he has admired since his childhood, symbols of modernity in this remote region. Originally from Tchaourou, a vast commune located in central eastern Benin, André Balaguemon developed a passion for music at a very young age. During the 1990s, he joined the \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eSam 11 Orchestra\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e in Parakou, in the northeastern part of the country. In 1999, he spent some time in Cotonou before settling in the northwest, in order to reconnect with his roots and musical passions. On July 25th, 2016, with the support of the city of Natitingou, André launched a press release on Nanto FM offering to help train girls in music for free. Since the independence era, having your own instruments has always been the prerequisite of any self-respected African orchestra. The girls have already performed dozens of concerts in the region, forging and expanding an already solid repertoire, while attracting an ever-increasing local audience. In addition to musical progress, he has been personally involved with each family, showing them the importance of his project, both musically and humanly and in particular the fact that each girl must remain in school and not be forced into marriage. There are very few female bands in the history of popular African music. If the \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eAmazones de Guinée\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003ela Famille Bassavé\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e, and \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eles Colombes de la Révolution\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e in Burkina, the \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eSoeurs Comoë\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e in Ivory Coast or the \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eLijadu Sisters\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e in Nigeria notably come to mind, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eStar Feminine Band\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e has no equivalent in Benin. The originality, carefree attitude, freedom, and above all the talent of these young girls is undeniable. At the end of 2018, their encounter with the young French sound engineer \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eJérémie Verdier\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e accelerated the course of things. On a mission in the region, he called on his Spanish friends \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eJuan Toran\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e and \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eJuan Serra\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e who showed up with their recording equipment in order to record the band's first songs in the annex of the local museum. Random encounters and fate led \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eJean-Baptiste Guillot\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e to hear the tapes.\u003c\/span\u003e","brand":"Forced Exposure","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":40618097869008,"sku":"","price":27.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0554\/4201\/4416\/products\/star_0a391950-4d82-457e-b177-27d78f054639.jpg?v=1641493832","url":"https:\/\/www.grapefruitrecordclub.com\/products\/star-feminine-band-s-t-lp-1","provider":"Grapefruit Records","version":"1.0","type":"link"}