THE TRANSLATED & EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Songs to emancipate the African woman. Les Mamans du Congo & Rrobin are a unique encounter between the Bantu lullabies of the Congo, electronic music and hip-hop — a hybrid project which gives pride of place to dance and which highlights the daily life of Congolese women in a daring way and above all connected with the times.
Gladys Samba, renowned singer and percussionist, had for years wanted to revive and popularize the lullabies of the Republic of Congo, considered a real cultural heritage of her region. In 2018, with the help of the Institut Français du Congo, she achieved this through the production of the show Les Mamans du Congo. Forks, plates, baskets, pestles and recovery equipment accompany with rhythm and subtlety the voices of the five Mothers of the Congo.
For his part in France, the artist Rrobin has been exploring electronic music and hip-hop since 2013. In 2018, he produced the Déluge album in collaboration with distinguished guests such as Grems, Spoek Mathambo, Nancy Fortune and Hedi Yusef. More recently, Rrobin was brought in to work with La Coopérative de Mai (Clermont Ferrand) as part of its scheme dedicated to young talents.
The Institut Français du Congo and the Coopérative de Mai came up with the idea of introducing Maman Glad and Rrobin in order to create a unique mix of traditional sounds and current sounds. In the fall of 2019, Rrobin decided to go to Brazzaville with sound engineer Céline Frezza for 10 days of recording. The project came to life through the recording, and the common desire to make an album is evident when listening to the songs.”
