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Born in 1972 in Divo, a small town in the Central West region of Côte d’Ivoire, Manou Gallo is a multi-instrumentalist, singer and virtuoso dancer. Her career began at the age of 12 with the group Woya, one of the emblematic groups of the Ivory Coast.

 

In 1997, when she arrived in Europe, she became the bassist of Zap Mama, Marie Daulne’s band, and performed on the biggest European and American stages.

Since 2003, based in Brussels, she is a brilliant bandleader, singer and bass player and has proven it with many bands and projects she has developed and played with (Manou Gallo Women Band, Groove Orchestra, Acoustic Africa and Music Machine). 

 

Among these prodigious albums we can mention the famous AFRO GROOVE QUEEN (2018): created in collaboration with Bootsy Collins is a musical love triangle and an adventure between Africa, Europe and America.

 

With his current band, the music merges with a groove band in a modern and fresh way, the heart and soul of Africa on the stage, especially the Djiboi (inhabitants of his native region), they created the modern connection to the Western culture.

With her stage presence and incredible technique, she has become one of the leading women of this innovative Afro-European music appreciated worldwide.

 

Our “Afro Groove Queen” Manou Gallo returns in 2021 with a new and very personal album entitled ALISO. In this new project, she pays tribute to the artists who inspired her, Fela Kuti, Manu Dibango, Franco, Ernesto Djé Djé, Marcellin Yacé. Manou Gallo is also surrounded for the occasion, by her 2 “brothers-bassists” Christian Mc Bride and Etienne Mbappe on original compositions.

MANOU GALLO
Ivory Coast
Festival International Nuits d'Afrique - 36e édition