MANOU GALLO

New album AFRO BASS FUSION released on October 14, 2023

Bassist Manou Gallo releases her fifth album “AFRO BASS FUSION”.

She shares with us a rhythmic journey through Africa between Nigerian afrobeat, Zairean rumba, Cameroonian Makossa and African salsa. She juggles with ABODAN and polyrhythmic rhythms from the Ivorian Coast, jazz fusion, funk, urban music and rap.

Manou Gallo puts her bass at the center of this album. The rhythms and melody of the sound of her bass rock all along. It pays tribute to musicians who inspired her such as Fêla Kuti, Manu Dibango, Franco Luambo, Aïcha Kone, Soro N’Gana or Marcelin Yacé.

A special guest, Christian McBride, did her the honor of participating.

— Jazz In Belgium

Listen to AFRO BASS FUSION

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Biography of Manou Gallo

In 1997, when she arrived in Europe, she became the bassist for Zap Mama, Marie Daulne’s band, performing on some of the biggest stages across Europe and the United States. Since 2003, she has led her own bands while also participating in numerous other projects, including the Manou Gallo Women Band, Groove Orchestra, Acoustic Africa, and Music Machine.

With her powerful stage presence and incredible bass-slapping technique, she has emerged as one of the leading women in Afro-European music, a genre loved worldwide.

Her music is an explosive blend of Afrobeat, funk, and jazz grooves. The energetic bassist, drummer, and singer, Manou Gallo, has performed on some of the world’s greatest stages. The legendary bassist Bootsy Collins even helped her gain recognition as one of the “Top 10 World’s Best Bass Players,” calling her the “African Queen of Bass.” In her hands, the bass becomes more than an instrument—it transforms into a percussive force, driving the groove to mesmerizing levels.

Other musical giants like Manu Dibango, Mamady Keita, Wyclef Jean, Marcus Miller, Christian McBride, Zap Mama, and Lucas van Meerwijk have also taken notice of her talent and shared the stage with her.

Manou Gallo continues to prove she is one of the best bassists in the world. Her new LP, Afro Bass Fusion, has just been released.

Videos

Press

A journey between traditional and modern music, accompanied by the syncopated and melodic sounds of the bass, taking us to all corners of the world with jazz fusion, funk, Afrobeat, rumba, makossa, coupé-décalé, Afrotrap, and complex polyrhythms – Bassiste Magazine (France)
She brings all these new discoveries, knowledge, and encounters to life in her music. The traditional music of her region blends with Western culture – RTBF (Belgium)
Even today, from Brussels, where she has lived for twenty-four years, the one who was first the bassist of the female vocal group Zap Mama, after her arrival from Côte d’Ivoire, overflows with emotion when she evokes “Papa Manu “: “He was my father, my friend, my adviser, the sage. He understood that I wanted to be a musician. He told me: “Work on your instrument and you will be master of your music – Le Monde (France)
Eight years after Lowlin, Manou Gallo returns with Afro Groove Queen. This album, his fourth, was produced with the complicity of the legendary American Bootsy Collins. Together, they have crafted 13 tracks inspired by the rhythms of the ethnic groups of Côte d’Ivoire and the funk of Western megacities, of which the bassist and producer is one of the creators – RFI Musique (France)
For Manou Gallo, playing an instrument is much more than a hobby, a job or a passion. Music is for this renowned artist, a vital means of expression, but above all, one of a way of expressing her position and her commitment to the struggle that is feminism. Meeting with a musician like no other… – Femmes Plurielles (France)