Manou N'Guessan Gallo (born 31 August 1972 in Divo, Côte d'Ivoire[1]), is a West African singer, bandleader and musician of African popular music, playing the electric bass guitar.
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Life and career
editBrought up by her grandmother, Gallo first performed at the age of 12 and went on to become a success, touring in various African countries such as Burkina Faso, Mali, Togo and Benin as well as recording four albums.
When the group Woya eventually stopped, Gallo followed Marcellin Yacé to Abidjan. He gave her her first bass guitar and taught her about recording. Between 1993 and 1996, she also performed in theatre and dance troupes as well as playing on an album by Ray Lema.
She eventually met the tour manager of Zap Mama and was offered the chance to tour with them in Europe. She performed with them for six years from 1997, and also appeared with the Tambours de Brazza.
She eventually formed her own group, Le Djiboi,[when?] and toured extensively. Her debut album, Dida, was released on the IglooMondo label in 2003, followed by Manou Gallo in 2007. In 2011, she produced and played bass with the group Mokoomba on their album Rising Tide.
Gallo sings in Dida, French and English. On her album Afro Groove Queen she collaborated with Bootsy Collins and Manu Dibango.
Discography
editSolo albums
edit- Dida (2003)
- Manou Gallo (2007)
- Lowlin (2010)
- Afro Groove Queen (2018)
- "Afro Bass Fusion" (2023)
Collaborations
edit- A Ma Zone (1999) with Zap Mama
- Rising Tide (2011) with Mokoomba (production and bass)[2]
- Kalimba Gigi song, with Amir Gwirtzman on "Inhale-Exhale" album 2010[3]
References
edit- ^ Ham, Anthony (2009). West Africa. Lonely Planet. p. 261. ISBN 978-1-74104-821-6.
- ^ "Mokoomba".
- ^ Amir Gwirtzman (November 2010). "Music". amirgwirtzmanmusic.com. Retrieved 10 October 2021.