Manou Gallo
Encyclopedia
Manou N'Guessan Gallo is a musician, born August 31, 1972 in Divo
, Ivory Coast.
Brought up by her grandmother in Ivory Coast, Gallo first performed at the age of 12 when she put on a show with friends from her village. The tale of a little witch 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 took her under his wing, 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, as well as appearing with the Tambours de Brazza.
She eventually formed her own group, Le Djiboi, and toured extensively. Her debut album, "Dida" was released on the IglooMondo
label in 2003, followed by "Manou Gallo" in 2007. She sings in Dida, French and English.
Divo, Côte d'Ivoire
Divo is a town in Divo Department of Côte d'Ivoire. Divo Department is part of Sud-Bandama Region. The town is served by Divo Airport.-References:...
, Ivory Coast.
Brought up by her grandmother in Ivory Coast, Gallo first performed at the age of 12 when she put on a show with friends from her village. The tale of a little witch went on to become a success, touring in various African countries such as Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso – also known by its short-form name Burkina – is a landlocked country in west Africa. It is surrounded by six countries: Mali to the north, Niger to the east, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Côte d'Ivoire to the southwest.Its size is with an estimated...
, Mali
Mali
Mali , officially the Republic of Mali , is a landlocked country in Western Africa. Mali borders Algeria on the north, Niger on the east, Burkina Faso and the Côte d'Ivoire on the south, Guinea on the south-west, and Senegal and Mauritania on the west. Its size is just over 1,240,000 km² with...
, Togo
Togo
Togo, officially the Togolese Republic , is a country in West Africa bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, on which the capital Lomé is located. Togo covers an area of approximately with a population of approximately...
and Benin
Benin
Benin , officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It borders Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east and Burkina Faso and Niger to the north. Its small southern coastline on the Bight of Benin is where a majority of the population is located...
as well as recording four albums.
When the group Woya eventually stopped, Gallo followed Marcellin Yacé to Abidjan
Abidjan
Abidjan is the economic and former official capital of Côte d'Ivoire, while the current capital is Yamoussoukro. it was the largest city in the nation and the third-largest French-speaking city in the world, after Paris, and Kinshasa but before Montreal...
. He took her under his wing, 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
Ray Lema
Raymond Lema A'nsi Nzinga, known as Ray Lema, is a Congolese musician born March 30, 1946 in Lufu-Toto, Bas-Congo Province.Lema is a pianist, guitarist, and songwriter. He worked for the National Ballet of Zaire, as it was then called, and in 1979 was invited to the United States by the...
.
She eventually met the tour manager of Zap Mama
Zap Mama
Zap Mama is a Belgian musical group founded and led by Marie Daulne. Daulne says her mission is to be a bridge between the European and the African and bring the two cultures together with her music...
, and was offered the chance to tour with them in Europe. She performed with them for six years from 1997, as well as appearing with the Tambours de Brazza.
She eventually formed her own group, Le Djiboi, and toured extensively. Her debut album, "Dida" was released on the IglooMondo
Igloo Records
The Igloo label was initially created in Belgium to cater for improvised and electro-acoustic music, but gradually specialised in modern jazz. It has released material by most of Belgium's jazz talent, including Philip Catherine, Nathalie Loriers, Diederik Wissels, Musicazur and Charles Loos as...
label in 2003, followed by "Manou Gallo" in 2007. She sings in Dida, French and English.