The Star Feminine Band is a whole lot of girl power. The seven member all-female group hails from a remote West African town called Natitingou, a place where "forced marriages and early pregnancies" are all too common. Their self-titled debut album, dropping in November, really has something to say to the girls in their community. (And don't even get me started on the incredible fabrics featured in their music video!)
Aged between 10 and 17, Star Feminine Band features Angélique Balaguemon on drums/vocals, Julienne Sayi on bass guitar, Marguerite Kpetekout on drums, Grâce Marina Balaguemon on keyboard/vocals, Anne Sayi on electric guitar, Urrice Borikapei on percussion/vocals, and Sandrine Ouei on keyboard.
The group came together after they responded to a local radio station's advert inviting girls to participate in a series of free music training sessions.
"Women have to make music because it enables them to be emancipated from men," shares Borikapei.
For their debut album, the band incorporate elements of highlife, garage rock, Congolese rumba, Beninese sato, and psychedelia as they address themes of equality, empowerment and female genital mutilation.
The lyrics of "Femme Africaine" as translated by Google:
Oh woman, African woman
Oh woman, Beninese woman
Black woman, get up, don't sleep
Oh black woman, get up don't sleep
You can become, president of the republic
You can become, prime minister of the country
Get up, something must be done
African woman, be independent
The country needs us, go to school
Africa needs you, you have to work
The world needs us, let's stand up we'll defend
African woman, be independent
screengrab via Star Feminine Band