With a dance-based introduction, we first hear recorded ambient noises, mixed with sounds played by the DJ and his percussion. It’s only then that Gladys Samba, the band’s leader, appears on stage, blowing into a saucepan whose dust we can see.
The two dancers, on either side of the artist, are talented: they sing, they play characters, they dance, while Gladys alternates between hip-hop, singing, storytelling, and shares engaged messages, mainly honoring women or denouncing violence against women.
“Matondo means thank you in my language,” she tells us between songs.
Movements from everyday life have found a way of integrating with the music offered by this band. The dancers, for example, are seen pounding millet to the same rhythm played by the DJ and percussionist.
Gladys is also an actress, judging by the little scene played out with the two dancers. So we moved from dance to theater, storytelling, singing and percussion. A whole range of arts came together in this hour-long performance, under a blazing sun.
We were treated to several traditional lullabies but revisited, “not to make you sleep, but to make you smile”, she announced, while getting the crowd involved in the song dedicated to her sister Tombo.
The second part of the concert focused on the return to the village and the vital role of mothers, with a climactic finale featuring drumming by all the artists, followed by a gentle closing, swapping the drum for maracas.
Photo Credit: André Rival
