Formed in the early 90’s under the name Moondog Jr., Zita Swoon became one of Belgium’s most emblematic bands. Lead member Stef Kamil Carlens, who also co-founded dEUS with Tom Barman, travelled to Burkina Farso in 2010 where he met vocalist Awa Démé and balafon (xylophone) player Mamadou Diabaté Kibié. Zita Swoon Group and the album Wait For Me is the fruit of this encounter.

According to the press release, most of the album’s tracks “are based around dialogues: the content of Awa Démé’s lyrics (sung in Dioula, a Manding language) is echoed and transposed in Stef Kamil’s English-language lines, which reflect the griots’ preoccupations with traditional wisdom, interpersonal relationships, social codes and cultural traditions, but also with very current issues: social and political problems, the depletion of the country’s natural resources, endemic poverty which drives many people to emigrate in search of a better life etc.”.

Wait For Me is out now via Crammed Discs and Zita Swoon Group have just started a string of European shows in support of the album. To celebrate the tour, the band has premiered a video for the album’s opener ‘A Sera, A Waara’. Watch it below.