Citizen of the World: Zap Mama

MARIE DAULNE IS beautiful, elegant, tall and confident. And as the leader of Zap Mama, she creates funky, soul-filled songs that tie together African rhythms, sedative lounge harmonies, jazz horns and hip-hop production.

Born in Zaire and raised in Brussels, Daulne and has also lived in New York and Philadelphia. The next addition to her musical cultural grab bag? The Amazon.

Daulne visited Brazil for the first time a few months ago.

"I fell in love," she said. "The weather, the music — I was like a child. It's amazing."

She went "to first discover the country. The beauty of the city, the people walking, and haircuts — just feel what it is to be a woman in Brazil. I did my braid over there with a woman from the favelas and I have a friend who speaks Portuguese who was able to translate and have conversations.

"Now my music will have a Brazilian touch on my next album, definitely," Daulne added.

And she'll be joining a Brazilian, Sergio Mendes, when Zap Mama opens for the lounge legend at Wolf Trap on Tuesday.

Since Zap Mama was founded in 1990 as a female a cappella group, Daulne has added and lost group members and instruments to bring ensemble to its current setup, with Daulne often accompanied by a backing band. Over the course of her seven albums, she's collaborated with artists including The Roots' ?uestlove, Meshell Ndegeocello and Michael Franti.

When Daulne visited the 9:30 Club last November, it was in support of her album "Supermoon." The title, she said, is meant to convey the idea that we should stop looking at superstars as idols and look at those around us for inspiration. The songs on "Supermoon" are similarly personal — about the death of a friend, watching her daughter mature and the inner struggles of immigrant children, for example — but they are also lively and uplifting.

When Daulne visits Wolf Trap, not only will she be bringing out tunes from "Supermoon," but she will perform a mini Zap Mama retrospective. As she did nearly two decades ago, Daulne will begin the set with a cappella. "I decided to tell the history of Zap Mama — I start explaining who I am, where I was born, and I [explain] how I started with a cappella, and then I perform a cappella. Then I introduce instruments one by one and finally we arrive to the last album," she explained.

It's been a long journey, one that has taken Zap Mama around the world, but the cultural and personal connections Daulne has made around the planet drive her art. "Inside me, I feel like a citizen of the world," she said. "In New York, it was the case that I found a lot of people from all over the place and what we talk about is what the human being can exchange as a person. The main thing I want in songs is what the feeling of the human being is."

But in addition to cultural kindred spirits, the United States also introduced Daulne to Americans' penchant for tailgating and groupies.

"American people are so addicted to music — sports and music," said the Brussels-based singer with a laugh. "Where I live, with the French influence, it's the foods that are very important, and literature — all this probably more important than sports and music."

» Wolf Trap, Filene Center, 1551 Trap Rd., Vienna; with Sergio Mendes, Tue., 8 p.m., $22-$40; 877-965-3872.

Written by Express contributor Katherine Silkaitis

Photo courtesy Heads Up