Bonaventure Didolanvi (popularly known as Bona) and his team use wood as their main instrument, hence the name wood sound. They touch on all the musical tools specific to Benin, particularly the “kpahwle”, a drum from Southern Benin. Bona has been playing the “kpahwle” from a very young age. He inherited the talent form his father, Felix Didolanvi, who was a famous traditional singer and percussionist.

Wood Sound was a finalist of the RFI Discoveries in 2015. The RFI Discoveries created in 1981, is a French reality singing competition that is held each year to highlight new musical talents from Africa.

The group, Wood Sound, is noted for promoting traditional sounds both in Benin and globally. They emerged winner of the 1^st edition of the “Tremplin Musique” organized by the Institut francais du Benin (IFB). This programme was organized to select a group that would represent the country in the ultimate Visa for Music (VFM) fair, 2022.

The Visa for Music fair is purposed to discover and publicize new talents for cultural professions around the world, thus encouraging the establishment of partnerships. For the first edition of the Tremplin Musique, the French Institute of Benin received over 40 applications and 8 groups were pre-selected to pass the auditions.

Following the auditions, the members of the jury selected Wood Sound as the winner. The group won based on the artistic quality and diversity of music, illustrating the versatility of musical creation in Benin.

Wood Sound is set to represent Benin in the 9^th edition of the Visa for Music fair with over thirty other groups from all over Africa and the Middle East.

REFERENCE

Information from www.24haubenin.info/?WOOD-SOUND, www.opportunitiesforafricans.com was used in this story

Image source: Alliance Française Communications