**1/2 Zap Mama

A MA ZONE

(Luaka Bop)

There was probably nowhere else to go for Marie Daulne, the creator and driving force behind Zap Mama. Her group began as a theatrical, all-girl, a cappella unit melding the deep-forest African polyphonic singing Daulne learned as a child with the black pop music she loved as a girl straddling the Afro-European divide. After two albums, the formula ran into limits, and she began introducing new elements -- instruments and male voices.

Here on her fourth album, Daulne quits flirting and fully embraces hip-hop and R&B. The dreamy layers of female voices, quirky arrangements, and wordplay that made this group a sensation remain, but now they're grounded in club mixes, with punchy rhythm and strains of guitar, harp, tabla, scratching, and West African guimbri (a deep-toned lute). "Rafiki" is catchy and DJ-ready. "Songe" marries the rippling vigor of techno with the sultriness of a soul ballad.

Zap Mama's new material will disappoint some fans: it's less extraordinary than their earthshakingly original debut. But it was either this or remain a precious world-music oddity, and for the adventurous, outgoing Daulne, the choice was easy.

-- Banning Eyre