Masma Dream World is the solo recording project of multi-disciplinary artist and degree Sound therapist Devi Mambouka. Born to a Gabonese father and a Singaporean mother, Devi (pronounced: day-vee), is a child of the world who learned to tap into their inner magic to overcome trauma, abuse, and addiction.
After their release of the Debut Album "Play At Night" in 2020, Devi has toured worldwide as a solo performer and as well been a support artist for Duma in their month-long US 2022 tour, Masma Dream World has performed at international festivals Le Guess Who?, REWIRE, Transmission Waves Festival, Raw Power Festival, Afrofuturism Festival presented by Carnegie Hall, to name a few.
They are currently working on presenting their new performance art piece.
Transmission Fest. 2021
Rewire Fest. 2021
“ I played it, and just immediately, it was like, ‘What is this?’ It’s really dark and scary and kind of reminds me of a funeral. It’s really heavy. It’s a really intense kind of performance art. She takes it very seriously. She’s really committed. And I think the music is just scary and beautiful.”
— Nabil Ayers Bandcamp Favorites
“Mambouka begins to twitch and shudder uncontrollably, evoking the movements of butoh dance, before falling to the floor and convulsing, emitting loud groans, gasps, jabbers and howls as if enduring a terrible breakdown. These feel like real emotions being summoned and purged before our eyes.”
— Shane Woolman, The Wire Issue 455p.94
“Recorded in four days, It showcases Devi’s ability to abide by her own precise rules when producing music.”
“I had heard Devi sing with her band, and I liked the quality of her voice. She has this Lizzy Mercier/Grace Jones kind of intensity to her. “
— Citizen Kane, Interview Magazine”
Credit: Mike Gustafson
Credit: Photo by Josh LEE
Credit: Mike Gustafson
Credit: Photo by Josh LEE
Credit: Mike Gustafson
Credit: Photo by Josh LEE
MASMA DREAM WORLD ‘Music for the Shadow World’
Artist Bio:
Devi Mambouka, Seeker
The first time I remembered a dream, I was six years old in my home country of Gabon. The scene was dark and engulfed in smoke like an imagined hell. As I wandered, monstrous figures appeared from the shadows.
Scared, I opened my mouth. At the sound of my voice, the demons burst into flames as I journeyed through this hell.
What truly scared me: I couldn't hear my voice.
I dreamed this again when my parents divorced at age nine. The third and final time I returned to the dream was on the passing of my father. I was 12 and living in the Bronx.
As a little child, I sang to trees. After a period of silence, I sang again in my teenage years. Maybe I was trying to sing to those trees again. I found myself lost in a new city so I lost myself in records stores, in books on magic, in Vedic texts. Those wanderings led to the nightlife of NYC.
Years later, while healing the pain of a broken heart in Mystic, Connecticut, I finally heard the sound of my voice from that childhood dream: music for the shadow world.
In 2020, the Play At Night album was born.