Verckys – catalogue Éditions Vévé

https://amf.didiermary.fr/verckys-catalogue-editions-veve/

James Brown dubbed Verckys “Mister Dynamite” after seeing him perform in Kinshasa in 1974.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdGaXbQEUw8&feature=share

In 2015, Sterns Music released the most comprehensive digital reissue of Editions Vévé catalogue : 10 singles featuring their original covers, 15 albums with original covers and sequence, 6 compilation albums including rare tracks.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kitcn-KMM5s

In addition to being a talented instrumentalist, composer and arranger, Verckys was a showman whose dance moves and stage antics won him avid fans of his own. So self-confident was he that in 1968 he started a record company, Éditions Vévé, and persuaded Youlou Mabiala and several other members of OK Jazz to record for him in breach of their contracts with Franco. When Franco found out about it he fired the lot but then relented in consideration of 40% of the new company’s earnings. This episode convinced Verckys that he no longer needed Franco; he left OK Jazz to form Orchestre Vévé.
More info

Congo’s turbulent and exhilarating ’70s: Nightclubs and dance floors were packed to the brim in the capital, Kinshasa. Exuberant crowds, still giddy from independence a decade prior, grooved to the sounds of the country’s classics. In fact the whole continent was submerged into the Congolese Rumba craze. Encouraged by the fantastic productions of the Ngoma label, vibrant radio waves had been spreading the Congo sound from Leopoldville all over the continent, becoming the countries’ No.1 export. The unexpected success nurtured an incredible wealth of talented musicians. One of them was Verckys, who, at age 18, became a member of the country´s most dominant and influential band; Franco’s OK Jazz.

This “relationship” however was short-lived as Verckys, aka Georges Mateta Kiamuangana, now a versatile and potent multi instrumentalist, had plans of his own – the formation of Orchestre Vévé in 1968, with the aim of reinventing and modernising the Congolese sound. Blending the ever influential prowess of James Brown with Congolese Merengue, Rumba and Soukous, Verckys stripped away the conventional approach that O.K. Jazz had pioneered, allowing his saxophone-laced melodies to dominate.

Around 1970 a new important area began with the foundation of the label “les Editions Vévé” on which Verckys would release his own productions. A studio was built and Verckys started recording young urban artists, with guitar-driven Cavacha sounds; Les Freres Soki, Bella Bella, Orchestre Kiam and many more shot to stardom overnight, making Verckys a very wealthy man.

But that wasn’t enough for an ambitious man with a vision. He built a sprawling entertainment complex called Vévé Centre, and dispatched a team to learn the intricacies of record pressing to set up the first pressing plant in the country. This was followed by the construction of the Congo’s most modern recording studio in Kinshasa, in which he recorded the legendary Tabu Ley Rochereau.

Orchestre Vévé’s popularity poured across borders and in 1974 the band travelled to Kenya for a 2 month tour. “Bassala Hot”, “Cheka Sana” and “Talali Talala” were some of the tracks recorded in Nairobi for the Kenyan market.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HvjfP3qofzY

#CongoS_ #FrancoLuambo #FullAlbum #Rumba

🎶🎶 Mokili – KOKOKO!

🔗 https://amf.didiermary.fr/mokili-kokoko/

Mokili is a single by Kokoko!, taken from their album BUTU released in July 2024. When CongoPunk meets Fulu Miziki and electro…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCdRqx1h9E0

The Congolese city’s after-dark buzz was the inspiration behind BUTU, which means ‘the night’ in Lingala, and the experimental record dives deep into the heart of the chaotic place, celebrating the joyful and creative spirit of its inhabitants. With vocalist Makara Bianko at the helm and production from Xavier Thomas, AKA Débruit, this follow-up to Fongola finds the group channelling a more electronic, upbeat sound. BUTU is a replication of the frenetic feel of that dynamic nightlife – equipment being pushed to its limit, via saturated and distorted speakers, or the sonic push and pull of sounds after dark.

#ElectroHouseEDM_ - #AfroHouse #CongoS_ #Congotronics

🎶🎶 Tabu Ley Rochereau – Seli-Ja

🔗 https://amf.didiermary.fr/tabu-ley-rochereau-africa-70-seli-ja/

Tabu Ley Rochereau with Africa ’70 (or Afrisa?) at the start of the big Zaîre ’74 show, also know as “Soul Power”.

Excerpt from the DVD “Soul Power”, for the mega-concert in Kinshasa in 1974, where American Soul & RnB artists such as James Brown came to play.

Celicia or Seli-Ja

Celicia or Seli-Ja

More “Soul Power” on the blog.

#OldAfricanMusic - #70smusic #CongoS_ #LiveMusic #NSFW #SoulPower

🎶🎶 Petelo Vicka et son Nzazi – Sungu Lubuka

🔗 https://amf.didiermary.fr/petelo-vicka-et-son-nzazi-sungu-lubuka/

En septembre 1974, le festival “Zaïre 74” avait fait monter la pression sur toute une génération de musiciens locaux, en les poussant à injecter une bonne dose de Funk dans la Rumba congolaise.
Dans la compilation Congo Funk !, à paraître, on retrouve des groupes de Kinshasa et Brazzaville, tels que l’Orchestre OK Jazz et Les Bantous de la capitale, mais aussi des artistes moins connus comme Petelo Vicka, qui ouvre cet album avec Sungu Lubuka.

Petelo Vicka et son Nzazi – Sungu Lubuka

Petelo Vicka et son Nzazi – Sungu Lubuka

Congo Funk! – Sound Madness From The Shores Of The Mighty Congo River (Kinshasa​/​Brazzaville 1969​-​1982)

[…] this compilation aims to showcase the many facets of the funky, hypnotic and schizophrenic tunes emanating from the two Congolese capitals nestled on the banks of the Congo River.

On its south shore, the city of Kinshasa – capital of Democratic Republic of the Congo, the country formerly known as Zaïre – is often seen as Africa’s musical Mecca, the city that spawned such immortal bands as African Jazz, O.K. Jazz and African Fiesta, and the place to which aspiring musicians from throughout the continent would go to make a name for themselves.

But the city of Brazzaville on the north shore of the river – capital of the Congo Republic – played an equally important role in spreading Congolese sounds continentally. In addition to producing legendary bands such as Les Bantous de la Capitale, it was the powerful transmitters of Radio Brazzaville that allowed the unmistakable groove of Congolese Rumba to be heard as far away as Nairobi, Yaoundé, Luanda and Lusaka thus turning the electric guitar into the continent’s most important instrument!

Although the musical landscape of these cities had been defined by a core group of bands in the late 1950s, the modernisation of Congolese music has been steadily evolving until the events surrounding the Muhammad Ali vs George Foreman boxing match marked a turning point. The promoter of that event known as “Rumble In The Jungle” was none other than the notorious Don King who needed 10 millions dollars to get Ali and Foreman into a boxing ring. The only candidate willing to put this kind of cash on the table was Mobutu Sese Seko, President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Mobutu – the megalomaniac dictator who got to power with the support of the United States and Belgium in exchange for unlimited and affordable access to the riches of the country – had a soft spot for music and it doesn’t come as a surprise that he agreed to a three-day live music festival being organised prior to the “Rumble”. Zaïre 74 – as the festival was dubbed – was meant to hype the boxing match and many stars were invited.

Although a myriads of artists flocked in for the occasion, it was the performance of James Brown on Zairian soil that caused havoc among the younger generation, inspiring hundreds of would-be musicians to take up their electric guitars and reverbs cranked to the max in search of a new sound in which hyperactive Rumba was blended with elements of psych and funk. While the results were very different from the popular music of the three Musketeers – as Tabu Ley, Franco and Verckys were known – they weren’t a complete break with tradition.

These new sounds emerged at a time when the Congolese record industry – previously dominated by European major labels – was experiencing a period of decline due to rising production costs and needed a radical change. The void was filled by dozens of entrepreneurs willing to take chances on smaller scale releases. It was the beginning of a golden age for Congolese independent record labels, and the best of them – Cover N°1, Mondenge, Editions Moninga, Super Contact – preserved the work of some of the region’s finest artists, while launching a generation of younger musicians into the spotlight.

The movement was greatly helped by legendary radio shows but it was the dynamic productions of Télé-Zaïre that set the dynamite on fire. Legend has it that TV shows were so huge that president Mobutu himself ordered RTV du Zaïre to put on daily concerts since it halted criminal activities for the duration of the evening.

#OldAfricanMusic - #70smusic #80smusic #AfroFunk #CongoS_ #Rumba

🎶🎶 Les Mamans du Congo – Ya Mizolé

🔗 https://amf.didiermary.fr/les-mamans-du-congo-ya-mizole/

After their first album, which received a standing ovation from the press and public in 2020, followed by their EP Kikento, released in the spring of 2023, Les Mamans du Congo & Rrobin are making a comeback with their new album Ya Mizolé!

With the first single Mpemba (“reason” in Lari), Les Mamans du Congo & Rrobin set the tone and color for their new album Ya Mizolé. This first single oscillates between captivating vocals and drill, and becomes the first trap track sung in Lari language. With this track, Gladys Samba, the group’s leader, once again defends Congolese heritage and the values inherited from the Kongo Kingdom. The refrain “you’ll prove me right one day” reminds us that we have to remember where we come from to know where we’re going. The whole is propelled into a captivating Afro-futurist universe thanks to the variety of electronized, percussive rhythms orchestrated by Rrobin.

#ElectroHouseEDM_ - #CongoS_

🎶🎶 Nzongo Soul & Bernard Lavilliers

🔗 https://amf.didiermary.fr/nzongo-soul-bernard-lavilliers/

Faustin Nzongo, plus connu sous le nom de Nzongo Soul, était un auteur-compositeur-interprète franco-congolais, qui a débuté sa carrière à Brazzaville avant de remporter en 1984 le Prix Découverte RFI, qui lui permettra de rencontrer Bernard Lavilliers l’année suivante.

Et c’est ainsi qu’ils enregistrent tous les 2 la chanson Noir et Blanc, élue Meilleure chanson française aux Victoires de la Musique de 1987.

En 1990, il reprend la chanson avec la complicité de Lavilliers…

“Noir et Blanc” en Lingala avec la voix de Bernard Lavilliers

“Noir et Blanc” en Lingala avec la voix de Bernard Lavilliers

Il participe aussi à un single promo, “Ma France à Moi”, avec Bernard Lavilliers et Faouzi Tarkhani.

Live inédit à RTL (2000). Titre très rare.

Live inédit à RTL (2000). Titre très rare.

Sur son album “Musicosophie” en 2009, Nzongo Soul renoue sa collaboration avec Bernard Lavilliers, ainsi qu’avec Manu Dibango, rencontré à Bamako pour la fête organisée dans le cadre de son prix RFI quelques années plus tôt.

Brazzaville

Brazzaville

#Miscellaneous - #CongoS_ #Diaspora #ManuDibango

Tambours de Brazza – Sur la Route des Caravanes

https://amf.didiermary.fr/tambours-brazza-route-caravanes/

From album “Sur la Route des Caravanes” by Les Tambours de Brazza in 2013.

The Congolese band created by Emile Biayenda in 1983 is back with a new album – a journey through modern African urban music, carried by the emblematic ngoma drums and bringing into play Congolese guitars and vocals rubbing shoulders with the Arab oud and the Western violin, cello, accordion, not to mention horns and wind instruments… Punchy and irresistible.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIY01cFAoIg

Tata Ngudi

https://soundcloud.com/emile-biayenda/tata-ngudi

Zebola

https://soundcloud.com/emile-biayenda/03-zebola

#CongoS_ #Drums #LiveMusic #Soundcloud

🎶🎶 Maurice Poto Doudongo – The Lost Album

🔗 https://amf.didiermary.fr/maurice-poto-doudongo-the-lost-album/

During the 80s in Brussels, a Congolese musician, Maurice Poto Doudongo, starts musical experimentations, after working with Zaïko Langa Langa in Kinshasa.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oeo-OuwoCrc

Poto Doudongo is in his 20s, works with Zazou Bikaye, and decides to record a solo album, where he plays all instruments. The result is a mix of Congolese Rumba and Funk, with some Jazz, Reggae or HipHop influences.

It’s unlike anything that came out of Africa at the time!

#OldAfricanMusic - #80smusic #AfroFunk #CongoS_ #Rumba #Soukous

🎶🎶 Le Grand Kalle

🔗 https://amf.didiermary.fr/le-grand-kalle/

Le Grand Kalle: His Life His Music was a 2013 compilation (2-CD plus 104-page book) that brought together for the first time the breadth of Kalle’s recording career spanning over 3 decades including tracks taken from shellac and vinyl that had been unavailable for many years.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMpaXbiBY9I

In the turbulent and euphoric times that surrounded Congo’s independence in 1960, Kallé and his rumba band, Orchestre African Jazz was the most influential in Africa. Joseph Kabasele – the Grand Kallé, as he was known to colleagues, fans, and even heads of state – lies at the very center of the great mosaic that is African popular music.

Graced by recordings that have been out of print for decades as well as Kabasele’s most famous and enduring works, this double album features a keenly researched and illustrated 104-page book that reveals the man, his music and its context as never before.

Review

In the Sixties and Seventies, Le Grand Kalle remapped an entire continent’s music. He adopted Cuban rumba and became the first Congolese musician to record with an electric guitar. His Independance Cha Cha (1960) was the soundtrack of a revolution, and his bands spawned world-historic bandleaders Manu Dibango and Tabu Ley Rochereau. This two-CD overview does him full justice, up to and including the riveting liner notes.
Michaelangelo Matos, Rolling Stone, 11/18/13

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5dcRAy3OpK8

Listen to Table Ronde (1960) & Suzi Na Edo (1970)

“The world has taken many things from the Congo … the only thing given and received with honest pleasure has been music.”

#OldAfricanMusic - #60smusic #70smusic #CongoS_ #Rumba

Fulu Miziki (Kolektiv)

https://amf.didiermary.fr/fulu-miziki-kolektiv/

The story of Fulu Miziki [music from the garbage] is sprawling and complex and constantly evolving, with various offshoots and band iterations.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3gm39XHKpg

The most innovative contemporary outfits, and some of the most surprising hybrid music you’re likely to hear. 

Two members left the band in 2016 to form KOKOKO! with French producer Débruit. Not long after they recorded their magnum opus album, several other original members left to form a similarly named outfit currently based in Europe. This other incarnation recently released an EP of electronic productions without the band founder Pisko Crane and lead vocalist Lady Aicha.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-gY9PIpfWYE

In 2003, Pisko Crane assembled a six-piece band from motivated and talented like minds in the Kinshasa slums where he grew up. Pisco had been involved with a handful of local rap acts when he was younger, but after meeting legendary instrument builder Bebson De La Rue, he was inspired to follow a new path. He set about building instruments from the discarded trash that surrounded his city: bits of old computers or oil cans were fashioned into bass guitars and drums, and keyboards were bashed together using springs, metal pipes, and offcuts of tubing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOYjy-_Wi5U

If there was a core philosophy that guided Pisco at this stage in his journey, it was that everyone should have access to instruments, no matter where they come from or what their budget might be. And following in the footsteps of Bebson, Pisco locked into a Congolese tradition that touches on the eccentric genius of globally lauded artists like Konono Nº1 and Staff Benda Bilili. Over the years, Fulu Miziki’s notoriety grew in the Kinshasa underground – their utopian vision of the future was infectious. Eventually, they were joined by performance artist, sculptor and fashion designer Lady Aisha, who offered the band unique colour and a soulful central focus.

Influenced by Kinshasa’s street performance scene, Aisha helped the band devise vivid masks and costumes that were as electric and singular as the instruments they played, and the scene was set. In 2020, as the world was plunged into lockdown, footage of Fulu Mziki went viral and their star began to grow exponentially, with a video of the band preforming the track “Tikanga” racking up millions of views on Facebook. The band used this opportunity to work on documenting their sound, and shored up at the Nyege Nyege studios in Kampala for a year to assemble a definitive album.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7hm3Z57M6k

At their best, Fulu Mziki sound almost completely out of time, curving pounding rhythms around microtonal clanks, rousing chants and spiky sonics. On “Mutangila,” there’s a hint of disco in the 4/4 stomp, but it’s been shifted into a post-punk ritual, adorned with complex bell percussion and overlapping vocals. “Congo” is even harder to define; electrified buzzes form a bassline, but it’s the mindboggling rhythms that shuttle the track into psychedelic realms, led confidently by Lady Aisha’s limber rhymes. Fulu positively slither on the sultry, industrial-influenced “Sebe,” while “Tikanga” reminds of Congo’s rumba-derived soukous traditions, materializing the sounds into the future with tight, pounding percussion and head-melting fx.

Check Kin’Gongolo Kiniata too!

#CongoS_ #CongoPunk #Congotronics