I haven't found much information on this album. It was released in 1976 by D.G.A.C. (Direction Generale des Affaires Culturelles du Congo - General Administration of Congolese Cultural Affairs, Congo-Brazzaville). It's a celebration of the national musical talent, enlisted to uplift Congo' scientific socialism of the time. For French-speakers, there's Vision, a lament about slavery's chains, imperialist orders, and popular revolutions.
Congolese coups, assasinations, and revolutions aside (Congo-Brazza saw its share of those), this album showcases the talents of master musicians like Essous, Pandi, Malapet, Ricky Malonga, and Passy Mermans. At that time, 1976, they already had a long history behind them in bands like Bantous de la Capitale and Rock-A-Mambo (as well given serious infusions to Franco's OK Jazz), and here the musicians sound like they're having fun with musical experiments, a revolutionary version of Tokumisa Congo (We congratulate Congo) in Ah Congo! and straight classic grooves like Pembe Kanisa.
It's a great album. I never heard or saw a Volume 2...
Orchestre National du Congo - Ntima Ngongo
Orchestre National du Congo - Pembe Kanisa
Orchestre National du Congo - Kintuari
Orchestre National du Congo - Ah Congo!
Orchestre National du Congo - Vision
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Revolution Rocks
Monday, February 25, 2008
Ready for Veve Star?
I met up with Jontwa, a good friend, here in Mwanza. Jontwa loves my music collection; he's especially blown away by the second Congotronics release (which you should get, if you haven't already).
A while ago, Jontwa had called and said he'd found an mzee (Swahili for old man) with a big box of records. After several missed meetings, we finally managed to visit the old man, Janepaa (Jean-Pierre), quite a character: born in Mbandaka, Equator Province in Congo, sometime after WWI, adventured to Tanganyika after WWII, worked as a airplane/helicopter mechanic, and was also connected with Orchestre Makassy in some shape or form. I'll have to visit Janepaa again soon to hear all his stories (and he's got more music).
The big box of records had about 300 45s, some in plastic sleeves (as well as a bible in braille!). Lots of Congolese stuff and Kenyan-Congolese bands like Les Mangelepa. Most are in need of a very thorough cleaning but not all: I couldn't resist putting one 45 up even though there's some crackle here and there. Orchestre Veve Star's Nitarudia (I'll Come Back). You may have heard Veve Star's Bassala Hot before (on Frank's Voodoofunk) but I hadn't yet heard this track. Veve Star is probably an off-shoot of Verckys' Orchestre Veve. 'Verckys' Kiamuangana Mateta plays the saxophone. Verckys has been one of the most infuential music producers in Congo and scored many hits on his label, Editions Veve. Verckys continues to be involved in the music scene, as president of the Congolese Musician Union. A great retrospective reissue is this Vintage Verckys compilation, but this gem wasn't on it...
Orchestre Veve Star - Nitarudia Pt.1 & Pt.2
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Keba, Mama, Keba!*
(*Watch out, mama, watch out!)
In the 1950s, Lipopo (aka Leopoldville, now Kinshasa) saw its population swell to 400,000. More than half were under 18. There were already few economic opportunities for them and, with rebellion and war in the interior, even more youth ventured to the capital.
At the end of the 1950s, several movie theatres opened up in the popular neighborhoods and youth flocked to them. Westerns, especially those with the adventures of Buffalo Bill and Pecos Bill, were wildly successful. So much so that youth gangs popped up, taking on American names like Bills or Yankees of Ngiri-Ngiri and riding bicycle-horses through the streets and chanting Bill-Oyee! Young delinquents found their culture hero in the buffalo hunter Bill. This phenomenon of the Bills who spoke Hindoubill had a wide impact: the late Mzee Kabila was also known as Sheriff and favored Stetson hats (and, in the past weeks, you may have seen Raila Odinga with a cowboy hat in Kenya).
At about the same time, Jef De Laet, a Belgian Scheutist, arrived in Lipopo. After teaching in Matete, he became the parish priest of Ngiri-Ngiri where the Bills roamed and started working with the youth. Father Jef quickly became known as 'Pere Buffalo' through his work of channeling youth energies into a positive and more organized movement, following the example of the Flemish 'Catholic Worker Youth'. In the latter half of the 1960s, he helped start Minzoto Ya Zaire (and its successors), The Stars of Zaire, as well as a cultural centre, Cabaret Liyoto, which featured a recording studio.
Out of the Bills, with Minzoto as one example, arose a new generation of musicians and bands, like Zaiko and Bozi Boziana, livening up the Kinshasa scene. Pere Buffalo continued to work in Zaire/Congo into the 1980s, had to leave a while because of troubles with Mobutu, and returned in the 1990s to the Equatorial forest. Health problems caused his return to Belgium where he lives today, as a parish priest, and once again he started up a multicultural centre, Nganda (The Bills used to hang out in houses, first called 'ranches' or 'temples', then 'nganda', a hang-out near a bar or restaurant).
The Minzoto sound is much different from the Congolese 'rumba' most people know. There's much inspiration and borrowing from folklore, traditional music, and reworkings of religious hymns like Kyrie Eleison.
Below are 4 tracks from two albums, the self-titled Minzoto Ya Zaire and Zaire Folk Pop.
Pictures are by Depara, Angolan-born photographer, who set up his 'Jean Whisky Depara Studio in Kinshasa in the 1950s. The official photographer of Franco (who also showed some Bill-traits in early shots with checkered shirts), Depara became the chronicler of Kin's nightlife. He passed away in 1997. Check Gallery51 or Contemporary African Art Collection for more information.
To read more on the Bills:
Filip De Boeck & Marie-Francoise Plissart's Kinshasa: Tales of the Invisible City. Read/download the last chapter here.
Ch. Didier Gondola, 1997. Villes Miroirs: migrations et identites urbaines a Brazzaville et Kinshasa, 1930-1970.
Minzoto ya Zaire - Ilunga
"The girl is called Ilunga. We know each other since the days we sat on the school benches. Be careful now that you are grown up. The love we had for each other from childhood days on cannot get lost, but let it grow and blossom into a happy marriage. (Soul rhythm)"
Minzoto ya Zaire - Kayamba
"Be good to strangers. Look at them as people without skin and bones. (from Kasai region)"
Minzoto ya Zaire - Koni Vuka
"A song from a legend. Ivuka has been murdered of jealousy. His wife chants the glory of her murdered husband. (from the Bandundu region)"
Minzoto ya Zaire - Male Male
"Twins bring happiness to the village, if all prescriptions are followed. It is a great honour for parents to have twins. Let us celebrate them. (Folklore from Bandundu: Transition to modern jazz)"
Saturday, December 1, 2007
Congo Fiesta
It's been a couple of months since the last post. The sea isn't dry. I've just been busy with work and our local internet provider also increased its charges 150%. I have saved up a couple of posts. I'm in Europe now for 2 weeks with normal connections so I'll upload a few mixes.
Thanks for all you out there who keep checking in (an average of 60 people a day, from all over the globe!).
In Musoma, last week, in between work, I managed to find some vinyl but usually the records aren't in the greatest shape. No sleeves, just stacks of 45s in plastic bags, often caked with dirt. I did get two decent Cuban Marimba Band 45s (Tanzanian).
For now, here's a set of Latin-influenced Congolese tunes: chachacha, merengue, pachanga, a classic Feruzi composition performed by Franco (it might be Feruzi playing the accordeon on that piece but I'm not sure), and my favorite Dr. Nico tune of the moment: Mwamba wa Mama, where he's mixing in traditional mutuashi rhythms from the Kasai region.
Someone up in Ireland asked where she could find these records. Finding the actual records (in good condition) is very difficult nowadays. These were produced in the 1960s. Still, it should not be too difficult to find good compilations of Congolese music on CD. Vincent Kenis of Crammed discs has reissued old OK Jazz (Roots of Rhumba Rock and Roots of OK Jazz); Wolfgang Bender of Popular African Music released a compilation from the Ngoma label.
Up north now, it's 5 pm, dark, wet, and cold. Here are some tropical tunes to keep you warm. More to come in the next week or so...
Orchestre African Fiesta - Domingo o Sabado
T.P. OK-Jazz - Cha Cha Cha Erique
Orchestre Conga - Santa Christina
Alphonse et l'Orchestre Negro Success - Esta Cum Pachanga
T.P. OK-Jazz - Koyina
Orchestre African Fiesta - Runeme Mama
Orchestre Bantou - Endiable Merengue
Orchestre Bantou de la Capitale - Tu Silencio
Bholen et l'Orchestre Negro Success - Pacha Pachanga
Dr. Nico & African Fiesta - Mwamba wa Mamu
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Continental Drift
It's about time I put up a mix. It's called Continental Drift: that was (and still is) the name of a radio show that friends and I did in Chicago, throughout the 1990s , on WNUR FM. In between jazz in the morning (listen to Joe early on Tuesday: 5 AM in Chicago is noonish here) and rock in the afternoon, we played just about anything. As many others, I don't like the label world music. I guess only Sun Ra can make the claim his music is from out of this world.
So we played anything and everything. I usually featured a heavy dose of African music, picking new and old pieces from a collection that grew over the years, sprinkled with non-US hiphop, dub, Gainsbourg, Fairouz, Brel, Romanian pop, rembetika, tropicalia, gnawa, etc. Maybe I'll put up one of those mixes one of these days. I don't always listen to old African vinyl!
The mix flies from Togo to Cameroon, over Congo and Kenya, back to Guinea-Conakry, Benin and Nigeria. Bella Bellow needs a serious reissue of her work (Samy?). The aeroplane soundbite comes from PoussePousse, a Cameroonian movie: I'll have more of the soundtrack with lots of Andre Marie Tala. No need to tell much about Manu Dibango (Matt, did you see him at Couleur Cafe?). Demaye's track is the flip side of Soul Soukouss and just as funky. Trio Madjesi follow with their raw style in Matshatsha. Loi-Toki-Tok are Kenyan: they sing "they have nothing to say" but the groove speaks for itself. More Guinean sounds from Keletigui; the unmatched Poly-Rythmo; Nigerian Funkees; Abeti's personal take on Congolese rhythms; Babatunde taking a cue from Manu Dibango; more Akoffa Akoussah (she also connected with Manu Dibango, and sadly passed away in April of this year) ; Tabu Ley's Folksoum rhythm of Muwoso; Cloud7 from Nigeria again (Why Cloud 7 and not 9?); and finally The Wings (read more on them at WithComb&Razor). Anyone know how people like The Wings and Geraldo Pino ended up on Kenyan label, Suzumi, which released a handful of 45s?
I've tried several times to upload this as a mix but with the slow/developing IT connection it keeps failing after 30-40 minutes. Uploading smaller files works better... so here's a DIY mix with 16 tracks. This is the order I mixed it but feel free to make your own!
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Nighttime with Havana Club
It's after midnight and quiet. Working on a longer mix of funkier tracks but, in the meantime, at this early hour, here are some slower musical moods.
Ghana: Ramblers International with High-Life Medley
Congo-Brazzaville: Orchestre Sinza with Il est né
Togo: Akofa Akoussa with I Tcho Tchass
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
1960s Drum&Bass
Moving across the Congo river, to the 1960s, when Brazzaville musicians had to leave Kinshasa. Prime Minister Tshombe ordered the expulsion of "aliens" in 1964. Many of the famous Kinois orchestras, like OK Jazz, lost their best musicians (at least for a while).
Ange Linaud, who later led Super Boboto, started Orchestre Tembo. You may have heard "Yebo Edi Pachanga" on Racubah (now out of stock at Dustygroove but you should still be able to find it elsewhere).
Ange Linaud & Orchestre Tembo - Muzina "Ave Maria"
