Coordinates	12°58′0″N77°34′0″N
Name	Soukous/Lingala/Congo
Bgcolor	lightblue
Color	black
Stylistic origins	Congolese music & other traditional African Music
Cultural origins	late 1930s in The Congos (esp. Kinshasa and Brazzaville)
Instruments	Guitar (esp. fingerstyle) - bass (esp. acoustic ) - drums - brass - vocals
Popularity	Significant throughout Africa from the 1960s and in the world music scene from the 1980s
Subgenrelist	List of soul genres
Subgenres	Ndombolo
Fusiongenres	Benga, Mbalax, Makossa
Regional scenes	Congolese sound (Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania), Fast-paced soukous (Paris)
Other topics	Soukous Musicians }}

Soukous (also known as Lingala and Congo) is a dance music genre that originated in the two neighbouring countries of Belgian Congo and French Congo during the 1930s and early 1940s, and which has gained popularity throughout Africa. "Soukous" (a derivative of the French word ''secousse'', "shake") was originally the name of a dance popular in the Congos in the late 1960s, an African version of rumba. Although the genre was initially known as rumba (sometimes termed specifically as African rumba), the term "soukous" has come to refer to African rumba and its subsequent developments.

Soukous is called Congo music in West Africa, and Lingala in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania - referring to the Lingala language of the region from where it originated. In Zambia and Zimbabwe, where Congolese music is also influential, it is usually referred to as Rumba. In the 1980s and early 1990s, a fast-paced style of soukous known as kwassa kwassa – named after a popular dance, was popular. A style called ndombolo, also named after a dance, is currently popular. Soukous also mixes styles from zouk music.

History

Origins

In the late 1930s and early 1940s, Congolese musicians fused Afro-Cuban rhythms that were made available through the EMI G.V. Series and were not entirely foreign to the region, having been based - to varying degrees - on musical traditions from the area with Congolese and other African traditional music. This music emerged in the cities of Leopoldville, as Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) was then called, and Brazzaville, then capital of the French Congo, now capital of the Republic of the Congo. Most of the musicians performed in Lingala language, but some also used Swahili, Tshiluba and Kikongo languages.

The big bands

Antoine Kolosoy, also known as Papa Wendo, became the first star of African rumba, touring Europe and North America in the 1940s and 1950s with his regular band, Victoria Bakolo Miziki.

By the 1950s, big bands had become the preferred format, using acoustic bass guitar, multiple electric guitars, conga drums, maracas, scraper, flute or clarinet, saxophones, and trumpet. Grand Kalle et l'African Jazz" (also known as African Jazz) led by Joseph Kabasele Tshamala (Grand Kalle), and OK Jazz, later renamed TPOK Jazz (''Tout Puissant Orchestre Kinshasa'', meaning "all-powerful Kinshasa band") led by Francois Luambo Makiadi became the leading bands.

In the 1950s and 1960s, some artists who performed in the bands of Franco Luambo and Grand Kalle formed their own groups. Tabu Ley Rochereau and Dr. Nico Kasanda formed African Fiesta and transformed their music further by fusing Congolese folk music with soul music, as well as Caribbean and Latin beats and instrumentation. They were joined by Papa Wemba and Sam Mangwana, and classics like ''Afrika Mokili Mobimba'' made them one of Africa's greatest bands, rivalled only by TP OK Jazz. Tabu Ley Rochereau and Dr Nico Kasanda are considered the pioneers of modern soukous.

1960s – 1970s

While the influence of rumba became stronger in some bands, including Lipua-Lipua, Veve, TP OK Jazz and Bella Bella, younger Congolese musicians looked for ways to reduce the rumba influence and play a faster paced soukous, inspired by rock n roll. A group of students calling themselves Zaiko Langa Langa came together in 1969. The energy of their music, and the high-fashion sense of the singers and dancers, inspired by founding vocalist Papa Wemba, made them very popular. Pepe Kalle, a protégé of Grand Kalle, created the band Empire Bakuba together with Papy Tex, and they soon became Kinshasa's most popular youth band, equaled only by Zaiko Langa Langa.

Other greats of this period include Koffi Olomide, Tshala Muana and Wenge Musica. Soukous now spread across Africa and became an influence on virtually all the styles of modern African popular music, including highlife, palm-wine music, taarab and makossa.

The Spread to East Africa in the 1970s

As political conditions in Zaire, as Congo DRC was known then, deteriorated in the 1970s, some groups made their way to Tanzania and Kenya. By the mid-seventies, several Congolese groups were playing soukous at Kenyan night clubs. The lively ''cavacha'', a dance craze that swept East and Central Africa during the seventies, was popularized through recordings of bands such as Zaiko Langa Langa and Orchestra Shama Shama, influencing Kenyan musicians. This rhythm, played on the snare drum or hi-hat, quickly became a hallmark of the Congolese sound in Nairobi and is frequently used by many of the regional bands. Several of Nairobi's renowned Swahili rumba bands formed around Tanzanian groups like Simba Wanyika and their offshoots, Les Wanyika and Super Wanyika Stars.

In the late 1970s, Virgin records got involved in a couple of projects in Nairobi that produced two acclaimed LPs from the Tanzanian-Congolese group, Orchestra Makassy and the Kenya-based band, Super Mazembe. One of the tracks from this album was the Swahili song ''Shauri Yako'' (meaning "it's your problem), which became a hit in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. About this same time, the Nairobi-based Congolese vocalist Samba Mapangala and his band Orchestra Virunga, released the LP ''Malako'', which became one of the pioneering releases of the newly emerging world music scene in Europe. The musical style of the East Africa-based Congolese bands gradually incorporated new elements, including Kenyan benga music, and spawned what is sometimes called the "Swahili sound" or "Congolese sound".

The 1980s and the Paris scene

In the 1980s soukous became popular in London and Paris. A few more musicians left Kinshasa to work around central and east Africa before settling in either the UK or France. The basic line-up for a soukous band included three or four guitars, bass guitar, drums, brass, vocals, and some of them having over 20 musicians. Lyrics were often in Lingala and occasionally in French. In the late 1980s and 1990s, Parisian studios were used by many soukous stars, and the music became heavily reliant on synthesizers and other electronic instruments. Some artists continued to record for the Congolese market, but others abandoned the demands of the Kinshasa public and set out to pursue new audiences. Some, like Paris-based Papa Wemba maintained two bands, Viva La Musica for soukous, and a group including French session players for international pop.

Kanda Bongo Man, another Paris-based artist, pioneered fast, short tracks suitable for play on dance floors everywhere and popularly known as ''Kwassa kwassa'' after the dance moves popularized by his and other artists' music videos. This music appealed to Africans and to new audiences as well. Artists like Diblo Dibala,Jeannot Bel Musumbu, Mbilia Bel, Yondo Sister, Tinderwet, Loketo, Rigo Star, Madilu System, Soukous Stars and veterans like Pepe Kalle and Koffi Olomide followed suit. Soon Paris became home to talented studio musicians who recorded for the African and Caribbean markets and filled out bands for occasional tours.

Ndombolo

The fast soukous music currently dominating dance floors in central, eastern and western Africa is called soukous ndombolo, performed by Dany Engobo, Awilo Longomba, Aurlus Mabele, Koffi Olomide and groups like Extra Musica and Wenge Musica among others.

The hip-swinging dance to the fast pace of soukous ndombolo has come under criticism amid charges that it is obscene. There have been attempts to ban it in Mali, Cameroon and Kenya. After an attempt to ban it from state radio and television in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2000, it became even more popular. In February, 2005 ndombolo music videos in the DR Congo were censored for indecency, and video clips by Koffi Olomide, JB M'Piana and Werrason were banned from the airwaves.

References

Bibliography

Soukous Musician Biography and Discography Listings

''Rumba on the River: A History of the Popular Music of the Two Congos'' (1999). Gary Stewart - ISBN 1859843689

See also

List of Soukous musicians

Sebene

Music of the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Musicians from the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Music of Africa

External links

Soukous.com -- Soukous site listing Musician Discographies and Biographies

Soukous Music Radio -- Soukous Radio station playing African/ Lingala music

Soukous Videos and other African Music Videos

Watch Soukous/Ndombolo music videos

Soukous Radio -- Online radio station playing African music

The Sound of Sunshine: How soukous saved my life

Rare recording (1961) of rural finger style Soukous guitarist Pierre Gwa with home made guitar

Category:Democratic Republic of the Congo music Category:Republic of the Congo music

Category:Popular music Category:Dance music

de:Soukous es:Soukous ext:Soukous fr:Soukous it:Rumba africana la:Sucus (musica) nl:Soukous pt:Soukous fi:Soukous sv:Soukous

Kanda Bongo Man, born 1955 in Inongo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, is a prominent soukous musician.

Kanda Bongo Man become the singer for Orchestra Belle Mambo in 1973, developing a sound influenced by Tabu Ley. His solo career only started to take off after moving to Paris in 1979, where his music started to incorporate elements of then-vibrant zouk music (originating in the French West Indies). His first solo albums, "Iyole" in 1981 and "Djessy" in 1982, were hits.

He is most famous for the structural changes he implemented to soukous music. The previous approach was to sing several verses and have one guitar solo at the end of the song. Kanda Bongo Man revolutionized soukous by encouraging guitar solos after every verse and even sometimes at the beginning of the song. His form of soukous gave birth to the kwassa kwassa dance rhythm where the hips move back and forth while the hands move to follow the hips.

Like many African rumba and soukous musicians before him, Kanda Bongo Man also had an entourage of musicians. Many of Kanda's musicians later moved on to start their own solo careers. Most notable of these was Diblo Dibala. Known as "Machine Gun", Diblo Dibala was a vital part of Kanda Bongo Man's lineup on several albums, including "Kwasa Kwasa" and "Amour Fou".

Kanda Bongo Man still tours in Europe and the United States. On July, 2005 he performed at the LIVE 8: Africa Calling concert in Cornwall.

Discography

Iyole (1981)

Djessy (1982)

Amour Fou (1984)

Malinga (1986)

Lela Lela (1987)

Sai Liza (1988)

Kwassa Kwassa (1989)

Isambe Monie (1990)

Zing Zong (1991)

Sango (1992)

Soukous in Central Park (1993)

Sweet (1995)

Welcome to South Africa (1995)

Francophonix (1999)

Balobi (2002)

Swalati (2003)

(2009)

Non-Stop Feeling (2010)

References

External links

Soukous.com Kanda Biography

Official website

Category:1955 births Category:Living people Category:People from Mai-Ndombe Province Category:Democratic Republic of the Congo musicians Category:Soukous musicians

de:Kanda Bongo Man sw:Kanda Bongo Man fi:Kanda Bongo Man sv:Kanda Bongo Man

Diblo Dibala, often known simply as Diblo, is a Congolese soukous musician, known as "Machine Gun" for his speed and skill on the guitar. He was born in 1954 in Kisangani. He moved to Kinshasa as a child, and aged 15 won a talent competition which led to him playing guitar in Franco's TPOK band. Dibala remained with the group for only a short period, going on to play with Vox Africa, Orchestra Bella Mambo and Bella Bella, in which band he first played with Kanda Bongo Man.

In 1979, he moved to Brussels, and in 1981 he joined Kanda Bongo Man's band in Paris. Their first album, ''Iyole'' (1981), was a success. Diblo became a sought after session guitarist, working with Pepe Kalle and many other soukous musicians.

In the mid 1980s, he formed his own band, Loketo (meaning 'hips'), with singer Aurlus Mabele. A few years later, that band broke up, and in 1990 he formed a new group, Matchatcha, which is still active after a number of personnel changes.

References

External links

Diblo at AfricanMusic.org

Diblo at AfricaSounds.com

Category:1954 births Category:Living people Category:People from Kisangani Category:Democratic Republic of the Congo guitarists Category:Soukous musicians

ru:Дибала, Дибло fi:Diblo Dibala