AFH437 - Samba Mapangala & Orchestra Virunga
Samba Mapangala and his group
Orchestre Virunga are one of the classic bands from
Central and
East Africa from the last 25 years. Known and loved throughout East Africa and beyond for his astounding voice,
Samba created an innovative mix of the best
Congolese rumba and soukous with an earthier
Kenyan style.Their song and CD of the same name Malako
Disco (originally released in
1984 and later renamed
Virunga Volcano in
Europe) is almost always featured in lists of the top all-time African recordings. Virunga Volcano is among the
100 Essential (
World Music) CDs in the
Rough Guide book series.
Born in
Matadi,
Zaire (
DR Congo), Samba Mapangala played with various
Kinshasa bands including
Super Bella Bella in the early
1970s, before forming his first band, Les
Kinois in
Kampala, Uganda where he had moved. Samba then led his band of musicians east after the stint in
Uganda, and as lead singer and songwriter, they relocated to
Nairobi, Kenya in
1977 where they took the scene by storm. Sambas voice and songwriting talents won Les Kinois the recognition which lifted them above the crowd of bands struggling for work in
Kenya. Samba was not satisfied by producing generic Congolese rumba (
AKA soukous) and he quickly adopted
East African influences, incorporating the lilting benga rhythms of Kenya. In
1981 he formed Orchestre Virunga, a band made up of Congolese and
Kenyan musicians which became one of the most popular bands in all East Africa.Singing in both Congolese Lingala and Kenyan
Swahili languages, Samba and the Orchestre Virunga won a large and dedicated following in
Nairobi. This exploded following the release of his classic track Malako in 1984, a song which reverberated across the dance floors of
Africa and which remains legendary to this day.In
1989 Samba made his first visit to Europe recording with
Quatre Etoiles in
Paris. In
1991 he returned with Orchestre Virunga for a
European tour after which Samba stayed in
London to record Feet on
Fire for the Sterns label. These recordings were extremely well received and a punishing tour schedule took them
across the world.
Finally in
1997, after a successful but exhausting
North American tour, Samba decided to settle in
Washington DC, USA and take a well earned break. After three years however, he could no longer resist the urge to record and flew to
France where he gathered a group of Congolese musicians with whom he made the
album Ujumbe. Sambas lyrics offer an insightful social commentary as well as plenty of homespun advice, and this is offset by the dance-friendly music his band creates.In May 2004 Samba went on a 2-week concert tour of
Tanzania after a 7-year absence. He performed with an all-star line-up of musicians based in Kenya and Tanzania. he repeated this trip back to an equally heart-felt homecoming in Nairobi in
2006.In
2005 a collection from the Orchestre Virunga archives was released as Virunga
Roots Volume 1. Pleased by the enthusiasm with which this was received, the band regrouped in 2006 to record
Song and Dance for Virunga
Records. His hunger now restored and with a group of excellent musicians formed around him, Samba is ready to take to the road again, leaving no dance floor unfilled.