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Syran Mbenza
Syran Mbenza (or M’Benza) (b. May 31, 1950) is a guitarist, originally from the Congo, who has lived in Paris since about 1981. He has recorded and performed prolifically over five decades, including as a solo artist; as one of the four members of the popular soukous "supergroup" Les Quatre Étoiles; as a founding member of the acoustic, Congolese rumba revival band Kékélé; in other bands; and in support of numerous artists. He has been described as one of the greatest guitar players of Africa. Career/History Early years: Congo/Zaire (1950 to early 1970s) Mingiedi "Syran" Mbenza was born on May 31, 1950, in a family of six, in Leopoldville (now Kinshasa), in what was then the Belgian Congo (and was later the Republic of the Congo, then Zaire, and is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo). Mbenza began to play guitar at about age 11. He grew up hearing the music of Franco, and taught himself to play guitar in Franco's style. He played in a number of local bands, and lear ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kinshasa
Kinshasa (; ; ln, Kinsásá), formerly Léopoldville ( nl, Leopoldstad), is the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Once a site of fishing and trading villages situated along the Congo River, Kinshasa is now one of the world's fastest growing megacities. The city of Kinshasa is also one of the DRC's 26 provinces. Because the administrative boundaries of the city-province cover a vast area, over 90 percent of the city-province's land is rural in nature, and the urban area occupies a small but expanding section on the western side. Kinshasa is Africa's third-largest metropolitan area after Cairo and Lagos. It is also the world's largest nominally Francophone urban area, with French being the language of government, education, media, public services and high-end commerce in the city, while Lingala is used as a ''lingua franca'' in the street. Kinshasa hosted the 14th Francophonie Summit in October 2012. Residents of Kinshasa are known as ''Kinoi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Abidjan
Abidjan ( , ; N'Ko script, N’ko: ߊߓߌߖߊ߲߬) is the economic capital of the Ivory Coast. As of the Demographics of Ivory Coast, 2021 census, Abidjan's population was 6.3 million, which is 21.5 percent of overall population of the country, making it the sixth most populous city proper in Africa, after Lagos, Cairo, Kinshasa, Dar es Salaam, and Johannesburg. A cultural crossroads of West Africa, Abidjan is characterised by a high level of industrialisation and urbanisation. It also is one of the most populous French-speaking cities in Africa. The city expanded quickly after the construction of a new wharf in 1931, followed by its designation as the capital city of the then-French colony in 1933. The completion of the Vridi Canal in 1951 enabled Abidjan to become an important sea port. Abidjan remained the capital of the Ivory Coast after its independence from France in 1960. In 1983, the city of Yamoussoukro was designated as the official political capital of Ivory Coast. Ho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kékélé
Kekele was a band formed in 2000, composed of leading veteran African musicians, mostly from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. They played Congolese rumba in a revival style harkening back to the 1950s, 60s, and 70s, using acoustic guitars. Kekele seems to be dormant or defunct, having not released a recording since 2006 nor performed since (apparently) 2010. Origins The African-record producer Ibrahim Sylla formed Kekele in 2000 to record its first album, ''Rumba Congo''. According to one report, the band was originally intended as a “one-off” effort, only meant to exist for that one album. The word ''kekele'' in the Lingala language means a type of fibrous vine, sometimes woven together to make rope. One writer speculated that this is a metaphor for the musicians who comprise the band. The band's inspiring spirit was a dissatisfaction with the direction Congolese popular music had recently taken, and a desire to return to its roots. As Kekele guitarist Syran Mbenza s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kassav'
Kassav' is a French Caribbean band formed in Guadeloupe in 1979. The core members of the band are Jacob Desvarieux, Jocelyne Béroard, Jean-Philippe Marthély, Patrick St. Eloi, Jean-Claude Naimro, Claude Vamur, and Georges Décimus (who left to form Volt Face and returned). Kassav' have issued over 20 albums, with a further 12 solo albums by band members. The music of Kassav' is an extension of cadence-lypso or compas bands, such as Grammacks, Exile One, Les Aiglons and Experience 7 of the 1970s. History Kassav' was formed in 1979 by Pierre-Edouard Décimus (former musicians from the Les Vikings de Guadeloupe) and Paris studio musician Jacob Desvarieux. Together and under the influence of well-known Dominican, Haitian and Guadeloupean kadans or compas bands like Experience 7, Grammacks, Exile One, Les Aiglons, Tabou Combo, Les Freres Dejean, etc., they decided to make Guadeloupean carnival music recording it in a more fully orchestrated yet modern and polished style. The na ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zouk (musical Movement)
Zouk is a musical movement pioneered by the French Antillean band Kassav' in the early 1980s. It was originally characterized by a fast tempo (120–145 bpm), a percussion-driven rhythm and a loud horn section. The fast zouk béton of Martinique and Guadeloupe faded away during the 1980s. Musicians from Martinique and Guadeloupe added MIDI instrumentation to their compas style, which developed into zouk-love. Zouk-love is effectively the French Lesser Antilles' compas.Popular Musics of the Non Western World. Peter Manuel, New York Oxford University Press, 1988, p74 Zouk gradually became indistinguishable from the genre known as compas. This light compas influenced the Cape-Verdean new generation. Zouk béton The original fast carnival style of zouk, best represented by the band Kassav', became known as "zouk béton", "zouk chiré" or "zouk hard". Zouk béton is considered a synthesis of various French Antillean dance music styles of the 20th century: kadans (cadence), konp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Les Quatre Étoiles
Les Quatre Etoiles was a Congolese musical group active from 1982 to 1996. They played the Soukous style of dance music, which gained widespread popularity in the 1980s and 1990s. The members were Paris-based musicians Bopol Mansiamina (bass and rhythm guitar), Wuta Mayi (vocals), Syran Mbenza (lead guitar) and Nyboma (vocals). It was commonly called a "supergroup," since each of the four members of Les Quatre Etoiles had long established individual musical careers before joining forces. Band history The band was formed in Paris in 1982, upon a request to Syran Mbenza from David Ouattara Moumouni, who produced their first album and released it on his Afro-Rythmes label, although they did not adopt Quatre Etoiles as the band's name until a year and a half later, when they recorded their second album in late 1983. The first album was recorded in late December 1982, and included one song by each of the four musicians. When the group formed, each of its four members was a well-kno ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Soukous
Soukous (from French '' secousse'', "shock, jolt, jerk") is a genre of dance music from Congo-Kinshasa and Congo-Brazzaville. It derived from Congolese rumba in the 1960s, becoming known for its fast dance rhythms and intricate guitar improvisation, and gained popularity in the 1980s in France. Although often used by journalists as a synonym for Congolese rumba, both the music and dance associated with soukous differ from more traditional rumba, especially in its higher tempo and longer dance sequences. Notable performers of the genre include Franco Luambo and his band TPOK Jazz, Papa Wemba, Sam Mangwana, Tabu Ley Rochereau, and Pépé Kallé. History 1960s In the 1950s and 1960s, artists began altering the popular dance style of Congolese rumba to have faster rhythms and more prominent guitar improvisation, as well as more pronounced African elements. Guitarist and bandleader Franco Luambo is credited with pioneering the genre alongside his band TPOK Jazz. Tabu Ley Roch ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wuta Mayi
Gaspard Wuta Mayi, commonly known as Wuta Mayi, is a Congolese rumba and soukous vocalist and composer from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). From 1974 to 1982, he was a member of the band TPOK Jazz, led by Franco (François Luambo Makiadi), which dominated the Congolese music scene from the 1960s through the 1980s. Since leaving TPOK Jazz he has recorded and performed as a solo artist, in addition to being one of the four members of the "supergroup" Les Quatre Etoiles (The Four Stars), and subsequently a member of Kékélé. Background Wuta Mayi was born on 9 August 1949 at Leopold General Hospital in then Leopoldville, now Kinshasa, the capital of, and largest city in, what was then the Belgian Congo, was later (among other names) Zaire, and is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo. This singer has been known by a variety of names; one source notes that "Gaspard Wuta Mayi is also known as Gaspard Wuta, Paschal Gaspard Mayi, Wuta Mayandi Yundula and Blaise Pa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nyboma
Nyboma Mwan'dido (or Muan'dido), often simply Nyboma (b. 1952), a prominent Congolese soukous tenor vocalist, has been over a fifty-year span a leading member of several outstanding bands, including Orchestre Lipua Lipua, Orchestre Kamale, Les Quatre Étoiles, and Kékélé, in addition to performing and recording as a solo artist. He is widely recognized as one of the best singers in Congolese music. Biography 1952-1970: Early years and first bands: Baby National and Negro Succès Nyboma was born on 24 December 1952 in Nioki, a river town 200 km northeast of the capital of what at the time was the Belgian Congo, later the Republic of the Congo and Zaire, and is now the Democratic Republic of Congo. He learned to sing as a child in Nioki, in the church choir. He sang in the school chorus when his family moved to Kinshasa while he was still in primary school. Early bands that Nyboma joined were l'Orchestre Baby National and Orchestre Negro Succès, although sources differ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ibrahim Sylla
Ibrahima Sylla (2 April 1956 – 30 December 2013) was a Senegalese record producer born in Ivory Coast and founder of the African music label Syllart Records. He was an internationally acclaimed musician whose production and music direction defined popular African music. From West African dance, to Congolese Soukous (sung in Lingala), to melodic griot-led songs, Sylla's signature as a music producer is unmistakable. He has demonstrated his familiarity with many contemporary African musical genres, and he has worked with most of Africa's musical greats. Biography Sylla was born in the Ivory Coast, into a prominent family; his father was Guinean (French Guinea) and was an influential public figure who was well known in West Africa, and whose work took the family to Dakar in Senegal. Sylla developed his love for music whilst studying at a university in Paris, France. He released compilation albums of his favorite Salsa music, and from 1980 he embarked on record production work. He f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
