Diblo Dibala (born 9 August 1954), often known simply as Diblo, is a

Congo Congo or The Congo may refer to either of two countries that border the Congo River in central Africa: * Democratic Republic of the Congo, the larger country to the southeast, capital Kinshasa, formerly known as Zaire, sometimes referred to a ...

lese 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 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 o ...

as a child, and aged 15 won a talent competition which led to him playing guitar in

Franco Franco may refer to: Name * Franco (name) * Francisco Franco (1892–1975), Spanish general and dictator of Spain from 1939 to 1975 * Franco Luambo (1938–1989), Congolese musician, the "Grand Maître" Prefix * Franco, a prefix used when ...

'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 Kanda Bongo Man (born Bongo Kanda; 1955) is a Congolese soukous musician. Kanda Bongo Man was born in Inongo, Democratic Republic of the Congo. He became the singer for Orchestra Belle Mambo in 1973, developing a sound influenced by Tabu Ley. H ...

. 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 Pepe is a pet form of the Spanish name José (Josep). It is also a surname. * People Mononyms *Pepe (footballer, born 1935), real name José Macia, Brazilian footballer *Pepe (footballer, born 1983), real name Képler Laveran Lima Ferreira, ...

and many other soukous musicians. In the mid-1980s, he formed his own band, Loketo (meaning 'hips'), with singers Aurlus Mabele and

Mav Cacharel Mav Cacharel (born January 14, 1957) began performing at age 13 in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo, with his first group Les Ombres. He won the Prix découvertes RFI prize in 1983. He used the money to move to Paris, where he made a living as ...

. 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
1954 births Living people People from Kisangani Democratic Republic of the Congo guitarists Democratic Republic of the Congo musicians Soukous musicians 21st-century Democratic Republic of the Congo people {{Africa-musician-stub