Mose Se Sengo ("Fan Fan") (16 October 1945 – 3 May 2019) was a

guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselv ...

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

and band-leader from the

Democratic Republic of Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

. He was one of the pioneers of Congolese

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 improv ...

Background

Mose Se Sengo, was born in present-day

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 ...

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

, on 16 October 1945. He began to play the guitar at boarding school in Kinanga.

Music career

He played with Franco and

TPOK Jazz OK Jazz, later renamed TPOK Jazz (short for ''Tout Puissant Orchestre Kinois de Jazz''), was a Congolese rumba band from the Democratic Republic of the Congo established in 1956 and fronted by Franco. The group disbanded in 1993, but reformed i ...

, which he joined in 1968.

Graham Graham and Graeme may refer to: People * Graham (given name), an English-language given name * Graham (surname), an English-language surname * Graeme (surname), an English-language surname * Graham (musician) (born 1979), Burmese singer * Clan G ...

, p. 212. He later joined the band ''Lovy du Zaire'', formed in 1971 or 1972 by Victor "Vicky" Longomba, who was previously a co-founder of OK Jazz and afterward a member of African Jazz. Other later-famous musicians in Lovy du Zaire included

Bumba Massa Bumba can refer to: Geography * Bumba, Democratic Republic of the Congo, a town on the Congo River * Bumba, a crater on Rhea People * Bumba Da, nickname of Bengali film actor Prasenjit Chatterjee * Claudiu Bumba, a Romanian football player Other * ...

Youlou Mabiala Gilbert Youlou Mabiala (born 3 March 1947), popularly known as Prince Youlou, is a Congo music recording artist, composer and vocalist, in the Republic of the Congo (Congo-Brazzaville). He was once a member of the Congo Music band TPOK Jazz which ...

and

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 ...

. According to one source, however, he "could not tolerate the leader's hypocrisy and soon quit." In 1974, he traveled from Zaire to East Africa, first settling in

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...

for several years. In the late 1970s, he formed a new version of his band

Somo Somo Somo, SoMo, or SOMO may refer to: Places ;In the United States * Somo, Kentucky, unincorporated community * Somo, Wisconsin, town ;Elsewhere * Somo, Mali, commune Rivers *Somo River, river in Wisconsin, United States Music *SoMo (born 1987), Am ...

, roughly translated ''Double Trouble'', performing in the

Lingala language Lingala (Ngala) (Lingala: ''Lingála'') is a Bantu language spoken in the northwest of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the northern half of the Republic of the Congo, in their capitals, Kinshasa and Brazzaville, and to a lesser degree ...

. The band performed in Tanzania,

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most cent ...

and

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

. In the early 1980s he moved to Kenya, where he re-formed Somo Somo and recorded several albums. In 1983 "Fan Fan" arrived in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

mixing his music with English

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

musicians. In the 1990s he joined Bana OK, a tribute band to the late

Franco Luambo Makiadi François Luambo Luanzo Makiadi (6 July 1938 – 12 October 1989) was a Congolese musician. He was a major figure in 20th-century Congolese music, and African music in general, principally as the leader for over 30 years of TPOK Jazz, the most po ...

of TPOK Jazz. By 2000 until now "Fan Fan" has returned to the roots of the Acoustic Rumba style. As of the early 2010s, he was resident in London and had acquired British citizenship by the time of his death.

Death

On 3 May 2019, Mose Se Sengo was on a routine recording tour in

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper ha ...

, Kenya, when he collapsed and died following a suspected heart attack. Fan Fan, who was staying at an apartment on

Thika Superhighway Thika Thika (pronounced �θika is an industrial town and a major commerce hub in Kiambu County, Kenya, lying on the A2 road 42 kilometres (26 mi) Northeast of Nairobi, near the confluence of the Thika and Chania Rivers. Although Thika town is ...

, was taken to a Kasarani Hospital within

, where he was pronounced dead on arrival. The musician's producer, Tabu Osusa, said Fan Fan was in the city recording a new song with vocalists based in Nairobi including Paddy Makani and Disco Longwa. Mose Fan Fan, whose residence is in London, loved Nairobi and had been visiting Kenya consistently since 2016. His death came a day before the burial of another Congolese musician of his era, Lutumba SImaro, with whom they had played together in the

band. Plans are underway, as of 11 May 2019, to repatriate his remains to the United Kingdom for final interment.

Discography

;Albums *1975: ''Dje Melasi'' with

*1994: ''Belle Epoque'' *1995 ''Hello Hello'' *1999: ''Congo Acoustic'' *2005: ''Bayekeleye'' *2011: ''Musicatelama'' ;Contributing artist *2000: '' Unwired: Africa'' ( World Music Network)

References

External links

Profile of Mose Se Sengo at FeileAfricaPhoto of Mose Fan Fan

Good one-hour radio tribute/retrospective to Mose Fan Fan from "Nostalgie Ya Mboka", 4 May 2019 (Resonance FM, London
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sengo, Mose Se 1945 births 2019 deaths Soukous musicians TPOK Jazz members Democratic Republic of the Congo musicians Democratic Republic of the Congo guitarists