Pépé Felly Manuaku, also known as Pépé Fely (or Felly) is a

Congolese rumba Congolese rumba, also known as African rumba, is a dance music genre originating from the Republic of the Congo (formerly French Congo) and Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire). With its rhythms, melodies, and lyrics, Congolese ru ...

guitarist, songwriter, producer, arranger, bandleader and lyricist from the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

(DRC). He has been described as the foremost Congolese solo guitarist of his generation. He is a founding member of the iconic groups

Zaïko Langa Langa Zaïko Langa Langa, also known as Zaïko Langa Langa Nkolo Mboka, is a Congolese Congolese rumba, rumba band formed in Kinshasa, in December 1969. Established by D. V. Moanda, D.V. Moanda, Henri Mongombe, Marcellin Delo and André Bita, the band ...

, Les Ya Toupas and Grand Zaïko Wawa. His style of guitar is the last style officially credited as a "School" or Genre of guitar following the styles "Fiesta" created by "Le Docteur" Nico Kassanda and "Odemba" created by "Le Sorcier"

Franco Luambo Makiadi François Luambo Luanzo Makiadi (6 July 1938 – 12 October 1989) was a Congolese singer, guitarist, songwriter, bandleader, and cultural revolutionary. He was a central figure in 20th-century Music of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Cong ...

. He is credited with establishing the guitar as the

lead instrument The term lead instrument carries a variety of connotations. A lead instrument could be a reference to an instrument that plays the melody of a piece, an instrument that has been designed for this purpose, such as clarinet or violin, or a specific ...

in contemporary Congolese music introducing Synthesiser,

Bouzouki The bouzouki (, also ; ; alt. pl. ''bouzoukia'', , from Greek , from Turkish ) is a musical instrument popular in West Asia (Syria, Iraq), Europe and Balkans (Greece, North Macedonia, Bulgaria, Turkey). It is a member of the long-necked lute fam ...

, Advanced Guitar effect pedal techniques, new

arrangement In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestr ...

and recording techniques. Pepe Felly Manuaku is a Congolese Rumba Guitarist from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He was born in the mountain region of Zoma in what is now

Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...

. Zoma is known as a royal village in the time of the Kongolese Empire. His Grandfather,

Manuel d'Oliveira Emmanuel Mayungu d'Oliveira (1915 – 12 January 1988), professionally known as Manuel d'Olivera, was an Angolan-born Congolese singer, songwriter, performer, guitarist, and bandleader. A seminal figure in Central African music, he is notably re ...

was a pioneer of early Congolese Music with his group San Salvador. His uncle is Armando Brazzos, author composer and bassist on the iconic ''

Indépendance Cha Cha "''Indépendance Cha Cha''" (French language, French; "Independence Cha-cha-cha (music), cha cha") was a song performed by Le Grand Kallé, Joseph Kabasele (best known by his stage name ''Le Grand Kallé'') from the group ''Le Grand Kallé et l' ...

'' by Grand Kalle and African Jazz. A graduate of the

Kinshasa Kinshasa (; ; ), formerly named Léopoldville from 1881–1966 (), is the Capital city, capital and Cities of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Kinshasa is one of the world's fastest-grow ...

Académie des Beaux-Arts The (; ) is a French learned society based in Paris. It is one of the five academies of the . The current president of the academy (2021) is Alain-Charles Perrot, a French architect. Background The academy was created in 1816 in Paris as a me ...

, he was one of the founders of the popular Congolese musical group Zaiko Langa Langa, and his rapid guitar-playing style was a distinctive feature of the group's music. In Zaiko Langa Langa he attracted critical praise for his ability to play continuously without a break, and earned the sobriquet "the hardest left hand in Zaire". He was noted also for his mastery of the sebene technique. He left Zaiko Langa Langa in 1979 to found another group, the award-winning Grand Zaiko Wawa, which in turn cultivated a new generation of prominent Congolese musicians. After teaching as a guest lecturer in the

University of Limerick University of Limerick (UL) () is a Public university, public research university institution in Limerick, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Founded in 1972, as the National Institute for Higher Education, Limerick, it became a university in Septemb ...

Irish World Music Academy in 2017, Pépé Felly Manuaku has now joined Elikya Band as musical director. .

References

External links

Zaiko Langa Langa Official Site
Soukous musicians Democratic Republic of the Congo guitarists Living people Musicians from Kinshasa 1954 births 21st-century Democratic Republic of the Congo people {{DRCongo-bio-stub