congolese guitar

Can anyone help with suggestions of congolese guitarists. I love the guitar sound on Kanda Bongo Mans records but I am after more instrumental stuff. Any ideas?

if you like Kanda Bongo Man, you may also like Diblo Dibala and les Quatres Etoiles, I think. Certainly worth delving into the slightly older music of Franco, Tabu Ley Rochereau, Docteur Nico, etc. There's a ton of great stuff to explore, but I'm not sure how much purely instrumental music you are going to find. But it'll be a fun search, enjoy!

thanks for that - i will explore forthwith....

I'd recommend Golden Afrique Vol II which focuses on a Congolese mixture of rumba roots and early soukous.

And Dally Kimoko's guitar playing on Papa Wemba's 'Pole Position' album is sublime.

By no means an expert on this stuff, but I was listening to the Franco/Rochereau record last week, and there is some amazingly catchy guitar work on there. I imagine some people might not like the slicker 80s production, but I think it works wonderfully.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Es8Sq_mmUk&feature=related

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PjnQbD_wBc0&feature=related

YOU NEED THIS

http://globalgroovers.blogspot.com/2009/04/papa-noel-papa-noel-nono-iad-1984.html

congo music is overstuffed with awesome guitar but something that springs to mind right now is Mbilia Bel's ESWI NO WAPI LP.

yes so much good lingali/soukous/congo rumba... many good compilations out there i'm sure you won't have a hard time digging in. also a look at the diaspora pre and post this phenomenon yields amazing finds... congolesce music in europe or the latin connection...

for deeper understanding this is a great book:

http://www.africanmusiciansprofiles.com/book1.jpg

Ably written by a published author of articles on African and Caribbean music whose work has appeared in "The Beat", "Option", "West Africa" and more, Rumba On The River: A History Of The Popular Music Of The Two Congos is an enthralling dissemination of how changing times and ancient traditions blended to create a distinctive type of music along the Congo River. From the currents of political struggle to the tides of self-expression, the history, vibrancy, and popularity of this music flowed, and its indelible impressions upon the human psyche are succinctly framed in an unforgettable prose.
Chapters explore music, dance, and evolving trends in Congolese rumba tradition and provide so much accompanying explanatory history that even ethnomusicologists and college-level students of African culture and tradition will find it fascinating.

you can read a large portion of it here: http://books.google.com/books?id=gKEHO1z413EC&dq=gary+stewart+rumba+on+the+river&printsec=frontcover&source=bn&hl=en&ei=6skbS62hFcvS-QbsybHTDw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CBYQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=&f=false

now must post classic tune... have 15 minute version... make happy with out fail :)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26zkrSUyjI4

yes of course Mbilia Bel... on the pop side but so unbelievably sweet and powerful.

honestly that book was a little underwhelming. lots of great info, but more or less just a long series of facts about who was in what band, who recorded what where. if you didn't already know the music well, i can't imagine it would be that compelling. just a minority opinion.

http://globalgroovers.blogspot.com/2009/10/mbilia-bel-avec-seigneur-ley-rochereau.html

"Qu'elle méchantceté" is amazing

thanks for comment on the book (i have not read significant enough part of it to know) and the Mbilia link!

fantastic - i love the internet

at your service

The Congolese sound spread east, to Nigeria, so you should def check out some Nigerian guitar stuff, too. Have you heard any juju, eg king sunny ade, chief ebenezer obey?

i was thinking Nigeria when i first read this thread, Granny. Heavy on the Highlife - Oriental Brothers is one of my fave cd's, period

https://www.nybooks.com/online/2026/03/11/the-docteur-is-in-nico-congolese-rumba/?fbclid=IwZnRzaAQe_-ZleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZAo2NjI4NTY4Mzc5AAEeMrug_jo7ibcvyhhe3lVDqjvkg_dCFGzgn5giwHQgEncQQ1d6FexLirHyxsw_aem_ShiMCDJ-QDGaFBcZs7SxTg

Dr Nico, Congolese rumba guitarist extraordinaire

i didn't know they were allowed to write about things like this in the nyrb

Exactly!

i wish i still had my subscription, almost seems worth it to renew for this article alone

eh, archive.ph must have been acting funny yesterday, i've now managed to obtain it

https://archive.ph/2A8ai

<3

Diblo Dibala - "Machine Gun" - namechecked right at the top of the thread, somebody who has brought me so much joy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDzCLxOnoHw

btw thanks for posting that curmudgeon, gonna read it later. I'm currently reading Andrée Blouin's memoir after being blown away to learn about her in Soundtrack to a Coup d'État, so I have Congo on the brain

I should go through this thread, I love this stuff but haven't really ventured much past my Franco and Rochereau comps