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Montreal Gazette, Feature >>
Reclaiming the Congolese rumba Kekele, masters of the fast-paced soukous genre, are out to revitalize the classic sound that 'had all of Africa dancing once,' says guitarist Syran Mbenza in anticipation of the group's Nuits d'Afrique performance
BERNARD PERUSSE
The Gazette
It's tempting to see Kekele's soothing, harmony-drenched, acoustic songs as a nostalgic throwback to the '60s, when rumba ruled in the Congo. And indeed, the group's guitarist, Syran Mbenza, and vocalists Loko Massengo, Wuta Mayi and Nyboma Mwan'dido began their careers in that era. All but Massengo were members of Paris-based soukous superstars Les Quatre Etoiles in the 1980s.
Given the veteran status of its members, Kekele has been compared to Cuba's Buena Vista Social Club, but Mbenza wanted to emphasize the timelessness in the group's music. As Exhibit A, he cited their name.
Kekele is a species of fibrous vine from the Congo River basin. "It can be cut and used to make bridges, chairs, beds, even huts," Mbenza said in a telephone interview. "We focused on the idea of building a bridge from one generation to another. For us, Kekele is the vine that connects all the generations."
Kekele has little hope of ever being marketed like the Buena Vista Social Club, but that persistent analogy works best on a strictly musical level: Congolese rumba wouldn't be Congolese rumba without the Cuban connection.
It all started with the nkumba beat, a Congolese rhythm that kept dancers joined at the navel, Mbenza explained. During the slave trade, enslaved Africans were brought to Cuba. They carried the beat with them, giving the Cubans a percussive foundation for their own musical additions. Cuban records imported into the Congo in the 1930s brought a shock of recognition.
"(The Congolese people) listened to everything - jazz, all sorts of music," Mbenza said. "And when we heard the music coming from Cuba, we said 'It's just like ours.' But it was a little different. The recordings were better. Our version had been raw, but here were bass, violins, trumpets, piano. We heard the same music, all dressed up. So we decided to reinterpret our rhythm through Cuban songs."
By the 1960s, Congolese rumba was in its golden era. Mbenza fondly listed the icons of the day: African Jazz, led by Joseph Kabasele (better known as Le Grand Kalle), Tabu Ley Rochereau and Docteur Nico's African Fiesta and Franco's OK Jazz were among the big names of the time. "There were many groups, and as you went from bar to bar, you'd notice the music was slightly different - and the dances were slightly different. And each group had a fan club, with women and men following them wherever they went. They even dressed the same way," Mbenza said.
Soukous, a faster-paced, pop-influenced variant of the rumba, began to gain prominence in the 1970s. Mbenza's take on the genre makes it sound less like a hostile takeover than a natural evolution. "(Soukous) is a song's second part," he explained. "Generally, the first part is played slowly and then it moves into the second part, which is more animated and heated up. At one point, musicians simply cut off the first part and started with the second - right to the soukous."
Soukous spread to England and Paris in the 1980s, and many who played it moved. Better studios and distribution networks were in place, Mbenza said, and there was a ready-made audience. "We based ourselves (in Paris), because it was a great springboard for our music. There were Senegalese, Guinean, Malian, Cameroonian people in Paris," he said. "These people knew Congolese music, which had been played on the radio all over Africa. They came to our shows and bought records." Les Quatre Etoiles was a product of that era.
But the music wasn't "the rumba from before," Mbenza said.
A desire to reintroduce the classic elements of the genre, specifically the slow-percolating first part, led to the formation of Kekele. The group released its first album, Rumba Congo, in 2001 and followed it with Congo Life in 2003. Its latest disc, Kinavana - a blending of Kinshasa and Havana - is a tribute to Cuban singer-songwriter Guillermo Portabales. Released this year, it's filled with acoustic guitars, gentle rhythms, stirring melodies, flute, strings and vocal harmonies, with stellar sax work by Manu Dibango on five tracks.
With that sound, the leisurely pace of the classic Congolese rumba is back.
"That's what had all of Africa dancing once," Mbenza said. "It was important not to forget that. We saw that there was no more writing, no more songs, no more melody, and we found that unfortunate. We thought about it and said: 'No. We must reclaim the music.' "
Kekele performs tomorrow night at 9 at La Tulipe, 4530 Papineau Ave., as part of the Nuits d'Afrique festival. Tickets cost $24. Phone 514-790-1245 or go to www.admission.com. For further details, visit www.festivalnuitsdafrique.com. The festival runs until Sunday. 07/18/06
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