Legendary Bands at Legendary Venues: Franco Luambo and TPOK Jazz Orchestra with "Instrumental Dance Chant"

Today's random tune is by Franco Luambo and the TPOK Jazz Orchestra. A huge figure in African music, Congolese musician Franco Luambo was known for his mastery of rumba and as the founder of OK Jazz, later known as TPOK Jazz, a seminal African music group. Along with other musicians, Luambo founded OK Jazz in 1956 and the band lasted for over 37 years, and its roster of musicians reads like a Congolese musicians hall of fame. This song, Instrumental Dance Chant, was recorded live at the now legendary Zaire 74 concert which featured the cream of the crop of African and American musicians of the time. You can find it on the 2917 album Zaire 74: The African Artists.

Listen to songs like this and more on the KUNM Global Music Show every Monday night from 10 pm - 1 am Mountain Standard Time. Live streaming, program information and the two-week digital archive can be found at http://www.kunm.org.

Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franco_Luambo; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TPOK_Jazz

The Voice: Tabu Ley Rochereau and "Mokolo Nakokufa"

The late Tabu Ley Rochereau brings us our random tune for today, called Mokolo Nakokufa. A legendary African musician from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rochereau had one of the two most influential bands in Africa, the Orchestre Afrisa International which he formed in 1970 after fronting an earlier band, African Fiesta, which was also hugely successful. He was also responsible for providing the jump start to the careers of many well-known African musicians, such as Papa Wemba and Sam Mangwana. He pioneered African soukous (rumba), and made it international by incorporating Cuban, Latin American and Caribbean rumba styles with Congolese traditional music as well his own. He purportedly wrote over 3,000 songs, and made 250 albums in the course of his career, and he has been known both as the Elvis of African music and as the Frank Sinatra of African music. Rochereau was also involved in politics. Initially a supporter of the Mobutu regime in Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of Congo), he eventually had to go into exile in 1988 and he spent time abroad in Paris and the United States. His music was banned at times as well. However, after Mobutu was deposed, he returned and joined the government of Laurent Kabila and then Joseph Kabila. Rochereau is reportedly responsible for fathering over 100 children with different women, including the French rapper Youssoupha. He passed away in 2013 and was given an official mourning by the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo. You can find Mokolo Nakokufa on many albums; we got it on the compilation album Tabu Ley Rochereau: The Voice of Lightness (2007)

Listen to songs like this and more on the KUNM Global Music Show every Monday night from 10 pm - 1 am Mountain Standard Time. Live streaming, program information and the two-week digital archive can be found at http://www.kunm.org.

Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tabu_Ley_Rochereau

And...Action: Kasai Allstars and "Tshalemba"

The Kasai Allstars bring us the random tune for the day, a joyous song called Tshalemba which was composed for the soundtrack to a movie called Félicité. A 25 piece orchestral group based in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the members come from five different bands and represent five different ethnic groups. It was long thought that collaboration of members of these disparate ethnic groups, given some longstanding tribal conflicts, was impossible. But these musicians decided to form a "superband" at the encouragement of Belgian producer Vincent Kenis in order to pool their resources. They play a style of music known as Congotronics, which consists of traditional instrumentation and electric sounds, and often has a particular buzzing sound from a fuzzbox. You can find Tshalemba on their newest album, Around Félicité (2017).

Please join the KUNM Global Music Show every Monday night from 10 pm - 1 am Mountain Standard Time. Live streaming, program information and the two-week digital archive can be found at http://www.kunm.org.

Long Live Papa: Papa Wemba and "Sala Keba"

Today's tune is by Papa Wemba, who recently departed this life while performing on stage on April 24th, 2016. A Congolese musician and singer who worked primarily in the genres of rumba, soukous and ndombolo, he was one of the most popular African musicians of his time. He performed with a number of bands in the 70s before starting his own group, Viva la Musica. He especially developed his sound after his group performed in Paris in the 1980s. He also became internationally known, especially after performing with Peter Gabriel on his Secret World Live tour in 1993. He eventually maintained two incarnations of his musical group, one in Paris and the other in Kinshasa. In the early 2000s, he ran into legal troubles after being suspected of trafficking illegal immigrants into France - he spent over three months in jail. Regardless, he had a deep impact on a younger generation of Congolese musicians, and will be deeply missed. This song, Sala Keba, can be found on his 1995 album Emotion.

Jackamo Fee Na Nay: Zap Mama and "Iko Iko"

Zap Mama re-imagines a New Orleans Mardi Gras Indian tune for today's random song. Zap Mama is the music act of Belgian artist Marie Daulne. Daulne sings in polyphonic and Afro-pop styles, infusing harmony with African vocal techniques, as well as throwing in some hip hop. Much of her musical inspiration comes from her roots in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where her Belgian father was killed during the Congo Crisis. Her Congolese mother and all the children were airlifted to Belgium, where she grew up in a household infused with Congolese culture but also in a society where there were few black people. Her first musical influences were African songs her mother sang, European music, especially French, and later blues, reggae and hip hop. In 1984, she returned to the Congo to learn about her heritage and trained in pygmy onomatopoetic techniques. First conceived of as an a capella quintet, Zap Mama has evolved to just Daulne's voice and instrumentation. This song, Iko Iko, can be found on Zap Mama's 1999 CD A Ma Zone.

Post-Punk Congolese: Mbongwana Star and "Shégué"

Our random tune for today is performed by Congolese and Kinshasha-based band Mbongwana Star. Formed by two of the members of Staff Benda Bilili after that group disbanded, the group is known for their fusion of Congolese rhythms, European post-punk and a lot of almost grating electronics. They don't even sound like an African band other than in the Congolese lyrics...and indeed the "Mbongwana" in their name means "change." You can find this song, Shégué, on their 2015 release From Kinshasa.

Not a Miscue: Zap Mama and "Miss QN"

Today's song is by Belgian artist Zap Mama, and is called Miss QN. Zap Mama is the music act of Belgian artist Marie Daulne. Daulne sings in polyphonic and Afro-pop styles, infusing harmony with African vocal techniques, as well as throwing in some hip hop. Much of her musical inspiration comes from her roots in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where her Belgian father was killed during the Congo Crisis. Her Congolese mother and all the children were airlifted to Belgium, where she grew up in a household infused with Congolese culture but also in a society where there were few black people. Her first musical influences were African songs her mother sang, European music, especially French, and later blues, reggae and hip hop. In 1984, she returned to the Congo to learn about her heritage and trained in pygmy onomatopoetic techniques. First conceived of as an a capella quintet, Zap Mama has evolved to just Daulne's voice and instrumentation. Miss QN can be found on Zap Mama's 2004 CD Ancestry in Progress.

Yo Mama: Zap Mama and "Hello to Mama"

Yo mama is here. At least, the random tune for today is by Zap Mama, the music act of Belgian artist Marie Daulne. Daulne sings in polyphonic and Afro-pop styles, infusing harmony with African vocal techniques, as well as throwing in some hip hop. Much of her musical inspiration comes from her roots in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where her Belgian father was killed during the Congo Crisis. Her Congolese mother and all the children were airlifted to Belgium, where she grew up in a household infused with Congolese culture but also in a society where there were few black people. Her first musical influences were African songs her mother sang, European music, especially French, and later blues, reggae and hip hop. In 1984, she returned to Congo to learn about her heritage and trained in pygmy onomatopoetic techniques. First conceived of as an a capella quintet, Zap Mama has evolved to just Daulne's voice and instrumentation. This song Hello to Mama, can be found on Zap Mama's 2009 CD ReCreation.

Ramblin': Baka Beyond and "Wandering Spirit"

Well, I know that anyone who reads this little blog of random world tunes waits with bated breath every day for my little bon-mots and homespun wisdom. Unfortunately, there are times like yesterday and today when I don't have the luxury and only have the time to bring you the random tune with the meticulously researched background (cough, cough...Wikipedia) of the bands that I write in each post. To those of you who wait for my ramblings, I apologize that I cannot always provide them.

Speaking of ramblings, today's random tune is by one of the more established "world' groups. Baka Beyond, formed in 1992, calls themselves "the original Afro-Celtic dance band," probably to distinguish themselves from the Afro Celt Sound System which formed around the same time. Baka Beyond fuses Celtic and other western styles with the traditional Baka music of Cameroon. It started when vocalist Su Hart and her husband, Martin Cradick (guitar, bazouki and mandolin), went to Cameroon to live with the Baka pygmy tribe to record their music. At first Hart and Cradick worked with English musicians to try to recreate the Baka music sounds and integrate it into their music. However, as the group evolved it began to include more musicians from African countries such as Senegal, Sierra Leone, Congo, Ghana and Cameroon. The group has also kept its relationship with the Baka people, returning regularly to record their music and integrate with the music created by the band. The band donates much of its profits to rainforest preservation and at the request of the Baka tribe, has built a music recording studio in their tribal area and has helped the tribe deal with various social and health issues in their villages. The BBC's Andy Kershaw has said that Baka Beyond's music may be the definition of world music. The group has released 11 albums, including one this year in 2014. This song, Wandering Spirit, can be found on their 2002 CD East to West.