The All Powerful Sound of Kinshasa
Grown-ups’ lunch parties as a kid were tricky. First you had to help out in the kitchen before, and sometimes you would even be told to change into “something nicer.” There’s the meet and greet, with a ruffle of the hair, maybe from a tall, smiley, unshaven man you think might be your dad’s friend, a comfortable hello from the familiars , and if you’re lucky, a pack of Jelly Tots. You’ve just hit double digits, so get serious you’re not going to waste time with those 5 year old upstarts with dirty faces, but you don’t like talking about school or having people beam at how much you’ve grown.
I know what I used to do to avoid that nonsense – I used to climb a couple trees, take a wonder around the house…The trick was to keep moving. But one thing I was always safe doing was sitting in the living room by the hi-fi, sometimes going through the piles of CDs made by funny looking people with names too strange to care about as a kid, listening to the music.
I do wish I remembered what thoughts were like at that age, and if the music stimulated some brainwave or if it just warmly filled my head, but this is one of the things I do remember; Franco & TPOK Jazz. A bigtime figure when it comes to African music this remarkable group, headed by the “sorcerer of the guitar” Franco Luambo, were innovators of a delicious sound called “Congolese rumba.” They have followed me through from those young years – and I’ve only just figured it out. Franco & TPOK Jazz, Tout Puissant Orchestre Kinshasa – the “all powerful Kinshasa orchestra,” kinda resonates with the history of its birthplace, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and i’ll tell you, that sound goes down like granadilla Yogi Sip. There is a great sense of deep culture, but its got a big smile and it wants you to try a rumba. It’s a feeling I would love to be able to describe, but thanks to our world wide web I can just let you feel.
Here’s some of my favourites for your ears
Mario – Their big hit, the original song is a near 20 tasty minutes
I recently found out that Franco & TPOK Jazz were also favourites of Mobutu Sese Seko, the dictator of what was then (1965-1997) Zaire, who was in some way their patron – I’ll venture safely in saying Mobutu was not someone you wanted to make an enemy of. Some sort of wonderful irony is at play, the two sides of the coin that make much of Africa the place I love.
Big Love,
Easy Cheetah