| Soukous | |
|---|---|
 Congolese bandLoketo (left to right: Jean Baron,Aurlus Mabélé, Mav Cacharel; standing:Diblo Dibala) recording a studio album in 1985. | |
| Stylistic origins | |
| Cultural origins | Late 1960s inDRC andRepublic of the Congo, 1980s inFrance |
| Derivative forms | Muziki wa dansi andndombolo |
| Regional scenes | |
| Congolese sound (Kenya,Uganda,Tanzania), fast-paced soukous (Paris) | |
| Other topics | |
| Soukous musicians | |
Soukous (fromFrenchsecousse, "shock, jolt, jerk") is a genre ofdance music originating from theDemocratic Republic of the Congo (formerlyZaire) and theRepublic of the Congo (formerlyFrench Congo).[1] It derived fromCongolese rumba in the 1960s, with faster dance rhythms and bright, intricateguitar improvisation,[2] and gained popularity in the 1980s inFrance.[3] Although often used by journalists as a synonym for Congolese rumba, both the music and dance associated with soukous differ from more traditional rumba, especially in its higher tempo, song structures and longer dance sequences.[3]
Soukous fuses traditional Congolese rhythms with contemporary instruments. It customarily incorporateselectric guitars,double bass,congas, clips, andbrass/woodwinds.[4][5] Soukous lyrics often explore themes oflove,social commentary,amorous narratives, philosophical musings, and ordinarystruggles andsuccesses.[2] Singers occasionally sing and croon inLingala,Kikongo,French andSwahili and bands often consist of a primary vocalist accompanied by severalbacking singers.[6][7]
The music typically utilizes a12
8 time signature andmajor chords articulated inarpeggiated forms.[8] Soukous lead guitarists are renowned for their speed, precision, and nimble fingerwork, often navigating the higherregisters of thefretboard.[9] Thebassline, inspired byhand-drum percussion patterns, is the genre's rhythmic foundation and is typically characterized by a 16th-note cadence.[10] Emerging prominently duringMobutu Sese Seko's reign inZaire, the assertive bass style of soukous emulated regimented motions of military marches (marche militaire).[9] This distinctive bass approach involves toggling between lower and higher registers, achieved through a plucking method that employs both the thumb (p) and index finger (i).[9]
Tonally, soukous is shaped by specific configurations in thebass,midrange, andtreble frequencies.[10] The bass is generally accentuated by +3 dB to yield a deep, full-bodied low-end that supports the groove. The midrange, especially around the 700 Hz frequency, is often left flat or enhanced by as much as +6 dB.[10] Meanwhile, the treble frequencies are either left flat or attenuated slightly by -3 dB.[10]
InMatonge, the rhythmic guitar typically accompanies mid-tempo vocal passages, with the bass andbass drums accentuating the dominant beats, while guitarists emphasize theoffbeats (oneand twoand threeand fourand).[9] During vocal performances, the lead guitarist lays down a groove that underpins harmonizedcall-and-response singing,[9] often intensified by an echo effect, producing an auditory experience sometimes described as a hypnotic auditory experience.[8]
The percussion section is characterized by an unyielding, fast-paced beat, most commonly referred to ascavacha, with the drummer taking the lead insignaling shifts for the guitarists to match the lead player's transitions.[8][9] Soukouschord progressions mainly rely on the I, IV, and V chords.[9] Common progressions include:[9]
The origins of the genre can be traced back toCongolese rumba, which emerged in the early 20th century when urban residents of theFrench Congo and theBelgian Congo embraced the fusion of intertribalKongolesemaringa dance music nearPool Malebo, infused with guitar techniques fromLiberia.[11] The outflow ofKrumerchants and sailors from Liberia toBrazzaville during the mid-19th century introduced distinctive guitar-playing techniques that ultimately influenced the use of theaccordion to emulate local "likembe" (thumb piano, best known worldwide as ambira) rhythms.[11][12] As early as 1902, the accordion's melodies resonated through the streets near Pool Malebo's factories.[11]
The outbreak ofWorld War I introduced a new wave of music and dance across theLower Congo (present-dayKongo Central) and thePool Malebo region.[11] Emerging fromlabor camp and conceivably associated with the return ofMatadi–Kinshasa Railway construction workers, local dances such as agbaya and maringa gained prominence.[11] Thecircular agbaya dance was soon replaced bypartnered maringa dance music, becoming increasingly ubiquitous inMatadi,Boma,Brazzaville, and Léopoldville (nowKinshasa).[11]Initially, maringa bands featured thelikembe formelody, a metal rod-struck bottle for rhythm, and a small skin-coveredframe drum calledpatenge forcounter-rhythms.[11] However, by the 1920s, accordions andacoustic guitars progressively supplanted thelikembe as melody instruments. The distinctive hip movements ofmaringa dancers, shifting their body weight between legs gained popularity.[11] By 1935, partnered dancing's popularity dispersed expeditiously across theCongo basin, reaching even remote villages. Dance halls emerged in towns and rural areas, while conventional dancing persisted in palm branch huts.[11]
In the early 1940s, Pool Malebo transformed from a barrier into a communication channel linking Brazzaville and Kinshasa.[11] TheCuban son groups likeSexteto Habanero,Trio Matamoros, and Los Guaracheros de Oriente were broadcast onRadio Congo Belge, gaining popularity in the country.[11][13][14] Due to influence of Cuban son, the maringa dance music—although unrelated toCuban rumba—became known as "rumba Congolaise" as the imported records ofSexteto Habanero andTrio Matamoros were often mislabeled as "rumba".[15][11][16] Ethnomusicology Professor Kazadi wa Mukuna ofKent State University explicates that the term "rumba" persisted in the Congos due to recording industry interests. Recording studio proprietors reinterpreted the term rumba by attributing it newmaringa rhythm while retaining the name.[15] Consequently, their music became recognized as "Congolese rumba" or "African rumba".Antoine Wendo Kolosoy became the first star of Congolese rumba touringEurope andNorth America with his band Victoria Bakolo Miziki. His 1948 hit "Marie-Louise," co-written with guitaristHenri Bowane, gained popularity acrossWest Africa.[17][18] Congolese rumba gained prominence inCongolese music as early pioneers revolutionized their relationship with the instruments they held.[19][20]
Etymologically, the termsoukous, derived from the French verbsecouer, denoting "to shake," initially described a person who moved jerkily but evolved into a dance style synonymous with vitality and cadence.[21] The termsecousse evolved over time, transitioning tosoucousses and eventuallysoucous incolloquial language and the media, until the "c" fell out of favor, replaced by a "k".[21]
During the early 1960s, a surge of young Congolese musicians sought to speed up the slow tempo of Congolese rumba, which precipitated the emergence of soukous. Artists began incorporating faster rhythms, and prominent guitar improvisation, often characterized by high-pitched, fast-paced lines imbued with more heightened Africanmotif. The drummer shifts to the high-octane cadence, wherein theclave rhythm shifts to thesnare drum, singers engage in rhythmic chanting (animation), and lead guitars take center stage.[22][2][23][24]
The origins of soukous are a matter of dispute, with divergent attributions and viewpoints. Clément Ossinondé, a Congolese musicologist specializing in Congolese music, accreditsFranco Luambo andTPOK Jazz with pioneering soukous, citing hisodemba-inspired style, known for its fast tempo.[25] Franco is also recognized for revolutionizing the genre's themes by infusing significantsocial andpolitical issues into the lyrics, making the music a platform forsocial consciousness.[22][2][23][24] Conversely, British writer Gary Stewart suggests that soukous evolved into both a music genre and dance style in Brazzaville, stemming from the establishment of the Super Band in 1964 by up-and-coming guitarist Jacques Kimbembe.[26][27] The ensemble, later rebranded as Sinza, meaning "root stock," introduced soukous to Brazzaville's nightlife in 1966, supplanting the traditional boucher style of Les Bantous de la Capitale.[26] Stewart further notes that Orchestre Sinza innovated soukous in 1968 with a new wrinkle calledmossaka, and soon thereafter,Nico Kasanda introduced the kiri-kiri, which was based in part on the "jerk" fromWestern rock.[26] Meanwhile, Les Bantous de la Capitale developed a fusion with Pablito's song "Masuwa," billed as asoucous-kiri-kiri. The kiri-kiri, which, according to Stewart, became a defining piece of the genre as exemplified by Nico's "Kiri-Kiri Mabina Ya Sika," telling the story of a man's quest through Kinshasa's streets to reunite with his partner for a kiri-kiri session at Fiesta Sukisa, gaining widespread acclaim.[26] Established artists rapidly embraced the dance and disseminated it across the continent.[8]
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, soukous became a predominant popular African dance style across Africa and into the continent's diaspora in Belgium, France, the UK, and the United States.[28][29] During this period, a surge of Zairean musicians moved to Belgium and France, primarily driven by the hegemony of theMobutu Sese Seko regime, which propagated propaganda songs as part of theAuthenticité campaign to foster a sense of national identity and pride through ideological slogans of theone-party state, theMovement Populaire de la Révolution (MPR).[30][31][32] Thisstate ideological shift gradually infiltrated Zairean popular music, with popular musicians embracing the regime's ideology and documenting its achievements. Mobutu's encouragement of urban musicians paralleledMao Zedong's approach inChina, where music served the revolution.[33][31][34] As a result, theglobalization of Congolese urban music expanded, leading to a massive exodus of musicians to African and European countries, most notablyBelgium andFrance.[33][35] Many youths with limited employment options gravitated towards a music career, with Kinshasa's soukous scene becoming an attractive choice. However, some faced obstacles in establishing themselves in France.[15][36][28] Against this backdrop,Tabu Ley Rochereau made history as the first African artist invited to perform at Paris'sOlympia Hall in December 1970, where he attracted few connoisseurs and set a precedent for subsequent Zairean musicians.[28][37][38][39]Abeti Masikini followed suit, becoming the second Zairean and the first female soukous artist to grace the Olympia stage alongsideMireille Mathieu andHugues Aufray.[40][41][42] This momentum continued with Masikini's performance atCarnegie Hall in New York on 11 March 1974, setting the stage for burgeoning singers,griots, and other lesser-known divas from Africa.[28][43]
Concurrently, the M'Bamina orchestra ventured to Paris before seeking audiences inItaly in 1972.[28] Pablo 'Porthos' Lubadika arrived in Paris in 1979 with singerSam Mangwana throughLomé, Togo, after recording under the name the African All Stars. Mangwana, having collaborated with nearly every prominent figure in Congo, relocated toAbidjan in 1978 to pursue better opportunities. He formed a new band of Congolese economic exiles, who became regulars in Parisian session bands.[8] The African All Stars' breakout hit, "Suzana Coulibaly," released on 31 December 1979, featured "simple, repetitive rhythms" at a faster tempo than traditional Congolese rumba.[8] Mangwana's exclamation "soukous sophistiqué" as Lokassa Ya M'Bongo andRigo Star crafted a "rock-solid" sebene solidified the record's direction, initiating an independent musical movement targeting the international market. As their influence grew, the African All Stars adapted the fast, rough stylings of youth bands in Brazzaville and Kinshasa, introducing this new tempo globally.[8]
Across Africa, soukous dominatedEast African nightclubs' dance floors and played a pivotal role in shaping virtually all the styles of contemporaryAfrican popular music, includingbenga music,muziki wa dansi,Kidandali,Igbo highlife,palm-wine music,taarab, and inspiring the establishment of approximately 350 youth orchestras in Kinshasa, paving the way for new traditional dances, rhythmic patterns, and bands.[44][45][24][46]
As sociopolitical turmoil in Zaire deteriorated in the 1970s, a great number of musicians ventured toTanzania,Kenya andUganda, where orchestras sustained themselves through record sales and consistent stage performances. By the early 1970s, several Congolese bands had taken up the soukous beat in Kenyan nightclubs.[47][48][49][50][51] The vivaciouscavacha dance craze, propagated by bands likeZaïko Langa Langa and Orchestra Shama Shama, swept across East andCentral Africa, exert influence on Kenyan musicians.[52][53] The utilization of the cavacha rhythm, typically played on thesnare drum orhigh-hat, became emblematic of the Zairean sound inNairobi and was frequently adopted by regional bands. Prominent Congolese rumbaSwahili bands in Nairobi formed aroundTanzanian groups likeSimba Wanyika, giving rise to offshoots likeLes Wanyika and Super Wanyika Stars.[44][54][48]Maroon Commandos, a Nairobi-based ensemble, assimilated the soukous style while infusing their distinctive artistic imprint.Japanese students in Kenya, including Rio Nakagawa, developed a fondness for Congolese music, with Rio eventually spearheading Yoka Choc Nippon, a Japanese-conceived Congolese rumba band.[55]
Virgin Records produced albums by the Tanzanian-ZaireanOrchestra Makassy and the Kenya-basedOrchestra Super Mazembe. The Swahili song "Shauri Yako" ("It's your problem") gained widespread acclaim in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. Another influential Zairean ensemble,Les Mangelepa, relocated to Kenya and achieved immense popularity across East Africa. Zairean singerSamba Mapangala and his band Orchestra Virunga, based in Nairobi, released theLPMalako, which became a pioneering release in Europe's emerging world music scene.[53][56][57][58] Meanwhile, between 1976 and 1977,Sam Mangwana and the African All Stars dominated the dance halls of Kinshasa with records produced inWest Africa, which were different from the sounds produced in the two-track studios of Kinshasa. Following this, there was a migration toLomé andCotonou, followed by Franco Luambo's departure to Belgium.[28]
InNigeria, soukous became widespread due to the transmission of Zairean music through Radio Brazzaville, where audiences were introduced to material fromZaire Vol. 6 (Soundpoint SOP 044, 1978).[59][60] Soukous catalyzed the emergence of a distinct genre of guitar-basedIgbo highlife music, exemplified by musicians likeOliver De Coque, theOriental Brothers International, and their various imitators and followers.[59][61][62][63] The superabundance of Nigerian pressings of Zairean music featured the musicians who influenced this trend, as seen in the case ofMusic From Zaire Vol. 6, which showcased artists fromVerckys Kiamuangana Mateta's stable like Orchestre Kiam, Orchestre Lipua-Lipua, and the cavacha rhythm.[59] There was a prevalent inclination to exclude the slower "A" sides of various recordings and instead focus on the climacticsebene, the faster and more improvisationalsecond half.[59] This structural paradigm became emblematic of Igbo guitar highlife recordings epitomized by the music style of Oliver De Coque and Oriental Brothers International.[59]
Soukous experienced widespread diffusion acrosssouthern Africa, where it was both adopted and adapted into various offshoots, such asZimbabwe's immensely popular sungura genre.[64]
During this epoch, African music began procuring popularity globally due to the world music movement. InColombia, soukous made inroads into the local culture, contributing to the development ofchampeta.[65][66] In the third chapter of the documentaryPasos de la Cumbia, Lucas Silva, a DJ and cultural producer specializing in African music, recounts howMobutu Sese Seko purchased a plane in Colombia.[67][68] When it required maintenance, a Colombian mechanic traveled to Zaire, returning with a collection of 45 rpm records, including the iconicEl Mambote by l'Orchestre Veve, which became a hit.[67][51] Other 45 rpm records soon floodedCartagena andBarranquilla.[67]
In the article "Champeta is Liberation": The Indestructible Sound System Culture of Afro-Colombia, journalist April Clare Welsh observes, "When 'música Africana' swept the region during the '70s and '80s, sound systems were instrumental in forging a collective diasporic identity forAfro-Colombians in a society deeply divided by race and class".[69] African musicians likeKanda Bongo Man,Nicolas Kasanda wa Mikalay,Diblo Dibala, Ikenga Super Stars of Africa,M'bilia Bel, andMahlathini and theMahotella Queens became local celebrities, forging a "pan-African connection that was, at the time, largely unknown to many Africans within the continent".[67] Local musicians began replicating the arrangements of Congolese artists like Nicolas Kasanda wa Mikalay,Tabu Ley Rochereau, M'bilia Bel,Syran Mbenza, Lokassa Ya M'Bongo,Pépé Kallé, Rémy Sahlomon, and Kanda Bongo Man.[50][70][51] Homegrown musicians such as Viviano Torres, Luis Towers, and Charles King became renowned for this.[50] This movement led to the creation of champeta, a genre rooted in "soukous guitars, bass, drumming, and dance".[67] Due to its overtly sensual dance moves and its association with the "Black Below", champeta was derided by thewhiteupper classes.[67] However, for Afro-Colombians, it was an assertion of their cultural identity and resilience.[67] DJs often renamed African songs with Spanish titles, composed champetas in thePalenque language (a creole fusion of Spanish andBantu languages such asKikongo andLingala), or phonetically distorted the original names.[67] For instance, Mbilia Bel's "Mobali Na Ngai Wana" became known in Colombia as "La Bollona". Champeta emerged as a new marker of Black identity along Colombia's western coast and evolved from a peripheral genre to a mainstream national phenomenon.[67] During theSuper Bowl LIV halftime show on 2 February 2020, atHard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida,Shakira danced to Syran Mbenza's "Icha", a song colloquially referred to as "El Sebastián" in Colombia, which spawned the #ChampetaChallenge on social media platforms worldwide.[71][72]
As sociopolitical unrest persisted in Zaire throughout the 1980s, numerous musicians sought refuge across Africa, with a considerable number relocating to Belgium, France, and the United Kingdom. Some traversed through Central and East Africa before ultimately establishing their operational bases in Europe.[73][74][75][76][77] Soukous gained traction in Brussels, Paris, and London, emerging as the only sub-Saharan African genre universally embraced in Belgium and France.[78] According to Congolese columnistAchille Ngoye, Belgium offered a significant permanent operational base for numerous Zairean artists.[28] Orchestras such as Los Nickelos, Yéyé National, and Les Mongali, predominantly composed of students, garnered significant attention in Belgium.[28][79][80] Uncle Yorgho, a former member ofOK Jazz, established a distribution epicenter for Zairean musical repertoire in Brussels in July 1980 (Visa 80).[28] Meanwhile,Dieudonné Kabongo, Dizzy Mandjeku, andNtesa Dalienst rose to prominence due to the bankruptcy of Belgian record label Fonior!, which prompted many Zairean artists likeLita Bembo and Matima to seek reputable distribution entities in Belgium, while others found solace in performing in religious choirs, which frequently touredHolland.[28]
Soukous was chosen byIsland Records producerBen Mandelson and Togolese entrepreneur Richard Dick as the title of a 1982 compilation,Sound D'Afrique II: Soukous. The compilation included music fromMali andCameroon alongside "Madeleina," a track from Pablo 'Porthos' Lubadika's 1981 albumMa Coco, which gained significant attention in Europe.[8] Zaïko Langa Langa introduced the role of a dedicated hypeman—known asatalaku oranimateur—into the ensemble of singers, setting a trend that almost every band on the Congolese music scene adopted, making atalakus emblematic of soukous as well as Congolese rumba.[8] Zaïko Langa Langa achieved significant success, becoming the third generation of Congolese music as many founding members split off to form their own groups, which in turn splintered into more groups:Isife Lokole, Grand Zaïko Wa Wa,Langa Langa Stars, Clan Langa Langa,Choc Stars, and Anti-Choc among them.[8][81]Papa Wemba andViva La Musica made the longest-lasting impact, partly due to Wemba's ability to maintain a presence in both Paris and Kinshasa with dual bands, one focusing on soukous and another featuring French session players for international pop. In Parisian studios, the seben guitars blended with the tight drum machines and synths ofzouk and funky discomakossa on numerous records.[8][82][83] However, this fusion received criticism for deviating from authentic Congolese styles. Notable critics likeNyboma argued that the music had become commercialized and lacked emotional depth, calling for a return to the fundamentals of "beautiful melodies and highly tuned voices."[84]: 384–385 [85]
The influx of Zairean artists to France catalyzed the proliferation of Parisian studios as epicenters for soukous production, with an increasing reliance on synthesizers andelectronic instruments. Some artists continued to record for the Congolese market, but others abandoned the demands of the Kinshasa public and set out to pursue new audiences.[82][28][83] A sizable Zairean community established itself in France andSwitzerland, with Zairean artists conducting training programs in the country.[28]Kanda Bongo Man, another Paris-based artist, pioneered fast, short tracks conducive for play on dance floors worldwide, popularly known askwassa kwassa, after the dance moves popularized in his and other artists' music videos. This music appealed to Africans and to new audiences as well. Artists likeDiblo Dibala,Aurlus Mabélé, Tchicl Tchicaya, Jeannot Bel Musumbu,M'bilia Bel,Yondo Sister, Tinderwet,Loketo, Rigo Star, Nyboma,Madilu System, Soukous Stars and veterans likePépé Kallé andKoffi Olomidé followed suit. Soon Paris became home to talented studio musicians who recorded for the African and Caribbean markets and filled out bands for occasional tours.[47][86][53] Diblo Dibala and Aurlus Mabélé dominated the clubs with "Africa Moussou", creating a hyperactive style of super-speed soukous, dubbedTGV soukous by fans, alluding to France's high-speed trains.[8]
Swede-Swede, an ensemble exclusively employing traditional instruments, operates out of Belgium, while Les Malo, primarily comprising former instructors from theNational Institute of Arts in Kinshasa, specializes in Afro-jazz inLyon.[28]Tshala Muana gained prominence in Africa and Europe for herLuba traditional hip-swaying dance known asmutuashi, which make waves across African stadiums and earned her the moniker of "Queen of Mutuashi".[28] Other female vocalists such as Déesse Mukangi, Djena Mandako, Faya Tess, Isa, and Abby Surya garnered widespread recognition.[28]
By the late 1990s, musicians such as Radja Kula,Wenge Musica,Koffi Olomidé,Général Defao, andExtra Musica metamorphosed soukous into raunchy, frenetic hip-swinging dance music, renaming itndombolo.[87][88][89][90][91] This style surged in popularity across Africa and into the continent's diaspora in Belgium, France, the UK, Germany, Canada, and the United States.[92][90][91] However, by the early 2000s, ndombolo faced scrutiny, with accusations ofobscenity leading to attempts to prohibit it from state media in the Democratic Republic of the Congo,Cameroon,Senegal,Mali, andKenya.[93][94][95][96] In February 2005, ndombolo music videos in the Democratic Republic of the Congo underwent censorship for indecency, which resulted in the banning of videos by Koffi Olomidé, JB MPiana, andWerrason from airwaves.[97] Despite the censure, ndombolo record sales surged, remaining popular with new releases dominating discos, bars, and clubs across Africa.[98]
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