Music of the Democratic Republic of the Congo

The music in the Democratic Republic of Congo has an extraordinary range. She is influenced by the various ethnic groups. In addition to the traditional Congolese music, the Congolese dance music is widespread.

Forms of music

Traditional music

The pre-colonial Congolese music is often treated together with the traditional music of other African areas. One reason for this is that the region of the Congo Beckenn has an enormous cultural diversity due to its very central location within the African continent, which has also taken on musical elements from other areas (eg the Sudan region).

An example of this diversity are the sound systems is: There are both five -, six- and siebentönige scales in Congolese song, which in the individual regions of the present Democratic Republic of the Congo is quite different. However, although the exact of singing varies, there are similar song forms:

• Songs of praise ( are usually presented as a tale of a Imbongi (specialists) at a fast pace and often about heroic people who have rendered outstanding services. )
• Work songs
• Lyrical songs

Mostly wearing a cantor or a cantor before the verses of a song, while the chorus is sung by a choir or group.

Congolese dance music ( soukous )

The prevailing since the colonial era popular music genre and outside the country borders, the Congolese dance music.

In the 1920s, formed especially in the colonial capital of Leopoldville (now Kinshasa) a music scene both Congolese and foreigners from other colonies. The music created there took on both traditional West African, and South American and European influences.

In the 1930s and 1940s, West Africans influenced how the Hausa and stationed of Congo French and U.S. soldiers music groups formed the indigenous music. First recording studios were founded and records and gramophones popular. The former Congolese groups usually consisted of a singer and several musicians who played mainly guitar, drums, accordion and clarinet. The Congolese rumba style became popular, which resembled the Cuban rumba to a large extent.

Since 1959 we favorosierte small usually consists of two to three singers and instrumentalists at least nine existing "orchestra". They differed from the earlier groups in addition to their size through the use of saxophone, drum and later electric guitar. Publishers such as Ngoma concerned the publication of their works. The best-known Congolese orchestra this time were benefi band, African Jazz and OK Jazz. They supported the independence movement in the country and called for the emancipation of the Congolese woman. The singer Wendo achieved with Marie -Louise the biggest hit of the 1950s, which is often regarded as the starting point of modern Congolese music.

After the country's independence in 1960, the two bands African Jazz and OK Jazz reached Europe-wide notoriety and played at concerts, especially in Belgium. However, African Jazz split a short time later and there was a violent copyright conflict over the sale proceeds of the songs of the group. In Léopoldville passed in 1965 over 600 smaller music groups and the music business flourished.

Since 1970, the Congolese Soukousmusik changed: The rumba music, which is still published today by Wendo and groups such as Kékélé, was replaced by the style of the so-called Zaiko generation. This consists of mostly young musicians and largely dispenses with wind instruments such as the saxophone, but still contains large elements of classic Congolese guitar music. Examples of the modern Congolese dance music generation are the artist Papa Wemba and the music group Madilu system.

Novel forms of music

More recently, the based on the N'dombolo Soukous music style in the Congolese nightclubs became popular. At this rapid form of music is danced very physical, the swing of the hips and shaking of the buttocks are the main features of the dance. This was not appreciated by the Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo from the beginning, so in February 2005, several music videos of the N'dombolo artists Koffi Olomide, JB M'Piana and Werrason were indexed in broadcasting because of indecency.

Nowadays, there are many musical groups that make the traditional dance music mostly in a modified form popular worldwide. An example is the band Staff Benda Bilili from Kinshasa, which emerged from a street musician project for physically disabled people in 2004 and by the French documentary Benda Bilili! a record deal and international Behanntheit received. Staff Benda Bilili 2009 also won at the World Music Expo the Artist Award for World Music.

Also, maintained in Kinshasa with the Orchestre Symphonique Kimbanguiste, the only symphony orchestra in Central Africa and the European Classical music. The work of over 200 musicians was also accompanied by a documentary, the German production Kinshasa Symphony from 2010.

Even pop music is in the country gradually popular. So a wider audience in Europe, for example, the Congolese singer Jessy Matador dancer and is known since he played for France at the Euro Vision Song Contest 2010.