Preview

Every music has its golden era; for Cuban music it was the fifties, for blues the thirties. For many, the greatest period in African dance music was the sixties in Zaire. Rumba Congolaise, ith its subtle mix of Cuban rumba and African rhythms became the first music of the continent, reflecting the optimism of the newly independent states of Africa. From Khartoum to Capetown, radios in bars, taxis and buses filled the air with its irresistible rhythms.

Kekele brings this sound back, featuring some of the greatest musicians from the classic bands of the era. Enchanting vocals, vivacious rhythms and spellbinding guitar based dance make the music totally uplifting. This is the classic Congo sound before the rhythmic intensity of Soukous overpowered its subtlety.

Kekele is the lingala word for a fibrous vine that climbs trees in the tropical forests of the Congo river basin. Ropes woven from Kekele are still used in some places to build makeshift bridges across forest streams. With this symbolic word, the artists on this tour aim to link and unite two generations of musicians behind their heritage.

Kekele are Loko Massengo, Bumba Massa, Yves Ndjock, Nyboma Mwan Dido, Jean-Papy Ramazani, Wuta Mayi, Syran Mbenza and er, Ringo Starr! No, not that one. Apparently, Starr is quite a common name in that part of the world, and what nickname is likely to stick?

Review

Fortunately, the stage extension somehow stood up to its ultimate test, the combined bulk of this stupendous Franco-African supergroup. The combination of four vocalists, two guitarists, bass, drums, accordion, and two percussionists was nothing less than awesome, and although it took a little time for the first dancers to venture out, once they did they were soon joined by more, and the band's Rumba Congolaise was so infectious that the dance floor was soon a permanently seething mass. Unsurprisingly, the stage set-up procedure and sound-check was a lengthy process, with eleven spirited individuals with no command of the English language vying for their individual requirements. Luckily, their driver/tour organizer, a Llandudno-born Rastafarian called Shawn (look, I'm not making this up) also acted as their sound engineer, and maintained an air of imperturbable calm under the kind of pressure that might have made us ... well, not calm! The sound he achieved was superb, the band clearly had a lovely time, and it was deemed to be another formidably great night.