SWP045

Congo Guitars 1952 and 1957

(140 grs vinyl LP)

recordings by Hugh Tracey

This is the famous Katanga guitar sound, as recorded by Hugh Tracey, based on the traditional likembe lamellaphone music of the various Luba peoples and their neighbours, who went to work in the mines and, as a result of this urbanisation, embraced 'modernism' by buying guitars. Plus three rumba tracks from Stanleyville (Kisangani), where there was a laid-back atmosphere with white and black dancing together in a flourishing nightlife, exceptional for the Belgian Congo. The recorded musicians there said they had copied the style of playing introduced from the San Salvador district in northern Angola through Leopoldville (Kinshasa). A compilation of tracks from the cds SWP 015 Origins of Guitar Music, SWP 011 Kanyok And Luba, SWP 034 The Very Best Of Hugh Tracey, except * not previously released by SWP:

Side A: 1. Masengu, by Patrice Ilunga & Victor Misomba, 2. Mama Josephina, by Patrice Ilunga & Victor Misomba, 3. Muleka Mwene Yombwe, by Nono Ngoi & Anastase Kabongo, 4. Antoinette Wa Kolwezi *, by Patrice Ilunga & Victor Misomba, 5. Safari Wa Baraka , by Charles Ombiza, 6. Mangaay, by Chiband & Kazeng, 7. Muleka Mwene Ngoie, by Anatole Kaseba. Total 22:05
Side B: 1. Mudima Zenzele *, by Anatole Kaseba, 2. Masanga, by Jean Bosco Mwenda, 3. Mama Na Mwana, by Jean Bosco Mwenda, 4. Bombalaka, by Jean Bosco Mwenda, 5. Sokuchomale Jikita, by Jean Bosco Mwenda, 6. Nachelewa, by Charles Ombiza, 7. Colette, by Henri Bembele. Total 20:45

MixedWorldMusic 2014 (NL): "Simpele maar o zo ontroerende muziek, die zestig jaar later nog niets aan zeggingskracht verloren heeft."  "Simple but oh such moving music, that after sixty years has lost none of its power."