I was listening to some Congolese Soukous music earlier this week, trying to manage my stress after retirement. It is one of my favourite hobbies, as at my age, I can never bring myself to seriously enjoy the computerised Bongo Flava music.
I always wonder why our young Bongo musicians never want to learn the ABCs of global music—the do-re-mi-fa-so-la-ti-do; do-ti-la-so-fa-mi-re-do. Even the global hip-hop icon Michael Jackson learnt them and wrote and sang his music accordingly.
That aside, I also fail to understand why touching and fondling one’s testicles while singing today’s songs enhances voice production or the aesthetics of the entire musical performance. But then, that is a story for another day.
It was while managing my stress that I received a parcel. On opening it, I found a musical flash disk from the original Wenge Musica, also known as Wenge Musica BCBG—the famous Congolese Soukous and Ndombolo band.
I was over the moon. They had sent the flash disk via several hands to wish me a belated Happy New Year. As you can see, it reached me more than three months late—thanks to our continent’s disjointed communication systems. But again, that is a story for another day.
My connection with this famous band from Congo began in the late ’80s. I was then a frequent visitor to Brussels, Belgium. In the centre of that city, there is a Quartier d’Ixelles, also known as Quartier ya Matonge. Matonge is the equivalent of our Manzese in Dar es Salaam.
This is the place where you find authentic Congolese life, including cuisine (ugali na somba), Congolese attire (le sapeur), and, of course, great Congolese Rumba music.
It was during one of my sojourns there in the early ’90s that my colleagues informed me that Wenge Musica was in town. Knowing me, they urged me to attend their performance.
So, there I was in central Brussels, inside the famous Galerie de la Madeleine hall, as the Wenge boys mesmerised us with their scintillating music. They were a spectacle to behold.
They were young, smart, presentable, and mostly handsome. But, most importantly, they knew their musical chords and excelled.
No wonder, at the end of their show—which featured the legendary Bozi Boziana as a guest artist—I donated two crates of the famous Stella Artois beer to the band. And that was how our camaraderie began.
But apart from their music, I was inspired by their history. Their musical dream was similar to the one we had in the late ’60s and early ’70s as young boys at Mkwawa High School in Iringa.
We had a school band, Orchestre Mkwawa, made up of about 10 young schoolboys. We were the town’s sensation, performing at weekend day and night events.
Our dream was to finish high school, form a professional band, and conquer the world. It was not to be, as our academic callings eventually separated us—until today.
Masoud Masoud, the renowned music researcher, academic and journalist, knows this story well. He recently produced a special radio programme dedicated to our old band and underscored the fact that music and academics can easily go hand in hand. The members of our Mkwawa band are living proof of this.
But once again, I digress.
Suffice it to say that Wenge Musica was historically inspired by the failure of a local football team called Wenge, named after a popular black wood found in Central Africa.
It all began in 1979 as a hobby, with students on holiday practising and playing music. Their group was initially named Celio Stars and included several young men, including the famous Werrason. Then one Didier Mase, who had learnt to play the bass guitar and had the resources, bought them instruments.
It was not until 1981 that they were renamed Wenge Musica, and in 1982, JB Mpiana—who was then residing in Goma—joined the group after being invited to a rehearsal, where his voice was greatly admired.
They soon became a famous act at Moto na Moto Bar in Bandalungwa Commune and were the opening band for several major groups, including Papa Wemba’s.
In the 1990s, they pioneered the Ndombolo style, which became a sensation across Africa. However, they later split into JB Mpiana’s Wenge BCBG and Werrason’s Wenge Musica Maison Mère. Before that, another group had already broken away and moved to Paris, forming Wenge Musica Aile Paris.
To cut the long story short, I wish our Tanzanian music groups were as dynamic as this legendary Congolese band.
They were young, daring and opened new frontiers for many talented musicians from the land of Rumba.
But most of all, they learnt to play music—not their test……
The author is a veteran journalist and communication expert/consultant.
mpumilwa@gmail.com
