Kando Bongo Man Permanence, stability and continuity are very rare commodities in the political and social life of central west Africa. Congo, Zaire, Democratic Republic Of Congo, Mobutu, Kabila, this faction, that faction - it all leaves people very little to cling onto, let alone dance about. That's why it's all the more reassuring and heartening to see that Kanda Bongo Man is still strutting his stuff with his hi-octane unleaded soukous after a career spanning more than a quarter of a century.
Soukous, is THE pop sound of Africa. It was originally blended from Cuban rhumba, Congolese rhythms and stripped down disco production values in the clubs and funhouses of mid 1970s Kinshasa, capital of what was then Zaire. The name comes from the French 'secouer', 'to shake', which is just about all you can do when you're under its spell, unless you're deaf or dead that is. Its hallmarks are a tub-thumping all-consuming groove, mesmerizing guitar work and gorgeous close harmony vocals.
Kanda Bong Man, who earned his 'Bongo Man' nickname from his drummer grandfather, fronted the seminal early Soukous combo Bella Bella before moving to Paris from Kinshasa in 1979 to pursue a solo career. His 1981 album 'Iloye' topped charts all over Africa and he went to release a string of classics on the Hannibal label, including 'Amour Fou' and 'Kwassa Kwassa', the later named after a hip-grinding dance that Kanda Bongo Man invented.