Congo Guitar

With sharp and clear tones –reminiscent of the sounds of one of the titans of Congolese guitar playing, Dr Nico – Congo Guitar is an impeccable display of Dekula’s hard-earned expertise on his instrument. The orchestration is sparse throughout the album, allowing the intricate riffs and luscious harmonies with the second guitar, also played by Dekula, to flourish.

The opening track, ‘Afroblues’, sets the scene with a pulsing, hypnotic rhythm which feels akin to Steve Reich’s ‘Electric Counterpoint’, infused with some beautiful, warbling field recordings added by Swedish collaborator Karl Jonas Winqvist. The album departs from there and loses some momentum, with songs more expected from a soukous record. Syrupy guitar melodies are woven throughout until the last track ‘UN Forces (Get Out of the Democratic Republic of Congo)’ which brings a banjo and vocals by Dekula and percussion by Winqvist.

It’s undeniably a beautiful sounding record that achieves what it set out to – a clear display of the virtuosic talent of Vumbi Dekula.

Yet, it becomes evident during the album that, instead of a writing process, these songs relied on spontaneity, with Dekula and Winqvist ‘allow[ing] the music to guide them,’ when they recorded over two days in Stockholm.