Kekete Bue

One of the first Congolese artists to come to Europe and popularise the commercial soukous sound at the beginning of the 1980s, Kanda came from the Soki Brothers’ ‘school’ of music with groups Bella Bella and Bella Mambo. On moving to Europe he, along with his solo guitarist Diblo Dibala, was partially responsible for stripping the Congolese sound down. By eradicating the lengthy and more verbose verses and going straight into the dazzling guitar/animation part of the song Kanda was able to very successfully market the music to non-Lingala speaking audiences across the world.

Although he continues to perform live concerts, Kekete Bue is his first recording in ten years. It greatly continues his original musical formula and there is little newly composed material here. New versions of ‘Jessy’, ‘Rose Rose’ and the English language ‘I Will Sing’ are joined by a track featuring Ugandan singer Eddy Kenzo (which doubtless will appeal to his huge East African audience). There is also a live version of ‘Monie’ recorded in South Africa in 2015 which best exemplifies Kanda's commercial appeal.