Ntoto

Born to Congolese parents, Lilas Lafleur grew up in Paris and as a teenager sang on several albums by her uncle, the soukous guitarist Diblo Dibala. After moving to Britain she recorded a gospel album and worked with various R&B artists but it seemed she was lost to music when she started entering bodybuilding competitions and studied to become a personal trainer. With a new name and now based in Birmingham (UK) she’s returned to the musical fray with Ntoto, an album she’s written, arranged and produced that returns to her Congolese roots but with a potent, contemporary urban twist. Album opener ‘To Tongisa (Intro)’ has Lilas chanting over clattering traditional percussion and sounding like a cross between Zap Mama and Angélique Kidjo. ‘Lelo’ and ‘Lamuka’ are upbeat party songs while ‘Nostalgie’, with its spiralling guitars, is a classic slice of traditional soukous and ‘Mere Vonvon’ is a soulful semi-acoustic pop ballad mourning the loss of her mother. Her voice possesses a striking vibrato, she writes memorable melodies and although the album sounds very much like an auteur project, with a cracking band she could be a dynamic stage presence.