Jul 22/07
Congolese Kenya
Benn loxo reader and contributor, Fabián, comes through again with some great music by Congolese musicians living in Kenya during the 1970s. I’ve also included a few tracks from my own collection to beef-up the post.
I love reading the stories about how all these bands and the personalities behind them are connected. This is especially true when you’re talking about a relatively small group, Conogolese musicians living in Nairobi during the 1970s and early 80s.
Pepelepe was formed by ex-members of Baba Gaston’s Baba Nationale who had recently moved to Nairobi from Zaire in the early 1970s.
Jim Monimambo formed the Boma Liwanza offshoot, Special Liwanza, in Nairobi in 1976. I would love to get some more Boma Liwanza music. Anyone up for a trade?
Monimambo also wrote and performed for Orchestra Shika Shika, another group that had formed in 1980s in the aftermath of Boma Liwanza’s break-up.
I’ve included some Orchestra Mazemba since they were one of the leading Congolese bands in Kenya during the 1970s and 80s.
Finally, something from the Kenya and Tanzania natives, Simba Wanyika, so we can hear how it wasn’t just the Congolese playing that pre-benga, early soukous style in 1970s Nairobi.
Thanks to Benn loxo reader, Cheeku, and Matt over at Matsuli Music for first introducing me to Shika Shika and the various Liwanzas. And thanks, Fabián, for the continuing contributions.
You can find more info by people who know a lot more about this era than I do here and here.
Orchestre Pepelepe - Mulambo
Orchestre Special Liwanza - Mwale parts 1 & 2
Orchestre Shika Shika - Diabanza
Orchestre Shika Shika - Ivete parts 1 & 2
Orchestre Super Mazembe - Kassongo
Simba Wanyika - Shilingi maua tena maua
July 23rd, 2007 at 11:55 am
Thx for highlighting this important fact (~Congolese musicians polishing Kenyan tunes in the 1970s & 80s).
July 24th, 2007 at 12:39 am
These are absolutely fantastic. Thanks for sharing them with us.
July 30th, 2007 at 5:53 pm
Hey Matt,
thanks for spotlighting these groups, I’m a huge fan of this sound - it seems like it is begging a nice reissue with good liner notes etc. .. I’ve got a question maybe one of your readers might know the answer too, I’ve heard the phrase “sikiya sauce” on a few songs from these bands but have never been able to find out what it means
July 30th, 2007 at 6:08 pm
Matt,
Good Music,
is one of mi favorites!
I love this Bands
Viva Makale
Les Noir
Super Mazembe
Les Kinois
Les Volcano
Les Mangelepa
Les Wanyika
Simba Wanyika
Greetings,
Fabian–
August 1st, 2007 at 6:11 pm
Hi Zim,
Sikiya is Congolese Swahili (like kusikia, to listen), so I guess it means “Listen to the (musical) Sauce!”
Later,
Pieter
August 3rd, 2007 at 3:29 pm
Pieter, Thanks!
that’s been buffing me for quite some time. By the way, some of the songs that mention the phrase are “Sikiya Sauce” by Orchestre Les Noirs, “Nairobi” by Orchestre G.O. Malebo and on the LP “Franco presente Dewayon, Celi Bitshou, Samu Bakula, Bedermos” the title by Samu Bakula , who was in G.O. Malebo - “Amour Kajilo”
August 3rd, 2007 at 8:27 pm
excellent music - give it up
August 4th, 2007 at 2:54 am
Any chance for an update soon accompanied by some contemporary dance/afro beat? Good on ya!
August 28th, 2007 at 3:20 am
Here is my take on “sikiya sauce.” As some may know, though kiswahili is a language spoken mostly in East Africa, it is aslo spoken in some parts of southern and Central Africa. Lumbumbashi - a town in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) - with its proximity to western Tanzania has a large kiswahili speaking population. It produced many musicians who made it into East African. Lingala, the lingua franca in the DRC, is mostly a bantu language as is kiswahili. Thus, one is bound to find many common words (pesa, mingi, baba, mwana etc). Sikia (sikiya), as someone has aptly noted, means to hear or listen. However, it can also mean to feel. In its loose form one can use it to mean ‘to taste’. And this is what I think the musicians are referring to. As for ’sauce’, I am inclined to think that sauce is considered tasty. Thus ’sikiya sauce’ may simply mean feel/taste the sweetness of the music. You may notice that in the Les Noir ‘Sikiya Sauce’ tune, they actually use the term ’sikiya butamu’. ‘Utamu’ is kiswahili for sweet(ness). The Congolose tend to use the ‘ba’ prefix instead of ‘wa’ as is common in East Africa. For example, they are bound to say ‘batoto’ (children) as opposed to ‘watoto’ as East Africans would.
October 23rd, 2007 at 11:46 am
hii
That was very nice staff !
Do you by any chance have some congoleses classics like by:Verskys,kiam ?
January 2nd, 2008 at 2:24 pm
How refresing to read this. I gew up on this Music.
One group I particularly miss is the “Vundumuna”. My parents lived next door to Sammy Kasule whom I met twice many years later while he was living in Norway.
I have been trying to find any music by Vundumuna and or Sammy Kasule.
It would humble and delight me sana, if I could get any copies.
Once again, nice to see that this great music is still appreciated. Natarajia sana kusikia muziki yao tena.
Zinzi
February 2nd, 2008 at 2:07 pm
Thx Guyz 4 your inputs and memories about that era. It was just great music. All the Bands mentioned and the guyz involved were real artistes. I enjoyed the voices of guyz like Prince Koko Zigo Mike with his Orch Kombe Kombe , Kalombo Mwanza with Viva Makale, Jim M Mambo was fine indeed, Super Lovy, Nana Akumu, Baba Kaumba, Mzee Makassy with hits like “molema” , Les Jaca , super men like Lava Machine Vumbi, Jean Mukulu , Baba Elombe, Kabakaba Bibiley, King Moreno, Samba Mapangala, the list is endless!
One time i got very good facts about these bands on the net and i copied them. The were compiled by one gentleman called Mutu from Kenya. I emailed him but never replied! He had good memories.
But gentlemen, where can one get copies of this great MUSIC? Polygram and other Companies shutdown many years AGO! Whoever has a clue can email me. There is a guy on Radio Free Africa based at Mwanza, TZ called Jacob Usungu who has the music but he didnt reply my email too. Plz get him on jjusungu@yahoo.com. Try and if anybody succeeds let me know. He’s got all the HITS on Cd at just US $3 only. He spins them each Thur nite between 1000pm and 0100am. He is on FM in the Mwanza area and AM within the Region ie Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, etc may pick him.
This musicians came to my life around 1981 when i was in my Primary Six and i used to be an ardnet listener of the then Voice Of Kenya now KBC. I really enjoyed this music and the artistes but at that age i couldnt afford either a tape or Vinly disc however, with time i managed to collect some hits abandoned by people who care less about things and i always copy them on tapes from my turntable and some put on my PC.
Plz gentlemen lets keep in touch.
Nice time n take care!
Yawe Zulfikar
Kampala, Uganda.
June 3rd, 2008 at 3:58 am
[...] who were big in Nairobi for a while especially with Sikiya Sauce, a track that has turned out to be Zim’s “Moby Dick” - the need to figure out whom the Sikiya Sauce catch-phrase belonged to and what it was all about. [...]
June 20th, 2008 at 2:45 pm
thanks Jaribu,
I was just listening to the new mangelepa release this morning (makes me want to listen to their older stuff, though better than expected) and noticed a generous usage of the “Sikiya sauce” phrase with all its variants, particularly in the first track of the CD - Nairobi.
“Sikiya Sauce”, “Sikiya butamu” and “Sikiya mangelepa” are all shouted out - its nice to know what that means for a change.