A NEW HISTORY OF CONGOLESE
MUSIC

Ever since the publication of Sylvan
Bemba's French language '50 Ans Du Musique De Congo-Zaire'in 1984 , lovers of Congolese music have been eagerly awaiting a comprehensive update on the evolution of the music from 1970 to the present day.

An American journalist, Gary Stewart, has now addressed this need with the publication of his book, 'Rumba On The River:  A History Of The Popular Music Of The Two Congos'  (Verso, 2000, £25). The ambitious aim reflected in the title is  almost perfectly met; in 394 pages, Stewart presents an insightful and detailed coverage of the musical events in their historical context, alternating sections of musical analysis with contemporary political and social events which affected the musicians and their followers. The book is very well written, illustrating its main themes clearly; the achievement of excellent music in difficult economic and political circumstances, and the struggle to create a viable business structure to support the music;  the clashes between musicians, especially over issues of leadership / power and money within and between major groups; and the more recent contrasting sounds and changing musical fortunes of artists based in Kinshasa, Brazzaville and Paris. He respects the existence of competing versions of what really happened in artistic disputes, providing quotes from all parties involved and leaving the reader to exercise their own judgements but he is not afraid to make his own thoughts clear, particularly on political developments in the two countries. Stewart also brings a deft touch to his descriptions of the stylistic innovations by musicians, as in this analysis of Docteur Nico's unique guitar technique:

"..before the advent of electronic effects pedals and multi-track recording, he discovered a way to create reverberation where each note shimmered into the next one. It sounded faintly like he might be playing a keyboard, a harpsichord perhaps.."


The quality of the paper ensures the excellent reproduction of black and white photos, giving added prestige to this important hardback publication.

The first nine chapters cover much of the territory explored by Sylvan Bemba, with additional detail from recent research; we learn more about the factors which facilitated the dominant position enjoyed by Kabasele and Franco in the 50's, particularly through Stewart's coverage of the emerging studios such as Ngoma, Loningisa and Opika; he emphasises the importance of these studios in bringing musicians into a full-time profession, and he stresses the relatively friendly nature of the competition between each pool of musicians at the time. The impact of national liberation on musicians and their followers is emphasised; the music spread beyond the two Congo's as Kabasele linked with FONIOR to record in Europe and distribute records more widely. However, he also points to the new conflicts between, and within, bands at this time of musical growth: the music thrived but there was also evidence of  growing contradictions, 'egotism and distrust, disarray and brilliance' (p100) Money became a primary question for all band members, and the power of band leaders was continually questioned by them as bands struggled to retain its members without the support of adequate administrative structures or legal status. He clearly relates these tendencies to the new social tensions emerging under Mobutoism.

By Chapter Ten, Stewart leaves the shadow of Sylvan Bemba's work to trace events from the 1970's onwards. New groups were emerging as discontented sidemen broke away from the big four (Franco, Rochereau, Docteur Nico and the Bantous) and a new young generation also formed its own bands; Zaiko, Bella Bella, and Empire Bakuba all receive welcome in-depth coverage , and the business dealings of new Zairean music
(go to next page, Book Review 2)