DIR Return Create A Forum - Home
---------------------------------------------------------
Africambiance2
HTML https://africambiance2.createaforum.com
---------------------------------------------------------
*****************************************************
DIR Return to: African Music
*****************************************************
#Post#: 1172--------------------------------------------------
40 Years
By: tutulu Date: June 27, 2016, 6:31 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
It is a pity that
this big orchestre - Les Mangelepa - will not be coming to my
side.
The band still has 3 surviving founding members of the original
Les Mangelepa.
How I wish I could watch them in the flesh.
Orchestre Les Mangelepa celebrate 40 years with European tour
Jun 21, 2016 • by In-house Kenya
Legendary Congolese band Orchestre Les Mangelepa is marking 40
years of making music with a tour of Europe.
The tour will see them perform at various festivals in the Czech
Republic, Germany, Belgium, Poland, Netherlands and Switzerland.
Originally from the Swahili-speaking part of Eastern Congo, Les
Mangelepa have released more than 13 albums and penned some of
East Africa’s best-loved songs. The band was formed as an
offshoot of Orchestre Baba National of Baba Gaston, which first
arrived in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania in 1972 and soon started
recording with the Tanzania Film Company and another label
called Sindimba. In 1973 they boarded an OTC bus to Nairobi to
record.
Once in the Kenyan capital, after playing for some time with
Baba Gaston at the Inn on the Park restaurant at Uhuru Park and
composing 'Kakolele Viva Christmas', the talented youngsters
abandoned their mentor and formed Orchestre Les Mangelepa in
1976. Their name comes from 'Mangelepa', a dance that had been
invented by founding member Kabanze Evany while still in
Gaston's band.
The group's growing popularity in Kenya attracted other
Congolese bands and before long there was cut-throat competition
in Nairobi between Les Mangelepa, Les Kinois, Super Mazembe, and
Viva Makale. Their ongoing success is testament to the influence
of Congolese music on Kenya’s music scene, particularly in terms
of. They were at the centre of the East Africa Rumba sound, in
contrast to the Congolese soukous that dominated African pop
music in the 1980s and 90s.
Orchestre Les Mangelepa have thrilled fans throughout the region
- including Zambia, Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania - by churning out
hits such as ‘Embakasi’, ‘Maindusa’, ‘Walter’ and ‘Safari ya
Mangelepa’. Their brilliant arrangements and superbly crafted
songs have kept legions dancing to their beat, aided by guitars,
brass and vocal harmonies.
Orch Les Mangelepa - Nyako Konya
HTML https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCgLbI4i1ec
Their remarkable story is one of survival and endurance: after
nearly 40 years, they still perform every week at Vibro in
Nairobi West, bucking the current trend for DJs and smaller
ensembles with up to 12 musicians on stage, including a full
horn section. The surviving members from the original Mangelepa
are Kabila wa Kabanze Evany, Nzazi Kalenga Kibawa Vivy and
Kaniki Lutulu Macky.
To celebrate 40 years on stage, Orchestre Les Mangelepa will be
performing at a select number of European summer festivals,
including Amsterdam Roots and the Hertme Afrika Festival in the
Netherlands in early July. Confirmed dates for their upcoming
tour are as follows:
29 June: Praha Respect Music Festival - Prague, Czech
Republic
30 June: Fusion Festival - Larz, Germany
1 July: Brussel Recyclart - Brussels, Belgium
2 July: Amsterdam Roots - Amsterdam, Netherlands
3 July: Hertme Afrika Festival - Hertme, Netherlands
6 July: Berlin Urban Spree - Berlin, Germany
7 July: Pardon - Warsaw, Poland
10 July: Lausanne Festival de La Cite - Lausanne,
Switzerland
11 July: Geneve Ecoutes Au Vert - Geneva, Switzerland
Before leaving for Europe, Les Mangelepa performed on Thursday
16 June at Choices pub in Nairobi.
For more details about the band's European tour visit their
Facebook page
#Post#: 1177--------------------------------------------------
Re: 40 Years
By: newfan Date: July 25, 2016, 5:56 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
You could make the case this is the best of the Congolese
diaspora bands in Kenya. Very great music -- Maindusa, Nyako
Konya, Embakasi, etc., etc.
#Post#: 1178--------------------------------------------------
Re: 40 Years
By: tutulu Date: July 28, 2016, 12:54 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
The number 1 Kenya based Congolese band , to me, is
out of Lovy Longomba's bands - Super Mazembe, Samba's Orchestre
Kinois/ Virunga.
I have listened to a very small number of the music
#Post#: 1179--------------------------------------------------
Re: 40 Years
By: newfan Date: July 28, 2016, 4:07 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
Those are also terrific groups but Les Mangelepa, to me, had the
most distinctive sound and the most unforgettable songs when
they were at their best. Great arrangements and fantastic
guitarists, horns, percussion.
#Post#: 1180--------------------------------------------------
Re: 40 Years
By: tutulu Date: July 28, 2016, 6:56 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
As I side, I have only listened to a tiny fraction of Kenya
based Congolese music.
The retroafric release - Endurance - is the only Les Mangelepa
that I have.
*****************************************************