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  Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Franco Luambo Makiadi Presents Les Editions Populaires (1968-1970), The Soul of Congo - Treasures of the Ngoma label LP edition, The Soul of Congo - Treasures of the Ngoma label (1948-1963), Joseph Kabasele And The Creation Of Surboum African Jazz (1960-1963), Luvumbu Ndoki / Ludiata Nangwi, Pas Un Pas Sans... The Boleros Of O.K. Jazz 1957-77, La Rumba De Mi Vida, Roots From the Congo, and 2 more. , and , .

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  In January 2015, the Belgian artist Vincent Meessen is in Kinshasa in the club Un.Deux.Trois, the mythical club of Franco Luambo Makiadi and his band OK Jazz. With his film crew, he is shooting a film based on "Ludiata Nangwi" (Walking Standing), a revolutionary and internationalist song written in May 1968 by Mbelolo ya Mpiku. He was a Congolese student of Raoul Vaneigem, a Belgian teacher and thinker, who was also a member of the Situationist International, a revolutionary movement which has had considerable influence in the field of radical thought, political action and artistic creation.
  
  It is in an archive of Vaneigem that an unpublished and unknown text appeared. This typewritten sheet of paper with lyrics in the Kikongo language was accompanied by another text, a well-known one, of a rumba by Franco mourning the assassination of Patrice Lumumba. At the time, Meessen thinks that the radical and furious song of Mbelolo is a rumba. He is fascinated by this musical form, which sounds different than the typical rumbas he has heard before. Located at the crossroads of the revolutionary struggle of a European avant-garde, the Situationist international, and Congolese folk music, this song is a surprise on all fronts.
  
  In 2014, Meessen found Mbelolo in Kinshasa, but he did not remember the tune that turned out to be an 'ndara', the traditional music style of the Bas-Congo and derived from the name of its string instrument. A recording existed but it was lost. Vincent Kenis, the musical producer asked by Meessen to direct the musical part, comes up with a solution. He contacts Claude, an extraordinary ndara player who lives in Kinshasa.
  
  Vincent Meessen was interested in how this old song could be incarnated into the Kinshasa present. How to embody the meaning of the lyrics? The idea then comes to support a flourishing trend in Kinshasa: young musicians who decided to form, as in the late sixties, all-female groups. They embody emancipation in the present. A group composed of Judith Kadiela, Dolicia Keta, Huguette Tolinga and Rossety Mampuya starts rehearsals under Kenis' musical direction. The latter also records some additional rhythms from the Mansia Ballet, a traditional manianga band from Lower-Congo.
  
  To solve the problem of the musical 'recomposition' necessary for the project, Meessen proposes to appeal to "Luvumbu Ndoki" (Luvumbu the sorcerer), a traditional song of Franco in Kikongo which was his mother tongue. This song was recorded in 1966 and was censored by Mobutu's secret police at the time of release because it was suspected to be a critique of the 'Martyrs de la Pentecôte'. In this event which took place on June 1, 1966, four Congolese politicians, including ex-Prime Minister Kimba, were executed by hanging in public. Luvumbu is indeed a mythical sorcerer who does not hesitate to sacrifice members of his family to stay in power. The folk song, usually sung at family celebrations, carries a form of accusation that is only taken seriously by the one it points out.
  
  In January 2015, during the shooting of the film, the group of young women plays 'Ludiata Nangwi', accompanied by echoes of 'Luvumbu Ndoki' at Un.Deux.Trois. Nearby, there is the Stadium of Martyrs, named in memory of the Pentecost political crimes that happened in the past. While shooting the film, a violent popular uprising broke out in opposition to the re-election of president Kabila. More than forty students and activists were killed by bullets of the riot police.
  
  Includes unlimited streaming of Luvumbu Ndoki / Ludiata Nangwi via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more. ... more

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