Jupiter Bokondji
Jupiter Bokondji | |
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Democratic Republic of Congo | |
| Website | jupiterandokwess |
Jupiter Bokondji (born 1963) is a musician from Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). He and his band, Okwess International, released their first album, Hotel Univers, in May 2013 in the United Kingdom. The band was created in 1990, and they toured the African continent. However, at the same time that their popularity grew, a civil war broke out in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Some band members fled to Europe to escape violence, but Bokondji stayed in Kinshasa. As the war died down, his popularity grew again, and in 2006 he was featured in the documentary Jupiter's Dance. This brought him to the attention of UK producers and musicians, which led to him joining the African Express tour, the production of Hotel Univers, and performing at the 2013 Glastonbury Festival.[1][2]
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Bokondji's sound is a combination of
History
Bokondji was born in Kinshasa. His father was a Congolese diplomat, and his grandmother was a traditional healer. His grandmother got him started in music as he attended ceremonies and funerals with her to play percussion instruments like drums. Later, his father was posted to the embassy in East Berlin, and the family moved to Germany.
It was in Germany that Bokondji started his band, Der Neger, which combined his native Mongo music style with the European rock style of his German bandmates. His father's posting eventually ended, and the family moved back to Kinshasa in the 1980s. Bokondji traveled around the country listening to music from different tribes and solidifying his own style. He formed an orchestra called Bongofolk in 1984 and Okwess International in 1990.[4]
International breakthrough
French filmmakers Renaud Barret and Florent de la Tullaye met Bokondji in 2004, and he inspired them to create the documentary Jupiter's Dance, which was released in 2006. The film featured music from Okwess as well as
Jupiter & Okwess was part of the lineup for the 22nd Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in April 2023.[9]
References
- ^ Africa Beats: DR Congo's Jupiter, BBC, 25 April 2013.
- ^ a b Paul MacInnes, Harriet Gibsone, Paul Lester and Caspar Llewellyn Smith, Future Glastonbury festival headliners: which bands are making the most noise The Guardian, 24 June 2013.
- ^ Thomas Mecha JUPITER & OKWESS INTERNATIONAL, 11 July 2013, Jusi I Love.
- ^ Okwess Band Biography Archived December 20, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Andy Morgan, Jupiter Bokondji: 'The cultural riches of Congo are immense', The Guardian, 26 August 2012.
- ^ Alec Moses, Jupiter Bokondji and Okwess International wow Womad Festival fans Archived 2013-08-06 at archive.today, 29 July 2012, Demotix
- ^ "Jupiter & Okwess". Jupiter & Okwess. 2019. Retrieved 2019-08-16.
- ^ Galil, Leor (28 March 2019). "The schedule for the 2019 Millennium Park Summer Music Series is here!". Chicago Reader. Retrieved 2019-08-16.
- ^ "Coachella 2023 Weekend 2 Lineup & Schedule: All the Set Times You Need to Know". Pitchfork. 2023-04-21. Retrieved 2023-04-26.
External links
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