Viva La Musica
Viva La Musica | |
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Origin | Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo |
Genres | |
Years active | 1977—present |
Viva La Musica is a popular band from
History
Before creating Viva La Musica, Papa Wemba had already obtained popularity in
Viva La Musica's overall style was the outcome of a careful balancing of several elements, some of which of political nature. While the group would be dressed like Europeans (something that was not easily accepted by the "Africanist" government of Mobutu Sese Seko), this was counterbalanced by an explicit endorsement of Congolese tradition, including the use of lokole drums and Wemba's declared support for Mobutu's Authenticité campaign. One of the first songs of Viva La Musica was dedicated to Mobutu's wife.
The band was an instant success. Less than one year after their debut, the Elima newspaper awarded the band as "Best Orchestra" of Zaire, while Papa Wemba was declared "Best Singer" and one of their early hits, Mère Supérieure, was listed as Best Song. In the next two years, the band peaked several times at the top of the local charts, with hits like Moku Nyon Nyon, Mabele Mokonzi, Bokulaka, Princesse ya Sinza, Nyekesse Migue'l, and Cou Cou Dindon.
In 1979 Wemba spent six years in Paris, performing with group
In the early 1980s, Wemba neglected Viva La Musica to strengthen his collaboration relations with European (mostly French) artists. He stayed in Europe so long that rumors spread in Zaire about his alleged death. As a consequence of his absence, Viva La Musica went to pieces, and in 1982 14 of its 19 members had left. Wemba recreated the band in 1983 with a completely renovated lineup that released Rumba Rock-Frenchen, one of the first Zairean albums to sell well in the European market. This success convinced Wemba that it was time to "slam the door on Zaire", as he announced on his website. From that moment on, Viva La Musica's albums were explicitly conceived for the world music market rather than the Zairean-soukous audience. In 1986, the international status of the band was sealed by a tour that reached as far as Japan. At the same time, several members of the group were fired because, according to Wemba, they were not able to cooperate with non-African musicians and were not interested in any music except that of Zaire.
In 1987, the band actually relocated to Paris. Wemba's musical interests, anyway, already reached way beyond Viva La Musica. Solo productions (such as the eponymous Papa Wemba album of 1988) and collaborations with international artists (such as Peter Gabriel, Eric Clapton, Stevie Wonder, and others) became prominent. Viva La Musica was essentially reduced to a group of session musicians that Wemba would rely on when he was in Europe; but at the same time, he had other musical ensembles, such as Molokai International and Nouvelle Ecriture. This state of things was made clear by performances such as a pharaonic concert in Brussels in 1999, where Wemba led a huge band comprising Viva La Musica, Molokai, Nouvelle Ecriture, and even former Zaiko Langa Langa members.
Dances popularized by Viva La Musica
As is common in the soukous tradition, Viva La Musica has introduced several dance styles in the Congolese popular culture. The list of dance styles created or popularized by the band includes:[1]
- MoKoNyoNyon Nyon Nyon (Provoquer MoKoNyoNyon), Mokonyonyon Kaka Odimba (1977)
- Nyekesse Miguel, Nyekesse Elengi hein, Nyekesse Mputu (1978)
- Ba La Joie (1978)
- Mokonyonyon Sentiment Elela (1979)
- CooCoo Dindon , Awa Kaka (1979)
- Griffe Dindon (1980)
- Eza Eza (1981)
- Mansota (1982)
- Rumba Rock-Frenchen (1983)
- La Musselman (1984)
- La Firenze (1984)
- Se-Ya (1986)
- Kwassa kwassa (1987)
- Comme a l'ecole (1989)
- Le Pas qui va, le Pas qui revient (1990)
- Bouloukoutu (1991)
- Mingi Mingi (1993)
- Tuna Sortie (1994)
- Chege (1996)
- Nsu Nsengele (1999)
- Nkila Mogroso (2003)