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Lokua KanzaNkolo (World Village) Kanza draws on sounds from his father’s village and his native Lingala tongue. A devout Christian, Kanza started out singing in the church in Kinshasha. Kanza, who now lives mainly in Brazil, was known as "The Brazilian" from an early age. The album' is a mixture of ndombolo [Congolese dance music] and samba, but Kanza also introduces instruments from outside these traditions, such as an ondes Martenot and a cristal Baschet (similar to a glass harmonica). Sung in Lingala, Portuguese and French, Nkolo is a strong cross-cultural mix, a blend of melody and atmosphere, with aesthetics defy simple catogorrization.
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More info: Lokua Kanza was born in Bukavu, in the Democratic Republic of Congo. His father is one of the Mongo people, known for their polyphonic singing, and his mother comes from Rwanda, known for its sophisticated court music. In Kinshasha he was steeped in music from morning till night, learned to sing in church, and discovered a wide variety of artists and styles not just through radio and television, but also in clubs, in the street and at concerts. His decision to become a singer happened after he’d attended one of Miriam Makeba’s concerts, then her friend Ray Lema gave him his first guitar, and he made his first public appearances in some Zaire rumba bands. This was followed by a period of study – music theory and orchestration – at the conservatoire. He was always ready to listen to everything that came his way, from Bach to chanson by way of Rhythm ‘n Blues, pop and bossa nova. As well as guitar and mandolin (electric and acoustic in both cases), he played bass, flute, piano and electric keyboard, sanza and percussion. He spent the early days of his career along the Gulf of Guinea from Zaire to Côte d’Ivoire, but his talent really came to the fore in the group of the great singer Abeti Masikini. In 1984 he left for Paris to take some jazz guitar lessons. He quickly became part of the African community there and accompanied Ray Lema, Papa Wemba, Sixun and Manu Dibango. His first album, Lokua Kanza, released in 1993, was tremendously successful; it also revealed his talents as a composer/songwriter. The early “trial run” became a new reality two years later with Wapi Yo, then 3 (1998), Toyebi Te (2003) and Plus Vivant (2005), not forgetting TotoBonaLukua between these last two, made with friends and fellow musicians Gérald Toto and Richard Bona. So the albums of troubadour Lokua Kanza are rare gems indeed. But note that our man leads a tripartite global life, with Europe, Africa and Brazil as the points of the triangle, giving concerts all over the globe, and leading another life as a composer, working for names such as Gal Costa, Miriam Makeba, Sara Tavares, Papa Wemba, Busi Mlhongo, Vanessa Da Mata, and even Nana Mouskouri. A fan of encounters where Fate might have had a hand, he’s also been seen on stage or in the studio with Youssou N’Dour, Geoffrey Oryema, his fellow-countryman Koffi Olomidé, Djavan, Chico Cesar, Al Jarreau, not forgetting Noa, Francis Cabrel, Bisso Na Bissso, Passi, Jean-Louis Aubert, Catherine Lara and Enzo Enzo.
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