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Fally Ipupa - Act II
Second solo album
Paris
21/08/2009 -
Fally Ipupa: Well, I don't necessarily think it's a bad thing, but I feel that people don't really understand the point the minister was trying to make. I spoke to him personally and he explained that dedications like this have to comply to certain rules. They should not be used improperly. Basically, if we want to sing songs praising the government, we can do so during electoral campaigns but at other times those songs cannot be broadcast on national TV. Having said that, though, there are at least forty private TV channels… I don't feel this particular law concerns me, because I don't feel I've overstepped the mark. I was just honouring the authorities in my songs.
But don't you think that the practice of libanga (paying for a dedication in a song) has turned many Congolese artists into advertising machines? In some cases singers recite a litany of dedications, listing over fifty names…
Not all dedications are paid for, you know, only some of them. You have to understand that libanga is an integral part of Congolese music. This is our way of generating advertising revenue. If you want to advertise something in France, you have to pay for it - and, believe me, it's a lot more expensive to pay for advertising in France than it is in the Congo! I think the only thing that matters is that dedications should never kill a song.
Yes, absolutely, different versions of the songs will be made available. Bicarbonate, the first single from the new album, was originally released in the Congolese version, but it's already been remixed for foreign stations without the dedications. The foreign version is much shorter than the original. In the Congo we like to do really long songs lasting at least seven minutes. I don't mind adapting my work for foreign audiences, but I can't do a rumba song that's only three minutes long because that would mean turning my back on the Congolese community. I'm just trying to keep everyone happy and respect western norms when it comes to song format.
At what point did you feel that you'd found your niche in the music world?
It took me a while to feel that way. You can't just get up one morning and decide to make an album, you know! I think I found my niche before making my first album actually, back in the days when I was with Quartier Latin. I spent nearly ten years of my life and recorded more than six albums with Koffi Olomidé and his group. I learnt a great deal working with him. Koffi's a real professional who takes his work very seriously. We worked like crazy with him!
Well, I was already a singer before I met Koffi but I honed my skills as a songwriter and composer working with him. Before that, I used to just pick up a pen and scribble down a few lines on a piece of paper. But to take those initial ideas and turn them into something I had to go through Quartier Latin and follow my guide, Koffi. He was the one who taught me how to start a song and how to structure things… I wrote my first song, Éternellement, at the age of fifteen and we recorded it for the Quartier Latin album Force de Frappe.
You chose to work with a fellow Congolese musician, the guitarist Maika Munan, on your new album again. What did Maika bring to the album as arranger and producer?
Well, I was the one who came up with the basic concept for the album. I turned up with the compositions and then Maika arranged the songs. Once he'd finished his arrangements, we'd take the material into the studio and he'd step into the role of producer - although, really we co-produced the album together because I had my own ideas on things… Maika is brilliant at packaging a song. When you need to bring in the guitarist, he knows exactly how to explain things to him. And when you need a spot of percussion, he knows exactly where to place it. It's amazing, just when you think that a song's finished, that there's nothing else you could possibly add, Maika will come up with some new idea that just blows you away! Maika worked with a lot of big stars from the generations before me including Tabu Ley Rochereau and Koffi Olomidé… He's a really important figure and someone I have a lot of respect for. He brought me such a lot on my first album that this time round I thought to myself "Why change a winning team?"
Bertrand Lavaine
Translation : Julie Street
23/03/2011 -
