RFI Musique - - Africa - Lokua Kanza, the gentle balladeer

Lokua Kanza, the gentle balladeer

New album for the Congolese artist

Paris

25/03/2010 -

Congolese singer Lokua Kanza has abandoned neither love nor levity on his latest album, even if the title, Nkolo, strikes a sadder note as it refers to immigrants who dream of returning home. And yet this work of delicate and singular beauty underlines Lokua’s belief in humanity and the sweetness of life. Lokua creates an intimate, relaxed ambience for his tender ballads, hypnotising us with the purity of his voice.

send

react

RFI Musique: Your songs suggest that you’re something of a sentimental soul. Is that a fair description?
Lokua Kanza: My music is first and foremost about human feeling and emotion, which is something that unites us all. Even if we refuse to believe it, deep down in every human being there is a vital need to love and be loved. Love, I believe, is what we need the most. There is so much violence in this world. I try in my way, through my songs, to bring some lightness and happiness to people.

Although you started your career Kinshasa playing dance music, since your debut album in 1993 your style has been more sober and intimate. Why did you choose this style?
It’s what I have the most feeling for, I think. The music that I love tends to be gentle and melancholic. This is really my world. I noticed on my first album that I don’t really have to make a huge effort to get this effect. Almost all the songs were recorded in a single take.

On your last album you used a children’s choir, a sansa (thumb piano), harmonica, cuica (type of drum), ondes Martinot and cristal Baschet, which made for something of a hybrid sound…
Well, I’m something of a hybrid myself. My father is Mongo, my mother Tutsi. There are two cultures that come together in me. I learnt to sing in church choirs but also to play the rumba. As a child I was passionate about traditional music but I also studied classical music and jazz, and attended the Kinshasa Conservatory.

What languages do you sing in?
I use my native language Lingala, but also Swahili, French, an invented language, plus some Portuguese: I’ve been living in Brazil for the past year and a half.

When did you first go to Brazil?
The first person to take me there was Djavan. Having heard my album Wapi Yo, which came out in 1995, he invited me. And that’s how I ended up singing in Brazil with Al Jarreau. It was a magnificent concert. After, I started moving a lot between France and Brazil. I’d been thinking about moving here for years before I actually did it.

The new record comes a good five years after the previous one, Plus vivant. Did you lose some of your focus in Brazil?
Well, I’m a bit of a slow worker. I worked on this album, my sixth, for three years. But it’s true that in Brazil, I started writing for several artists after Gal Costa did a Portuguese version of three tracks from my French album Plus Vivant, one of which was used on a primetime telenovela, which all writers here dream about. So then Ney Matogrosso asked me to write something, and then Vanessa da Mata. That said, I still go back regularly to Kinshasa, and I’m planning a concert there to launch my new album in May. I’m also planning to open a music school there.

People in Kinshasa love ndombolo dance music. Are they a bit disconcerted by the music you’re doing now?
I decided to launch my album for the first time there for a good reason. In Kinshasa today, in the theatres, cinemas and pubs, you hear my music. The Congolese don’t only like music to dance to, they also like to listen. And you need slow music as well for romantic reasons! Releasing my album in Congo is important to me, and in fact I’ve added a ndombolo track on the African version, featuring the drummer from Werason and the guitarist from JB Mpiana. I did a duet recently with Koffi Olomidé on his latest album, and it was a big hit in Congo. That’s a promising sign.