Staff Benda Bilili is a group of disabled street musicians who entertain from their base near the zoological gardens in Kinshasa, Congo. Benda Bilili means roughly “look beyond appearances,” and when you do, you find quite astonishing talent and verve, and a good deal of insight into the intricacies of street life in a massive, decaying city. The band consider themselves “the real journalists of Kinshasa.” This one-of-a-kind debut (from the producer of the Congotronics series, Vincent Kenis) reveals the sights, sounds, and stories of an utterly unique African band. What the musicians may lack in polish, they more than make up in inventiveness, spirit, and shimmering musicality.
The band ranges from teenagers to fifty-somethings, and their individual stories are spectacular. Seventeen-year-old Roger invented his own 1-stringed, bowed electric fiddle, the satonge, and its warbling, high sound is a constant. Theo, the band’s high harmony singer, lost everything when Mobutu fell, and specializes in running electric cables from rich neighborhoods into poor ones to power night parties. Their songs talk frankly about their lives, sleeping on cardboard (“Tonkara”), warning parents to vaccinate their kids against polio, and on the CD’s strong opener, “Moto Moindo (Black Man)” encouraging Africans to wake up and control their destinies. As far as that goes, this is a band that leads by example. They don’t call them “très très fort” (very, very strong) for nothing.
The band’s sound is spare and punchy—bass, hand percussion, an acoustic guitar that sounds like a banjo, and satonge taking most of the leads. The vocals range from simplicity reminiscent of early Franco, to rich, call-and-response harmony. “Je T’Aime” has the sweetness of old Congo rumba. “Salsa Mosala” plays like a country music stomp, with bird-like satonge solos. “Staff Benda Bilili” pays homage to James Brown’s sex machine, and darkly moody village vocal style all in one, neat, funky package. The rhythmic punch and lyricism of Congolese pop music are definitely present, but there’s nothing rote or imitative about the sound. From the impossible desperation of being disabled in one of the world’s poorest and toughest cities, comes music of undying spirit and undeniable originality. With four short, terrific videos in the mix, this is a must-own CD for true Afropop fans.
Staff Benda Bilili is a group of disabled street musicians who entertain from their base near the zoological gardens in Kinshasa, Congo. Benda Bilili means roughly “look beyond appearances,” and when you do, you find quite astonishing talent and verve, and a good deal of insight into the intricacies of street life in a massive, decaying city. The band consider themselves “the real journalists of Kinshasa.” This one-of-a-kind debut (from the producer of the Congotronics series, Vincent Kenis) reveals the sights, sounds, and stories of an utterly unique African band. What the musicians may lack in polish, they more than make up in inventiveness, spirit, and shimmering musicality.