1968sBrazzaville, Republic of the Congo / Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo

Soukous

Also known as Soukouss, Sukus, Congolese Soukous

The two Congos transformed rumba's dance break into Soukous, a fast-moving guitar music that became one of Africa's most influential popular sounds.

Origins and context

Soukous developed within the shared urban popular-music culture of Brazzaville and Kinshasa, cities facing each other across the Congo River. Its emergence was gradual, and the word originally referred to a dance before becoming an international genre label, making any single founding year approximate.

Brazzaville, Republic of the CongoKinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo

The sound

Characteristics

Interlocking electric guitars
Lead guitar
Rhythm guitar
Electric bass
Drum kit
Percussion
Sebene dance sections
Fast dance tempo
Call-and-response vocals

History

Soukous emerged in the interconnected music scenes of Kinshasa and Brazzaville during the late 1960s, developing out of Congolese rumba. The term was initially associated with a dance before becoming a broader label for increasingly fast and guitar-centred Congolese popular music. Musicians extended the sebene, the instrumental dance section of rumba, and placed greater emphasis on electric-guitar interplay, rhythm and uninterrupted movement. During the 1970s, groups such as Zaïko Langa Langa accelerated the music further and reduced the importance of the large horn sections associated with earlier Congolese orchestras. In the 1980s, musicians including Kanda Bongo Man, Diblo Dibala and others helped spread a streamlined, high-speed Soukous sound through African cities and the growing Congolese music scene in Paris. The term has sometimes been applied loosely to Congolese dance music as a whole, so its boundaries with Congolese rumba and later styles such as kwassa kwassa and ndombolo are not always consistent.

Notable artists