Learn African Music
In the late 1950s and early 1960s, musicians in the Congo wove together a rainbow of influences – Cuban music, jazz, French variété, American pop, traditional tribal music – and created Congolese rumba. Guitarists like Nicolas ‘Dr Nico’ Kasanda, Antoine ‘Tino Baroza’ Tshilumba, and the great ‘Franco’ Luambo Makiadi created a whole new guitar language – rhythmic, melodic, hypnotic – that gradually began spreading across the country and beyond. Then, in 1969, a radical new group called Zaiko Langa Langa arrived on the scene: they tied a rock to the rumba style and revolutionized Congolese pop, putting the guitar at the center of the long, extended dance break that bought their songs a climax. They called this part of the song the ‘sebene’.
Zaiko’s youthful, hi-energy style was called sebene at home and soukous in other parts of the world. It turned the top guitarists of the day, men like Roxy Tshimpaka, Beniko Popolipo, and Pépé Felly Manuaku into musical gods. Sebene conquered Africa and spawned a hundred imitations.
So why learn the Congolese guitar? Because if you can master the sebene style, you’ll be halfway to mastering most of the pop-dance styles in sub-Saharan Africa!
Soukous Guitar Specialist
Let the World Music Method set you on the right road. Take it easy, take it slow, build your confidence and master the art. Explore the vibrant roots and invigorating rhythms of Sebene with one of its most accomplished practitioners.
Back in the day, Niwel Tsumbu was borrowing bits of fishing line and bike cable to build his guitars. Now he’s performed the world over with the likes of Buena Vista Social club, Natty Wailer and Baaba Maal. He’s recorded with Sinead O’Connor, Nigel Kennedy and Michael O’Suilleabhgin. He’s even written a symphony for the radical 20-piece Surge Orchestra.
From Irish folk to jazz, classical, rock and flamenco, Niwel’s story is one of cross-genre, cross-cultural exploration, improvisation, collaboration, and integration. But with this session, he’ll take you right back to the fundamental rhythms of his African roots, bedded in Soukous, Sebene, and Rumba. Where it all began. Niwel is a real one-off. Don’t miss the chance to benefit from learning with this master musician.
If you aren’t happy with your Congolese Guitar course, we’ll refund you within 30 days. There’s nothing to lose, and a lifetime of beautiful new music to gain.
Just pick up your guitar, sit down with Niwel, and start right now!
