wenge musica bcbg

Wenge Musica BCBG  are French-speaking, from the Democratic Republic of Congo. I picked up their album Pentagone in the library on a whim, drawn in by the artwork, which is a bit Word ‘96, with powder blue jewel case and all the guys dressed up in army gear, replete with warpaint and stars and stripes neckerchiefs. Plus, they printed the words “Nouvel album” on the cover, which I presume is not now true.

I expected some terrible demo-button synths when I got home, which is often the case with modern soca, but instead found what I’ve now learnt falls under the categories of Soukous/N’dombolo – which means it sounds quite a bit like high-life, with twinkly electric guitar melodies, but less frantic; it’s all about dancing, grooves and melodies favouring enthusiastic hip-swinging.  

They formed in the late 80’s, and are national faves back in Congo, playing a major part in defining Congolese soukous styles. They’re a bit difficult to draw lines around though, and have an ever-rotating line-up, plus a host of offshoot groups. These include one called Wenge Musica Maison Mère, who split in the 90s, and are now the main competition, since what Africasounds.com describes as “J.B. M’Piana’s (the BCBG leader and main vocalist) megahit 1997 album, Feux de l’Amour.” It’s all a bit confusing, as there’s not much info around, and is all in Google-unfriendly dribs and drabs, despite them being a major force in Congolese popular music.

However, what aren’t not confusing are the sunshiney, sugar-coated polyrhythms:

Wenge Musica BCBG – Pentagone

Wenge Musica BCBG – Dizoizo

Or the whooping ululations:

Wenge Musica BCBG – Filandu

I wish I could tell you where to buy it. Instead, watch the video to ‘Pentagone’ after the jump. it’s pretty great.