Live report by Martin "Papa Mundele" Sinnock

Introduction by Hortense Fuller

Martin arrived in New York and together with the entire AfricaSounds.com team, enjoyed a fantastic three weeks of live events.  The following diary-style report from Martin Sinnock on these two landmark Congolese music events is a remarkably intimate look behind the scenes and once again reveals Martin's insider's perspective.  Once again, Martin has provided such intriguing and unique content for the AfricaSounds.com website.

In the following diary, we witness the excitement that exists behind the scenes at a Congolese live music event.  AfricaSounds.com invites you to read on and join both Koffi Olomide and Papa Wemba as they take on New York City!

- AfricaSounds.com

It’s strange how circumstances and events can take unusual turnings leading to interesting possibilities and experiences. Our original intention at AfricaSounds.com was for me to come over from Europe to America in order to report on the concerts of Koffi Olomide and Papa Wemba, not just for AfricaSounds.com, but also for my column in The Beat magazine. Having some personal contact with the musicians was to lead to a fairly dramatic change of roles for me at the Koffi Olomide concert.

In order to be able to write about the concert, I wanted to make contact with Koffi and the musicians prior to the performance. I’d met Koffi on several occasions, and had always found him pleasant and friendly and so I decided to attend the group’s afternoon sound-check. The venue for the event was the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School, an establishment that I had already visited a few months earlier when seeking possible locations for some of my Congolese music lecture presentations. LaGuardia High School is the Manhattan School of Performing Arts, the educational facility upon which the movie Fame was based. My own personal interest in the school had recently been stimulated by a TV documentary series filmed by an English crew which had documented an entire academic year of a diverse group of talented performance and art students at the school. I loved the concept that one of the Congo’s most talented, outrageous, and dare I say, notorious bands should be performing at an establishment crammed full of potential young arts and entertainment prodigies.

I arrived at the sound check in the middle of the afternoon. The musicians had not yet arrived but the stage manager and his crew of engineers were friendly and welcoming whilst they carried out their initial stage preparations. Eventually the musicians arrived: Orchestre Quartier Latin, a 27 piece ensemble with a combination of singers and instrumentalist numbering 18. Koffi and his eight ‘danseuses’ did not arrive for the sound check, leaving the band to attempt to get things in order. I already knew several of the musicians fairly well, and the ones with whom I was not so familiar remembered me from Koffi’s 44^th birthday concert in Paris last August. [see our AfricaSounds.com ‘Paris-Africa’ diary report for that little tale of excitement and intrigue] LINK

Koffi’s band, virtually all of whom were in the United States for the first time, were tired and jet-lagged having only arrived from Europe the night before. Just prior to leaving Paris, they had performed one of the customary all-night shows during which they announced to the Congolese public their imminent U.S. tour. Clearly the circumstances and voyage had somewhat taken a toll on their physical strength.

I chatted to the musicians and as best I could welcomed them to the United States and reassured them that we at AfricaSounds.com had made our very best efforts to ensure that the concert had been well publicized and that the American audience would be receptive to their arrival. The musicians started to prepare themselves for the sound check. Whilst I had been waiting for the musicians to arrive I had already mentioned some of the musical and technical anomalies that the sound crew might expect from a 27 piece Congolese ensemble. It immediately became apparent that there was no representative of the group present who was able to communicate in English to the sound crew. Simultaneously the musicians and engineers started to turn towards me as a mediator.

Each time I attempted to get the sound engineer to adjust a certain instrument or make a particular voice both louder and more shrill, it became clear that certain compromises would have to be imposed. After a fairly difficult but good humored period of two hours, we all felt that we had achieved the best under the extenuating circumstances. My own position had become slightly compromised. Many of the sound crew had assumed that I was the technical representative for the group. It was only later that the stage manager explained to them that I was merely a friendly party attempting to assist. Likewise, the musicians had forgotten that I was there as an interested party on their side, and had started to consider me as representing the venue and organization itself. I didn’t hesitate to explain to both parties "it ain’t my fault boss!"

The musicians retired to their dressing rooms where there were light refreshments provided. Unfortunately, the management had provided cheese and crackers, raw vegetables and dips, not exactly the optimum choice of the average Kinshasa working musician. In the absence of any handy local African cuisine, the musicians sent out for the obligatory ‘Mac-Do’ (McDonald’s -yes, that stuff is known universally).

I then went to offer my greetings and welcome to Koffi and his wife in their dressing room. We chatted for a short while whilst he enthusiastically looked through the photos. Koffi asked if I would be prepared to introduce him on stage to the American audience. His wife seemed to like my "Ackram Ojé" tee-shirt with "Koffi Olomide – Le Golden Star" emblazoned across the back. I’d actually planned on changing into a shirt for the evening and Koffi expressed approval when he saw that it was a Versace. He seemed to like the image of "Le Sapeur Mundele" (the white sapeur) acting as M.C. for the show. In order to arrange a suitable introduction I had a hasty meeting with chef d’orchestre Felly Tyson, and suggested to him how we might best create the necessary opening impact for this prestigious U.S. debut of the full Koffi Olomide and Quartier Latin ensemble. Felly gave me the set list [details of the songs to be performed] and we agreed that the band should enter the stage and commence playing a basic generic rhythm prior to my introduction.

I greeted the audience and used the opportunity during the introduction to try to put into context the subject of contemporary Congolese music. In order to include the entire crowd I explained in English and in some French and Lingala that the music in tonight’s performance would epitomize what the modern sound of Congolese music is all about. This is not Soukous music! This is the real sound of the Congo – miziki ya mboka na biso!!. The huge number of African women in the audience were already squealing in anticipation. To introduce the group, I told the audience that this is the first time that the United States has the opportunity to witness the full Kinshasa entourage of Orchestre Quartier Latin. The audience response was phenomenal as the band cranked up their opening segment. They just went wild when the girls made their initial entrance and as the singers entered the stage, it was clear that New York was ready to witness a groundbreaking performance from Africa’s number one act.

As I waited in the wings with Koffi, the superstar who many accuse of being conceited and arrogant, I could see a look of nervous anticipation – Koffi knew full well that his international future reputation was balanced on the precipice of this performance.

Koffi signaled to me his readiness and once again I took the microphone and warned the audience that they were about to fall under the spell of "Le Grand Mopao, the Rambo of what was Zaïre, KOFFI OLOMIDE !"

If some of the audience had no previous knowledge of Koffi’s music and stage show, it wasn’t apparent in their response to his entrance. Wearing a lurid pink glitter jacket, and pink and black cowboy hat, he bound onto the stage and the audience went wild. At the end of his opening song he left the stage and in the wings I could see his sheer joy as he realized that he already had this American audience in his control. Backstage he was jumping up and down like a child with a new toy as he prepared to make his second entrance. The sparks of electricity coming off him were infectious and I felt the rush of euphoria that was in the whole house.

The end of the show came far too quickly for most of the audience. Koffi had made one costume change where he had returned to the stage in a spectacular Ali Baba outfit. Despite the less than perfect sound quality most of the non-devotees, some of whom were clearly bemused and astounded by the on-stage antics, remained until the end. What was particularly gratifying was to see several elderly ladies and gentlemen, presumably Lincoln Center festival patrons and regulars enjoying themselves and dancing in the aisles.