Mputu, Kasai Allstars unites about twenty-five musicians from different bands from the region. How did this whole adventure start?
Mputu Ebondo 'Mi Amor' (vocals): "Tony Van der Eeken and Vincent Kenis (Crammed Records, red.) came to Kinshasa in search for interesting bands for them to present at the Festival van Vlaanderen and that's where we did our first performance in 2000. At these improvised auditions, around fifty bands turned up. From these, six were eventually selected, but that still added up to a group of more than fifty musicians, so a second selection had to be made. In the end, musicians from different bands and ethnicities had to learn to collaborate. You have to realize that, in the Congo, every tribe has its own cultural identity, so it wasn't an easy thing to endeavor. We tried none the same, and the result is Kasai Allstars."
Is Kasai Allstars' music a mix of different cultures and ethnicities or do you play a song from one tribe and follow it up with a song from another?
Mputu: "It's definitely the latter. Because the different ethnicities don't speak the same language, it's difficult to mix it all up, but because there are similarities in the instrumentation, we decided to experiment with that. The Baluba mainly use the likembe (African thumb piano, red.), for example, while the Lulua use xylophones, but we use the xylophones of the Lulua to play Baluba music. Sometimes it can be easy, though; the tam-tams of the Basonge and Baluba are nearly identical, for example. We also use the lokole (slit drum, red.), a wooden percussion instrument that was used to play music as well as for communication purposes. But, even though Kasai Allstars is a mix of different cultures, we always try to respect the original rhythms and melodies."
What are your songs about?
Mputu: "In Africa the history of the people is told in the music they play. There used to be little or no written sources in Africa, so music was an ideal way to pass on the history orally. I'm talking about history now, but our songs are also full of very current affairs. Because of the civil war that's been going on for years now, the Basonge have a lot of songs that deal with the atrocities of war. For the Basonge a war has neither winners nor losers. They even have a nice saying to illustrate that: "A war never bears a beautiful baby!" Traditionally, a lot of songs also contain disapproval and bashing of other ethnicities or tribes, but being in Kasai Allstars has taught us that all stems from ignorance and, as long as there's no solidarity, there can be no progress. Kasai Allstars wants to be an example of collaboration and tolerance and that's exactly the message the lokole player sends out to the crowd at the beginning of each of our concerts. Our music is also a source of information. In remote areas of the Congo, places where you can't get a newspaper and radio reception is poor at the very best, music is often the only source of information available."
And what about the dances you perform? They're more than just choreographies, right?
Mputu: "Everything you see on stage during a Kasai Allstars concert is based on existing festivities like for example the festival for the new moon. At the day of the new moon people used to go to their local village chief or tribal chieftain. All local musicians then had to present themselves in front of the chief. He would remain seated the whole time and would rise and dance only at the very end of the ceremony. A new chief would always be initiated with a dance ritual as well. By imitating the movements of various animals he would display his dancing skills."
During the colonial administration this kind of music was banned...
Mputu: "It wasn't so much the colonial government, but more the Christian missionaries. The fiercest were the protestant ones, but the Pentecostal churches that are sprouting everywhere these days are even worse. The musicians playing at these churches are the same that perform the traditional music, but because many of these churches forbid their members to perform what they call "heathen music", traditional Congolese music has now virtually disappeared. Traditional music encompasses almost all aspects of daily life, but these days all you hear at weddings or births are Christian hymns. The influence of these churches is everywhere, but all that praying is not taking away the misery and poverty in the country!"
You're mentioning the poverty in the Congo there, but nonetheless, the Kasai is the region where the Congolese diamonds are found. In theory it should be the most prosperous region of the Congo.
Mputu: "Don't make me laugh! The diamond industry doesn't earn Congo a penny! Mbuji-Mayi, the principal mining town, is the most derelict city in the whole republic. It's nothing more than a bunch of hovels occupied by miners who spend the little money they earn on booze just to be able to face the dangers involved in the work they do. Because of the deplorable state of the roads, Kasai is now also one of the most isolated regions of the Congo. Traversing a distance of about 150 kilometers takes up to three days! I've written the best songs in my repertoire on the state of our roads! (laughs) If you want to find the real wealth of Kasai, I think you should look in the minds of its people. Through their entrepreneurial skills they still often manage to turn nothing into something!"