Diblo Dibala - Biography
By J Poet
Diblo Dibala is Zaire's finest guitarist, a songwriter, arranger and producer of prodigious proportions. Since he appeared on the African pop music scene in the early ‘70s, sharing lead guitar chores with Franco in the legendary TPOK Jazz band, Diblo has been a trendsetter. Beside the albums he’s recorded with his bands Loketo and Matchatcha, he has written, produced and played on over 60 albums for other artists and during his tenure as lead guitarist with Kanda Bongo Man helped create modern soukous. He’s shocked purists by incorporating the rhythms of hip-hop into some of his productions and on My Love (1999 Atoll) he blended Western club beats and an almost heavy metal guitar approach. His albums aren’t widely distributed in the US, but anyone interested in effortless virtuosity and energetic music should track them down.
Soukous is the most popular dance music in Zaire and most of West Africa, although in Africa it’s not called soukous, which is a European marketing term. Be that as it may, soukous, or Afro-rumba, is a blend of traditional music and drum patterns from Zaire, Cuban music, especially the rumba, and other African and black American music styles. Cuban music took the African rhythms the slaves from West Africa brought to the new world to create their brand of rumba two hundred years ago. Rumba returned to Africa in the ‘50s on early 78-RPM records. Since the mixture of Cuban and West African rhythms that had evolved in the Caribbean weren’t tied to any particular West African country or ethnic group, it had potential for universal appeal. Pre-independence Congolese bands started playing covers of Cuban hits with their own rhythmic adaptations, but the introduction of the electric guitar in the early ‘60s accelerated the evolution of the music. The Africans transferred the phrasing of the Cuban horn sections onto guitar and by adding local folkloric techniques came up with the flowing improvisations that remain the music's trademark.
Dibala was born in Kisangani in the Congo (now Zaire) in 1954. He got interested in the guitar when he was 12. A neighbor took Dibala under his wing, and after a couple of lessons the boy consumed every book on guitar playing he could find. At 15, he was leading a his own band and his playing attracted Franco, Zaire’s top guitarist and band leader, the man who helped to popularize the African rumba now known as soukous. In Zaire players often challenge each other to duels. Franco challenged Dibala and was so impressed that he offered Dibala the job of second lead guitar in his band, the legendary OK Jazz. After leaving Franco, Dibala played with Vox Africa, Orchestre Bella Mambo, and Bella Bella, where he met singer Kanda Bongo Man.
By 1979 Kanda Bongo Man and Dibala were living in Paris. Until the ‘80s, soukous arrangements would start with a slow vocal and instrumental prelude, then the tempo would increase until the music went into overdrive. When Dibala began playing with Kanda they dropped the introduction and got right into the jumping improvisations. The first record they cut using the new style was Iyole. [Tracks from this album are available on Best of Kanda Bongo Man (1999 B. Mas.)] When the DJs in Kinshasa heard it they went crazy; nobody had ever played that fast before. Even though his guitar playing had made him a near-legend in Paris and most of Africa, Dibala wasn’t content. In 1986, after Amour Fou (1988 Hannibal) and Kwassa Kwassa (1988 Hannibal, 1988) he left Kanda Bongo Man and formed Loketo with singer Aurlus Mabele. (A collection of tracks from the band’s early days, Non Stop, came out on Globestyle (UK) in 1990, after Dibala left Kanda.)
When Dibala and Mabele put together Loketo they wanted to do something modern, but they didn’t want to loose the traditional flavor and the music remained pure. Loketo/Diblo Dibala (1989 Shanachie) catapulted Dibala and his band into the world music limelight. His sparking, lightening fast runs, the band’s galloping rhythms and Mabele’s honeyed tenor made for a powerful combination. They cut a few more solid sets, including Mondo Ry (1989 Melodie France), Soukous Trouble (1990 Shanachie) and Extra Ball (1991 Shanachie) before Dibala moved on to start Matchatcha. During the early 90s, Dibala also played on and produced almost 50 albums for other artists.
Matchatcha continued the winning formula without Mabele’s extravagant stage presence to draw attention away form the playing. Matchatcha/Laissez Passer (1992 AfricMusic France) was another showcase for Dibala’s hot guitar, and was followed by OK Madame (1993 AfricMusic France), and Aimer la danse/Myekesse (1994 AfricMusic France). My Love (1996 Atoll) was a bit less mainstream with a metallic guitar approach and a few club beats dropped into the mix. In the mid ‘90s economic unrest and civil war in the Congo let to a decline of soukous as a cutting edge style, but in the last five years there has been a rebirth of interest. Today’s music, dubbed Soukous ndombolo, is even faster than it was in the supercharged days of the late ‘80s. Dibala has kept up with trends with ever changing versions of Matchatcha. His latest discs are Ça passé ou ça passé (2003 Melodymaster France), Zikololo (2005 Melodie France) and Special Dance (2006 2D Productions).