Jupiter Bokondji was born in Kinshasa 48 years ago, into a family of griots from the Mongo region. His grandmother, a reknowned healer, introduced him to traditional rhythm and music including the famous Zebola from Ekonda (Mongo région of the equator), rythms that are said to cure the sick. From a young age, Jupiter played percussion instruments and acommpanied his grandmother to funerals and weddings. However, it was in Germany East-Berlin, where he spent his adolescence, and where his father was appointed executive assistant for the Congos embassy in 1974, that he discovered Europe and it’s vibrant music scene – the Stones, Deep Purple, James Brown etc. Here, he set up his own rock band called ‘’Der Neger’’ with fellow young Berliners; their sound was a strange cocktail of Mongo percussions and guitar Zeppelin-esque guitar. The band was successful in all the shady clubs in town. But, his father’s mandate ended. 

When he was 20, Jupiter went back in the eighties bubbling Kinshasa head full of dreams, glory and sounds unimaginable to most of his friends. He left the family home, earning a living singing at funerals and playing percussion in several local orchestras.

With his earnings he travelled the Congo, searching for new sounds. These travels reinforced his feeling that all the music he heard in Europe originated from the 450 ethnic groups that made up his country, and that the tribalism that tore his country apart politically, could in fact become a unifying force.

He continued to develop his own unique style, surrounding himself with trendy musicians connected to from Europe. His idea was to reactivate the forgotten rhythms and melodies of Congo, by injecting the urban groove of Kinhasa. He called this explosive mix ‘’ Bofenia Rock’ and in 1983, succeeded in forming his first orchestra, Bongofolk, who became his musical experiment.

In 1990, he created Okwess International, a group which contained within it avant-garde artists such as Jean Goubald. This group travelled Africa, and was selected to represent Zaire in 1999 at MASA (Market of African Performing Arts). Just at the point where their luck seemed to be finally turning, the country fell into chaos due to civil war.

In early 2004, Jupiter met Renaud Barret and Florent de la Tullaye. The connection was immediate, so much so that the two French returned to record the songs of Okwess International, and other groups surrounding Jupiter, such as Staff Benda Billili.

Of this time, Jupiter says ‘ I knew something like this would happen. I was convinced of it.’’

‘The Dance of Jupiter,’ a film documenting his musical exploration was released in 2007. On screen, we see his slender silhoutte exploring the various districts of Kinhasa, discovering talent artists undiscovered and unkown by the rest of the world. Little Jupiters, he calls them.

“Today, we find many young groups conitnuing in my footsteps, dipping into our archives for inspiration; my mission is complete. If I disappeared today, I will have achieved my goal’’

Of course, Jupiter wasn’t about to disappear; he is poised for a fantastic career. In October 2011, he played Kinhasa to an audience of five thousand; five thousand people hypnotised by the powerful rhythm and energy of Okwess International. In July of the same year, he was part of the the album created by Damon Albarn, of Blur and Gorillaz fame, ‘Kinhasa One Two,’ released in November 2011 through WARP.

His album ‘Hotel Universe’ will be released in 2012, and will undoubtedly give him the recognition that he deserves.


Terre et air sont convoqués dans chaque grand messe des Balaphonics, faisant écho aux racines africaines de leur musique que l’on retrouve par la place centrale qui est accordée au balafon.
Autour de cet instrument traditionnel africain, c’est un brassband complet qui s’est déployé à travers les rêves de ces musiciens.
Dans le domaine des airs : une section vent soudée depuis plus de dix ans aux sons de la world, du funk, et du jazz infuse au public des mélodies percutantes et des improvisations cathartiques.
Sur terre : percussions, batterie, balafon et guitare déroulent un tapis de groove puisant dans le highlife, le bikutsi ou le mandingue, autant de rythmes, pour autant de pas de danses.

Sur scène, ce qui caractérise cette machine bien huilée c’est la diversité et la fraîcheur des compositions.
Doté d’une aisance scénique invitant le public à la transe, la musique des BALAPHONICS s’expriment à travers des pas de danses spontanés, un réel esprit d’équipe et un dresscode lumineusement vintage.
Le son Balaphonics est porté par 9 musiciens dévoués, élevés à la musique de rue comme aux grandes scènes de festivals. Le groupe et la scène entrent en fusion, et tel un volcan en éruption projettent sur la foule toute leur énergie dans un bain de folie.

In their 6 years of existence, Akalé Wubé have never stopped widening the canvas onto which they lay their music, which keeps becoming richer and deeper just like the their primary source of inspiration: the popular Ethiopian repertoire of the 60s and 70s. The band started off covering music from the “Ethiopiques” series, after which they immersed themselves deeper into Ethiopian music, all the while multiplying their collaborations with musicians and dancers from Ethiopia, Africa and Europe. Slowly but surely, clocking in at around 200 concerts in Europe, Asia and Africa, the band has become one of the world’s leading ambassadors of Ethiopian groove.

Band members are :

Etienne de la Sayette: tenor & baritone saxophone, bansuri flute, washint
Paul Bouclier: trumpet, percussions, krar
Loïc Réchard: guitar
Oliver Degabriele: electric bass
David Georgelet: drums
Pierre Dachery: sound

Official Soundcloud Page of the band Arat Kilo
Chaîne officielle du groupe Arat Kilo
Booking : https://www.accords-croises.com/

Afropop Worldwide is an internationally syndicated weekly radio series, online guide to African and world music, and an international music archive, that has introduced American listeners to the music cultures of Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean since 1988. Our radio program is hosted by Georges Collinet from Cameroon, the radio series is distributed by Public Radio International to 110 stations in the U.S., via XM satellite radio, in Africa via and Europe via Radio Multikulti. 

Né de l’union sulfureuse entre la Terre-Mère et un ménestrel sans le sous, LAZCAR VOLCANO a atterri sur le devant de la scène, propulsé par une éruption explosive. Sa mission : sauver le Vivant de l’emprise du formatage artistique. De sa mère éternelle, il a hérité des super-pouvoirs des chants et des rythmes ataviques issus des traditions orales (Maloya, Samba, Son Cubano). Son père précaire lui a légué la puissance révoltée des sons urbains (Hip Hop, Afro Beat, Funk, Ska...). En son corps minéral, vous trouverez des traces de sable des plages de Rio de Janeiro, un bout de bitume des cités du 93, une poignée de terre battue de Lagos, quelques cailloux caribéens, une once de bourbier marécageux de la Louisiane ou encore une petite perle de corail de la Réunion... C’est par cette alchimie que ce mi-dieu, mi-fanfaron se transforme à l'envi au cours de cérémonies que l'on appelle prosaïquement « un concert de Lazcar Volcano » : tantôt c’est un brass band de la Nouvelle Orléans qui joue de la zamba, tantôt un ensemble de musique de chambre qui accompagne un rappeur ou encore un groupe d’afrobeat qui interprète du choro brésilien. Ni plus ni moins, Lazcar Volcano est la sophistication en toute simplicité, la délicatesse et la sauvagerie, le cru et le cuit, le romantisme brut de décoffrage... Tel un Hamelin hypnotique, ce héros fait de lave et d’eau de vie captivera par son chant le commun des mortels, en les amenant loin des sentiers battus, dansants, libres enfin.

Line-up :
Michel Berelowitch : trombone, voix
Cécile Thibert : trompette, voix
Jean-Michel Mercier : saxophone alto, voix
Jon Lopez de Vicuña : saxophone baryton, voix
Arnaud Vécrin : guitare électrique, voix
Brice Perda : sousaphone, voix
Thibaut Gueriaux : grosse caisse, percussions, voix
Florent Berteau : caisse claire, voix

"Small Label Of The Year" at AIM Awards 2021. Beefing up your crates since the late 90's.

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