Name: 01 Shauri Yako (I & II) by Ghost Capital
Duration: 9 min 6 s
Description: http://ghostcapital.blogspot.com/2012/06/nguashi-ntimbo-with-lorchestre-festival.html

from the forthcoming album "Beware The Fetish", out in June

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Kasai Allstars feat. Basokin - "Yangye, The Evil Leopard"

Dobet Gnahore - NA DRÊ - 02 Na Dre

a) "Mr. Malonga" by Tabu Lay Rochereau from 'Evvi Presente "Le Seigneur" Rochereau: Maze'
b) "Makina Loka" by Orchestre Makina Loka from 'Edition Veve 1969 - 1978'
c) "Balobaka Ye Mbongo Mingi" by Verckys from 'Edition Veve 1972-1978'
d) "Souvenir Mpoli" by Empire Bakuba from 'Verckys présente L'Empire Bakuba de Pepa Kallé, Dilu Dilumona et Papy Tex'

The man known as Verckys is one of the most colourful characters in Congolese music, and though perhaps not as famous internationally as some of his associates, he has made an outsized impact on his country’s music and music business.  

He was born Georges Kiamuangana in Kisantu, the Belgian Congo, in 1944. His well-to-do father sent him to Roman Catholic schools, and also the church of a Protestant sect where he first displayed his musical aptitude. Still a teenager, he left home to pursue a musical career in Léopoldville (Kinshasa).

As a saxophonist, Kiamuangana was strongly influenced by the robust, funky sound of the American King Curtis, whose name he heard as “Vurkis”. He soon caught the attention of bandleader Dewayon and then Franco, who wooed Verckys away to play in OK Jazz, the top band in the land.  

In addition to being a talented all-round musician, Verckys was a showman whose stage antics won him fans of his own and in 1968 he started his record company, Éditions Vévé, persuading Youlou Mabiala and several other members of OK Jazz to record for him. When Franco found out he fired the lot but then relented in consideration of 40% of the new company’s earnings. Verckys left OK Jazz and formed Orchestre Vévé.

Verckys modelled Orchestre Vévé on the band he’d just quit and trained its members to achieve that big, compelling sound with fewer musicians. He was the featured soloist but did not ignore his fellow musicians and in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s this band released dozens of singles. One of its most acclaimed was Nakomitunaka (“I ask myself”), an uncharacteristically pensive song that ponders questions about race, nationality and religion.

Orchestre Vévé wasn’t his only band, and as one of the savviest talent scouts and entrepreneurs in the business, he discovered or put together several of the best Second Generation groups: Les Grands Maquisards (with Ntesa Dalienst and Dizzy Mandjeku), Bella Bella (led by the brothers Émile and Vangu Soki), Lipua Lipua (with Nyboma Mwan’dido and Daly Kimoko) and Empire Bakuba (Pépé Kallé on the very large throne).  

Verckys continued to play, but increasingly his focus was on producing records and expanding his business. The studio he built in Kinshasa in 1972 was used by artists other than his, and his six-storey entertainment complex, Vévé Centre, erected in the heart of the Matongé nightlife district in 1978, presented Zaiko Langa Langa as well as rising stars such as Koffi Olomide. Verckys was as important to the bustling Congolese/Zairean music industry as Tabu Ley Rochereau and Franco and in fact he succeeded Franco as president of the Zairean musicians’ union, and produced Tabu Ley’s first records with Mbilia Bel.

Verckys continued apace in the 1980s, producing bestselling albums by Victoria Eleison and Anti-Choc and creating Langa Langa Stars, but there was little he could do to stem the flood of bootleg cassettes that was destroying record industries throughout Africa.  Many of the artists he had worked with moved to Europe, but he maintained his base in Kinshasa, even as the Zairean economy slowly collapsed and the country slid into civil war.    

A survivor as well as a colourful character, Verckys still lives in Kinshasa and remains involved in the Congolese music business. His choice of Sterns Music to issue his exceedingly important digital catalogue is a great honour. 

The most comprehensive reissue of the Éditions Vévé catalogue yet undertaken:

10 singles featuring their original covers
15 albums with original covers and sequence
6 compilation albums including rare tracks 



Edition Veve 1969-1972

Edition Veve - 4 track edit: Mr. Malonga / Makina Loka / Balobaka Ye Mbongo Mingi / Souvenir Mpoli

Les Bantous de la Capitale - Makambo mibale

10 Ans De Succes - Bembeya Jazz National Avril 1971 (SLP24) (1)

Zaiko  Langa  Langa , Ma  Pt  1. An Essiebons Production

De Camerún A Cuba, Un Viaje Sonoro Con Un Griot Llamado Richard Bona

Live @ 91.7 WMSE (Rough)

The Aluar Pearls - Koma Mosi (The Harbours Band)

Quand Eboa Lottin musicien Camerounais Légendaire rencontre le les Béninois du Poly-rythmo de Cotonou.

*****
Beninese release by the Cameroon guitarist, an eclectic LP mixing hybrid pachanga, bossa nova, rumba & other rhythms. 

Il N'est Jamais Trop Tard - Pierre Tchana & Orchestre Poly Rhytmo

Hits of South Africa

Jive Soweto

http://ghostcapital.blogspot.com/2012/06/nguashi-ntimbo-with-lorchestre-festival.html

01 Shauri Yako (I & II)

Ghost Capital

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