Congo Vibes
Music => Congolese Music => Topic started by: Longbluesquid on August 24, 2025, 05:52
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Curious why the following artists aren’t producing albums.
Guy guy fall
Aime Buanga
Suzuki 4x4
Stino mubi
Djouna mumbafu
Didier massela
Alain Makaba
Alain Mpela (although he announced an album)
Lola Muana
Papy Tex
Evoloko joker
Sheta spoon (produced a fun album)
Brigade sarbaty
I’m forgetting some but I’ll add to the list.
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The music landscape of Congo changed. There are no proper music-labels anymore and most of them record albums with their own money that they got through jobs. Some of them have their album ready, but don't release them and/or don't not have enough money to do proper promo for it.
Evoloko release albums and songs, but they don't receive good promotion and nobody is paying attention to it, except people close to him.
Stino Mubi always say since his departure from Viva la Musica in 2001, that he's working on an album. It will not surprise me if he has 4 unrleased albums like Quetin Moyascko of Congo Brazzaville.
Djouna Mumbafu also says since 2009 that he's working on an album. I remember him once showing some extracts from the studio. But until this day he had released nothing.
Suzuki 4x4 worked on an album in 2005, but it never got released and he rejoined Quartier Latin the following year. In 2012 or 2013, he said that he was working on an album of 9 tracks, but never came out. He released a single 2 or 3 years ago.
Didier Masela isn't really into music anymore since that he got fired by his own band back in the mid 2000s. He was often mocked by people until that he managed to come back to Europe.
Aime Buanga stopped with music to become a producer. He helped different artists releasing albums wtih his label Esselta such as Mirage Supersonic with his first album Figure de Style, Jus d'Ete Mulopwe with Moleki Nzela, etc. Almost 10 years ago he made an interview with I believe Pitshou Mangaya saying that he was working on album with former members of Wenge Kumbela and that his aim was to bring Congolese music back where it used to be and that he wanted to tour in the French West Indies, like he used to do when he released the album Soukous Koumbela, which him tour in Russia and countries like Oman as well.
About Guy-Guy Fall I don't know. But I believe that he's working on something like all artists of his generation. He has apparently alot of problems. Every two or three years when I surf on facebook to look for some information about him, I often see people complaining about getting scammed by him. I remember a man insulting him on his comments about Fall's head, because of getting scammed.
Alain Mpela has health issues, but performs sometimes with his Wenge 4x4 friends. He was working on an album called Flèche Empoisonnée since 2011, but it never came out. But until today he keeps talking about it and always say that it's about to get releaed
About Sheta Spoon, it seems that he decied to put a pause on his music-career like his friends who are now focused on their private life and gaining money.
Lola Muana lives in the US and there it's almost impossible to be active like in Europe. However, he once said that he wanted to create something like "Chez Djonga" in Dallas.
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Ah this is great information. Yeah it’s sad that it’s hard to survive in Congo music wise. Not sure what can be done because the music is unlike anything in all of Africa.
Yeah it’s truly hard to locate any information about these artists. I will say the way Congolese operate with announcing albums and not releasing won’t work in the US.
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Truth is the whole music has changed, especially in the way music is distributed. I believe most artists go straight to the fans via online platforms, and of course marketing via social media is vital. Times has changed, and not everybody can keep up.