Ray Lema and Jupiter: Congolese conversations in Paris
Ray Lema (Frank Loriou) and Jupiter Bokondji (Florent de la Tullaye).
© Frank Loriou / Florent de la Tullaye
By: Laurence Aloir
3 min
Publicity
To my right,
Ray Lema,
pianist and capital composer who left his native Congo forty years ago and, via Washington and Brussels, settled in Paris to build a repertoire as prolific as it is unclassifiable, as a pioneer of this that we called in the early 80s the world sound system.
To my left,
Jupiter Bokondji,
the "rebel general" of the commune of Lemba, in Kinshasa.
The artist, whose career was anything but a quiet river, chose to enter into dissent by refusing to walk on the Congolese rumba highway, omnipotent in his country.
He preferred to return to the sources, and to the incredible treasure of rhythms that conceals the immense DRC.
This quest for roots, to grow new trees, he shares with his eldest, Ray Lema, who was once musical director of the Zaire National Ballet.
All are convinced that their country is a musical scandal.
Stuck in Paris during the first confinement, last spring, they took advantage of the return to normal life to work together on two of their titles and revisit them together.
Ray chose
Nkoy,
a piece of Jupiter to put it back in its sauce, and Jupiter did the same with the song
Aza Villageois
of his elder brother.
Upon leaving the studio,
Vladimir Cagnolari
met them.
MDM makes you listen to this unpublished Congolese conversation, and in exclusivity and in universal premiere, the two songs that they recorded together.
Jupiter and Ray Lerma.
© François Gouverneur
Aza Villageois,
the first of these two singles, has been available on download platforms since ... today.
As for Nkoy, you will find him on February 19, 2021, when you have tasted the first!
Na Kozonga
(the return home or return to the source), the new album from
Jupiter & Okwess
will
be
released in April 2021 and as for
Ray Lema
, after his tribute to
Franco Luambo
, he has just recorded with the pianist
Laurent de Wilde
the album
Wheels
,
the continuation of their musical conversations with 4 hands and two pianos, to be released in May.
The release concert is scheduled for May 19, 2021 in Le Havre.
Ray Lema will be back on the road with the Franco project, June 4 Jazz in Nevers, June 19 Rio Loco, June 27 in Lyon, August 3 in Fiesta Sète (dates to be confirmed depending on sanitary conditions).
→
Jupiter's Na Kozonga clip
→
EPK Ray / Franco
→ or
article PAM RAY / FRANCO
→
link to the episode "Between Congo and Zaire"
, from the documentary series Paris c'est d'Afrique, by Philippe Conrath (1989).
With Ray Lema, Mav Cacharel, Papa Wemba, Zao, etc.
Newsletter
Receive all the international news directly in your mailbox
I subscribe
Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application
google-play-badge_FR
Culture
Music
On the same subject
World music
Ray Lema pays homage to Franco Luambo “We enter KO - We leave OK”
World music
Musical news with Itw Ray Lema and Itw Les Frères Smith
World music
Ray Lema x Boney Fields live session, from City Bump to Transcendence