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l’Afrique Danse avec l’Orchestre Shama-Shama
african 360.094, 1976
Groovers around the world,
another special find I recently did, is this one. It seems the entire
web was wondering what to find on african 360.094. I could not find
a single word about it. Well, here it is, and it’s a beauty. Orchestre
Shama-Shama led by Mopero Wa Maloba. I found out Mopero also
was the man behind Orchestre Cavacha and was somehow connected
to Zaiko Langa Langa. Another piece of the african 360.series puzzle falls in
place. Although from 1976, the LP looks as new, it does sound quite 70’s.
Can anyone give us some more information on Shama-Shama or Mopero?
Thank you very much in advance and enjoy listening to this rare gem.
tracks;
1 Basaleli ngai likita
2 Pamaphi
3 Bangambo ya moto
4 Mopaya loba
5 Mama aye
6 Kento emancipée
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thx for updating my link on ur blogroll and thx for another great post
Moos your spoiling us sumat rotten again. Another record I never knew existed nevermind I’d one day get to hear it.
J
This is just great! May the deluge from Congo continue. Thank you Moos! Apurva from Pune, India.
It has been a great week, whit that lp mooss has showed be the best of all. i like the gitars, bass, drums. this is my favorite style of music. espectacular.
go ahead moss.. remember you are the champion of music and dont`n change the style. if you have more music like this.. please put it.
from Barranquilla – Colombia
Leonardo
Something is not working in that link…i cann’t download it from mediafire…
Anyway,thank you very much.
That is a strange thing Kostas, everything seems normal from here. Anyway, do you want me to re-uplaod?
Moos,
I put the comment below in the Orchestra Sossa comments by mistake. If you could delete it from there, I would be very grateful.
This is a fantastic find. Thanks so much for sharing it with us.
For Francophones, the best biography of Mopero I can find is at:
http://lavoixducongo.afrikblog.com/archives/2008/09/27/10731072.html
A brief precis of it indicates that his interest in music grew at secondary school and he was involved as a singer and guitarist in a succession of small bands in the early 1970s before teaming up with singer Donati Obeti in early 1975 to form Orchestra Cavacha, which had a number of hits such as Kabasele, Gina, Realite and Luciana.
The band didn’t last long, though, and Mopero went on to form Orchestra Shama Shama, a group that took its title from one of his best-known compositions, Vicky Shama. It found immediate success both in the Congo and abroad, with the band taking up residency for a while in Uganda.
In 1977 Shama Shama folded and Mopero spent some time working as a sideman and songwriter before joining King Kester Emenya’s Victoria Eleison.
In 1992 he gave up secular music and became an evangelical pastor, recording Christian music exclusively. He eventually settled in Cote d’Ivoire where he died in 2008 of complications from diabetes. He was buried in Kinshasa at a ceremony that, to the disgust of his fans, attracted few of his fellow musicians.
Personally, I think he was a hugely influential musician. The construction and rhythm of the song Vicky Shama, which isn’t on this album but has appeared on several compilation CDs,bears a striking resemblance to a lot of subsequent East African hits by both local and expatriate Congolese musicians.
April 19, 2010 10:33 PM
Thank you my friend and sorry for the trouble.
Today it’s working well…
Many thanks.
excellente aporte
there’s more on the muzikifan congo in kenya page (http://www.muzikifan.com/shika.html):
Siama Matuzungidi was guitarist with the Cavacha band in Kinshasa in the 70’s (The Cavacha was a dance later popularized by Zaiko Langa Langa). Cavacha was formed by Dona Mobeti (tenor voice) and Mopero (baritone). Siama’s first composition for them was called “Bomoto mabasi.” “Mopero split and formed Orchestre Cavacha de Mopero which led to a conflict. Finally Franco intervened and told Mopero to get a new name. Vicky Shama Shama was Mopero’s girlfriend so he chose that as the name of the band (and it’s also a song title by Cavacha de Mopero). Shama Shama was formed from Cavacha members as Mopero Wa Maloba was the Cavacha singer.”
Truly a great find! Thank you again!
[…] it’s also funny to hear the stuff again. Nuff said, Shama-Shama was in- troduced to me thru this album on the African label. I fell in love with the voice of Mopera Wa Maloba straight away. Warm cavacha […]
Siama here. I just found this and love reading it. Thanks so much for the good memories. Does anyone have an MP3 of the song I wrote for Cabacha, Bomoto Mabasi? I’d love to hear it!