Posted at 8:00 a.m.
“For me, Kizaba is the music of tomorrow that I want to unveil to a large international audience”, announces Lionel Kizaba, Congolese of origin, installed in Quebec since 2011.
A commendable mission for the drummer, percussionist, singer and producer, who was on tour in British Columbia when we joined him and who will be performing on July 22 as part of the Nuits d’Afrique festival.
I put my Congo sauce in an electronic and pop concept, instead of making purely traditional music, although I draw heavily from this source.
Lionel Kizaba
A creative process that is like many world music productions.
“Then I mix the result with Congolese soukous, which is, by definition, Congolese rumba. The objective is to reach the largest possible audience, without disturbing anyone. I want everyone to be comfortable. »
A family matter
Kizaba’s life would have taken another turn if it hadn’t been for the music… and the family.
His uncle, the jazz guitarist François Mantuila, who has long accompanied the icons of his country, Ray Lema and Tabu Ley, took him under his wing at the age of 5.
“I was playing on plates,” says the son of the Matonge district, who would later become a graduate in jazz music from the National Institute of the Arts in Kinshasa.
His grandmother was also fundamental in his career.
My parents died early in my life, and I was raised by my grandmother, Julienne Lusingi, who passed on her passion for percussion to me. All the sound, vocal side of my music, it comes from her.
Lionel Kizaba
“As a child, I went to pick vegetables with her, and she sang all the time”, confides the expatriate who has not forgotten his ancestors.
It was also his grandmother who taught him to love the bomda, a percussion “more subtle than the djembe”, which he uses in his little arsenal of rhythm, in the same way as the jitoumba, an instrument made from of wood, “with water inside with a little bag on the side for resonance”.
A clip filmed in Kinshasa
Today, the singer-percussionist uses these influences to create his own music.
His songs are topped with catchy melodies sung in Lingala, French, English or Kikongo.
“I talk about my ancestors, love, everyday life, but with groove. There are people in my country who do not find themselves in this mixture and who prefer Congolese rumba or soukous. And if I don’t play some classics from the traditional repertoire, there’s going to be a fight,” he laughs.
Speaking of chicane, one of his most recent songs, soso (which means chicken), speaks of a quarrel between neighbors over a piece of poultry to be prepared. In the clip, filmed in Kinshasa, an elderly man is at the center of the dispute. “This gentleman is a superstar with us! “, underlines the one who will launch his second album, Congolese Musicon November 19 on the DNA label as part of M for Montreal.
The cadence, produced by the beatmaker Pierre Beliveau, is superimposed on Congolese instruments recorded in Kinshasa. There is a great tradition of the Congolese cultural movement: the SAPE (Society of ambianceurs and elegant people). Or sapology, a commonly used term.
“People would rather starve to be well dressed. At home, we call them the leopards of the sap, as in “well sap”. You can see it clearly in the clip of soso. The women also show off their chic clothes, there are women sappers too. It’s like a drug. Satisfying this need first is a top priority! »
Lots of visuals
A Kizaba concert is also a key visual device. Virtual African masks, drawn by the singer and then projected in 3D, videos made with Congolese visual artists.
“I developed a branding with clothes, mainly focused on traditional African masks. I even added images of my grandmother, to whom I owe my career,” he recalls.
In the heat of the moment, Kizaba alternates between his guitar, his two drums and the microphone, all with a unifying charisma. “And above all, I want to make the most of my natural qualities as a melodist, which is far from being incompatible with pleasure! »
What a long way for the man who made his debut in Quebec with Mario Saint-Amand in his tribute… to Gerry Boulet!
At the Fairmount Theater (5240, av. du Parc) on July 22, at 9 p.m. (opening act: Akpossoul)