Belle Kinoise Prod (formerly Label Kinoise) has been working with artists and musicians in Kinshasa since 2003. Producing bands, organizing concerts, shooting movies, recording albums... Kinshasa was once the musical capital of Africa, but after years of civil war and political madness, the country is in ruin. Yet the music keeps on rolling. Kinshasa "the city of sound" is the true fuel for Belle Kinoise's works. Besides its movie projects, B.K keeps on seeking new musical talents in the ghetto in order to gather a powerful line-up of local professionnal bands.
In the face of a collapsing occidental music industry, the challenge for Belle Kinoise is to create new ways of giving its artists opportunities to be heard and seen.
in 2009 Belle Kinoise will settle down in Kinshasa to become a full time local cultural platform.
BK's artists are: Jupiter & Okwess International, Staff Benda Bilili, Bawutakin, Bebson de la Rue, Loi-X, Kimono, Rin-K, Ngotshima & the jawbreakers, Gekingo... It's an evergrowing community.
The infamous song "Life in Kinshasa is like playing ping-pong against King-Kong over the towers of Hong-Kong" played acappella with a special featuring by Roger Landu and his amazing "Satongé".
........................................
BELLE KINOISE MOVIES
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
2009
Staff Benda Bilili are like nothing you have ever seen or heard before. A group of paraplegic street musicians who live in and around the grounds of the zoo in Kinshasa, Congo, they make music of astonishing power and beauty. The band's mesmerising rumba-rooted grooves, overlaid with vibrant vocals, remind you at times of Cuban nonchalance, at other times of the Godfather of Soul himself. You can hear echoes of old-school rhythm and blues, then reggae, then no-holds barred funk. Four senior singer/guitarists sitting on spectacularly customized tricycles, occasionally dancing on the floor of the stage, arms raised in joyful supplication, are the core of the band, backed by a younger, all-acoustic, rhythm section pounding out tight beats. Over the top of this are weird, infectious guitar-like solos performed by young Roger Landu, (an ex-street kid the band took under their wing), who plays a one-string electric lute he designed and built himself out of a tin can.
The lyrics of the Staff Benda Bilili are wise, ironical advice to the people who live in the streets. In Lingala, "Benda Billi" means "look beyond appearances".
Entitled "Très Très Fort" ('Very Very Strong'... or 'Very Very Loud'), their first album was produced by Vincent Kenis (already responsible for introducing and producing Konono N°1, Kasaï Allstars and the Congotronics series). The songs were recorded out in the open, mainly in the zoological garden near centre ville. The album will be released in Feb/March 2009.
The physical version of the album contains video bonuses directed by Belle Kinoise aka Florent de la Tullaye and Renaud Barret, who discovered the band while they were filming their "Jupiter's Dance" documentary in Kinshasa. Florent and Renaud have been documenting the story of the band since 2004, and are working on a feature-length film devoted to the life of Staff Benda Bilili, from the sidewalks of Kinshasa to their (upcoming) first concerts in Europe.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Official selection, Berlin Festival 2008. A vivid portrait of a bunch of outstanding women, who choose to box to get ahead in an African capital in the great turmoil of the first democratic elections.
Summer 2006 in Kinshasa. Martini, Jeannette, Hélène and Rosette spar everyday with Coach Judex in the old stadium Tata Rafael, where in 1974 Muhammad Ali knocked out George Foreman in the most mythical match in the history of boxing. At dawn, thousands of people from the ghetto come to train here and political parties rally. In parallel to the fight for the Presidency of Congo (DRC), Judex struggles to organise a women's boxing
tournament with little money... Kinshasa sings, Kinshasa starves and Judex’s girls manage to survive, with no illusion still full of hope. A film about women in a country where men have become crazy. A film overflowing with energy, life and humour in a place where death and misery roam.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
2007
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxJUPITER'S DANCE
A film by Renaud Barret & Florent de la Tullaye
Produced by LABEL KINOISE.
The ghettos of Kinshasa —the devastated capital of a country politically and economically adrift— are filled with many gifted, yet impoverished musicians. Their outstanding talent, humour and vital energy are their only means of survival.
Amongst them, Jupiter, the charismatic leader of the band "Okwess International", acts as our narrator and guide. This local Don Quixote introduces us to the Kinshasa music scene —teenage rappers, handicapped bluesmen, street children, griots and guitar craftsmen— and describes his 20-year struggle to bring his music out of the ghetto.
Coming soon april 2007. DVD (104mn)+CD(11 tracks). watch the trailer at www.myspace.com/okwessinternational
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
"TRACKS"_ Arte 2006.
Staff Benda Bilili are #1 in the World Music Charts Europe Staff Benda Bilili's debut album "Très Très Fort" has reached the No 1 position in the World Music Charts Europe, which are compiled for the European Broadcasting Union on the basis of airplay by world music DJs in 23 European countries.
Each time of holy celebration is a reminder for our heart to never forget the infinity of life. Like a simple flower, it can be fragile, if we don't take care about. Sharing love with others when misunderstandings are in is the best medicine to allow life possibility to heal our souls. After all, who are we here ? Just a moment of transition..till perfection HAPPY EASTER to you Belle Kinoise Prod
LOPANGO YA BANKA, OPEN BAND BY DEAD PREZ LOPANGO YA BANKA, EN TOURNEE AVEC DEAD PREZ
03.04. BERLIN 04.04. COTTBUS 05.04. LINZ (Autriche/Österreich) 06.04. NÜRNBERG 07.04. SCHWÄBISCH GMUND 09.04. FRANCKFURT 11.04. COLOGNE, OPEN BAND BY ICE CUBE/ EN AVANT PREMIERE DE ICE CUBE
please please please tell me how can I get the New Staff CD!! And I would like to do a phone interview for a radio show here. Please get back to me at kriphopproject@yahoo.com
Doto est un projet audiovisuel tourné à Lomé (capitale du Togo) ayant pour objectifs de témoigner d'une réalité (Lomé 2007) et de promouvoir les artistes qui y ont collaboré.
