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The official "Polio" anthem. Created by the SBB. A song to incitate all the parents to get their babies vaccinated against a cruel disease...
Staff Benda Bilili au zoo de Kinshasa envoyé par belleKinoise
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Meet V12, a true star in the remote district of Masina. V12 is a handicapped choregrapher who trains many dancers of the "ndombolo scene". V12 is also a dancer for the Staff Benda Bilili. "Handicap? What handicap?"
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 is being 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.
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This video was shot during Renaud and Florent's first encounter with the band, in March 2004. At that time they were begging for money downtown. The song is about what a man should or shouldn't do to survive in the streets of the big city. It's also a tribute to all the "shégés" (street kids) of Kinshasa.
October 2006, at the zoological garden of Kinshasa (a hang-out for all the street kids), the Staff Benda Bilili pays tribute to James Brown, with solos by (then-) 16 years old Roger Landu and his incredible "Satonge".
je me réjouis d'être à Marseille le 24 octobre pour écouter et voir le STAFF BENDA BILILI. président d'une association, Handivers Horizons, ayant pour objet la promotion de la culture et des voyages pour et par les personnes handicapées, j'espère pouvoir vous rencontrer afin de faire un interview sur vous et votre musique. à bientôt Alain
C'est génial merci d'avoir accepté mon invitation. Plus que jamais d'ailleurs au vu de toutes les mauvaises choses qui se déroulent dans votre pays. Big up ! Je vous souhaite que du bonheur.
Très très fort!! AH OUI! J'ai déjà ma place pour votre concert à Oslo en Novembre... J'adore votre musique et le son de vos instruments. Restez vous-même et surtout restez simple SVP!! Bonne route ;-)
Je vous est découvert dans un magazine, oui oui et superbe découverte !! et j'ai trouvé wouahh !! ce que vous faites... votre "son" est génial, je vous souhaite tout plein de bonne chose ....
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