Born in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and raised in the UK, Robert Maseko is part of the new wave of Central African artists who are re-interpreting hip-swinging Congolese soukous music.
With his band the Congo Beat he has gone back to the rumba roots that so entranced Africa and added touches of reggae, flamenco, tango, merengue and zouk.
Elegant vocals, sizzling guitar and rumba propelled bass lines explore the deep roots of Afrobeat and the connections between African, Cuban and Caribbean music. “Congo has got plenty of clashes in it tradition and cultural rhythm where is rare for me to run out of beat and compositions it just flows out no stop, the gift every child has got is own – I love music,” Maseko says
His lyrics are written in Lingala, Swahili, French and English, accommodating the diversity and versatility audience.
Robert aims to promote African music, African literature and cultural diversity and understanding through his Drumming 4 Diversity project. Workshops include African drumming and music using ngoma, jembes, talking drum, marimba, xylophone and other instruments; African Literature using ancient African methods of story telling, poetry, dance and masks.
Discography:
Jumping Bango (2009)
African Keen
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.
