''Congo Funk! Sound Madness from the Shores of the Mighty Congo River (Kinshasa/Brazzaville 1969–1982)'' is a compilation album of

Congolese rumba Congolese rumba, also known as African rumba, is a dance music genre originating from the Republic of the Congo (formerly French Congo) and Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire). With its rhythms, melodies, and lyrics, Congolese ru ...

, released by record label

Analog Africa Analog Africa is a reissue record label based in Frankfurt, established in 2006 by DJ Samy Ben Redjeb. History Redjeb was born in Tunis, and while working as a flight attendant in the 1990s he collected records from across the African continent. ...

on 5 April 2024.

Background and release

In the 1940s and 1950s the influence of Cuban son music in the

Republic of Congo The Republic of the Congo, also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo), is a country located on the western coast of Central ...

(then a part of

French Equatorial Africa French Equatorial Africa (, or AEF) was a federation of French colonial territories in Equatorial Africa which consisted of Gabon, French Congo, Ubangi-Shari, and Chad. It existed from 1910 to 1958 and its administration was based in Brazzav ...

) and the

DRC The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

(then the

Belgian Congo The Belgian Congo (, ; ) was a Belgian colonial empire, Belgian colony in Central Africa from 1908 until independence in 1960 and became the Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville). The former colony adopted its present name, the Democratic Repu ...

) led to the development of a musical style called

. Thom Jurek of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

writes that "the Afro-Cuban sound established new parameters for performance with reverbed guitars, distorted electric basslines, horn sections, jazz-inflected psychedelia, and funk." James-Brown 1973

In the 1960s Congolese rumba grew in popularity across southern Africa. In the 1970s the music scene in the DRC (then

Zaire Zaire, officially the Republic of Zaire, was the name of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1971 to 18 May 1997. Located in Central Africa, it was, by area, the third-largest country in Africa after Sudan and Algeria, and the 11th-la ...

) declined as many musicians left to escape the difficult economic situation. The presence of

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, musician, and record producer. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th-century music, he is referred to by Honorific nick ...

at the three-day music festival

Zaire 74 Zaire 74 was a three-day live music festival that took place on 22 to 24 September 1974 at the Stade du 20 Mai in Kinshasa, Zaire (now Democratic Republic of the Congo). The concert, conceived by South African trumpeter Hugh Masekela and recor ...

, which preceded the 1974

Rumble in the Jungle George Foreman vs. Muhammad Ali, billed as ''The Rumble in the Jungle'', was a heavyweight championship boxing match on October 30, 1974, at the 20th of May Stadium in Kinshasa, Zaire (now Democratic Republic of the Congo), between undefeated ...

boxing match between

George Foreman George Edward Foreman (January 10, 1949 – March 21, 2025) was an American professional boxer, businessman, minister, and author. In boxing, he competed between 1967 and 1997, and was nicknamed "Big George". He was a two-time world heavyweig ...

and

Muhammad Ali Muhammad Ali (; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and social activist. A global cultural icon, widely known by the nickname "The Greatest", he is often regarded as the gr ...

, had an electrifying effect on the music scenes in

Brazzaville Brazzaville () is the capital (political), capital and largest city of the Republic of the Congo. Administratively, it is a Departments of the Republic of the Congo, department and a Communes of the Republic of the Congo, commune. Constituting t ...

and

Kinshasa Kinshasa (; ; ), formerly named Léopoldville from 1881–1966 (), is the Capital city, capital and Cities of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Kinshasa is one of the world's fastest-grow ...

. Samy Ben Redjeb, owner of record label

, selected the tracks on ''Congo Funk!'' from a pool of around 2,000 that he collected on trips to Kinshasa and Brazzaville. Analog Africa had previously released a compilation of 1960s and 70s tracks by Congolese group Verckys et l’Orchestre Vévé, which included Congolese rumba alongside funk and

afrobeat Afrobeat (also known as Afrofunk) is a West African music genre, fusing influences from Nigerian (such as Yoruba) and Ghanaian (such as highlife) music, with American funk, jazz, and soul influences. With a focus on chanted vocals, complex i ...

Critical reception

On review aggregator

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

the album holds a score of 89/100, based on 6 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". Thom Jurek of

praised the compilation, rating it 4.5/5 stars and calling it "an indispensable addition not only to the Analog Africa catalog but to the burgeoning cultural conversation around the significance, import, and variety of techniques, innovations, aesthetics, and attitudes in African music-making from the era." Andy Cowan of ''

Mojo Mojo may refer to: * Mojo (African-American culture), a magical charm bag used in Hoodoo Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * ''Mojo'' (2017 film), a 2017 Indian Kannada drama film written and directed by Sreesha Belakvaadi * '' ...

'' rated ''Congo Funk!'' 4/5 stars, writing that "global groovers will find this seamless mix of the known and the obscure frequently revelatory." Writing in ''

the Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...

'',

Neil Spencer Neil Spencer is a British journalist, author, broadcaster and astrologer who lives in north London. He edited the ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') from 1978 to 1985 and was a founding editor of the men's magazine ''Arena'' and of the jazz/art ma ...

described the album as "precisely played and delightfully sung examples of Congolese rumba", and rated it 4/5 stars. '' Clash'' rated the album 8/10 and called it "a fascinating time capsule into not only the artists and studios of the time but the cities themselves and the Congolese spirit as a whole." In the June 2024 issue of ''

Songlines A songline, also called dreaming track, is one of the paths across the land (or sometimes the sky) within the animist belief systems of the Aboriginal cultures of Australia. They mark the route followed by localised "creator-beings" in the Dr ...

'' magazine, Nik Hann praised the balance of energetic and laid-back tracks, and called the album "a tour de force of ineffably enticing grooves."

Track listing

Personnel

*Yacine Blaiech (Mogli Studio) – graphic design *Santiago Pozzi aka "Santi" – gatefold cover design *Michael Graves (Osiris Studio) – mastering *Jesse Simon – text editing *Volkan Kaya and Samy Ben Redjeb – liner notes *Volkan Kaya – interviews and translation

References

{{Authority control 2024 compilation albums Analog Africa albums