Diblo Dibala (born 9 August 1954), often known simply as Diblo, is a Congolese

soukous Soukous (from French '' secousse'', "shock, jolt, jerk") is a genre of dance music from Congo-Kinshasa and Congo-Brazzaville. It derived from Congolese rumba in the 1960s, becoming known for its fast dance rhythms and intricate guitar improv ...

musician, known as "Machine Gun" for his speed and skill on the

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected string ...

. He was born in 1954 in

Kisangani Kisangani (formerly Stanleyville or Stanleystad) is the capital of Tshopo province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is the fifth most populous urban area in the country, with an estimated population of 1,312,000 in 2021, and the la ...

. He moved to Kinshasa as a child, and aged 15 won a talent competition which led to him playing guitar in

Franco Franco may refer to: Name * Franco (name) * Francisco Franco (1892–1975), Spanish general and dictator of Spain from 1939 to 1975 * Franco Luambo (1938–1989), Congolese musician, the "Grand Maître" Prefix * Franco, a prefix used when ...

's TPOK band. Dibala remained with the group for only a short period, going on to play with Vox Africa, Orchestra Bella Mambo and Bella Bella, in which band he first played with Kanda Bongo Man. In 1979, he moved to

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

, and in 1981 he joined Kanda Bongo Man's band in Paris. Their first album, ''Iyole'' (1981), was a success. Diblo became a sought after session guitarist, working with

Pepe Kalle Pepe is a pet form of the Spanish name José (Josep). It is also a surname. * People Mononyms * Pepe (footballer, born 1935), real name José Macia, Brazilian footballer * Pepe (footballer, born 1983), real name Képler Laveran Lima Ferrei ...

and many other soukous musicians. In the mid-1980s, he formed his own band, Loketo (meaning 'hips'), with singers Aurlus Mabele and Mav Cacharel. A few years later, that band broke up, and in 1990 he formed a new group, Matchatcha, which is still active after a number of personnel changes.

References

External links

Diblo at AfricanMusic.org
1954 births Living people People from Kisangani Democratic Republic of the Congo guitarists Democratic Republic of the Congo musicians Soukous musicians 21st-century Democratic Republic of the Congo people {{Africa-musician-stub