L'Orchestre Bella Bella (also known as Frères Soki & l'Orchestre Bella Bella or simply Bella Bella; sometimes written Bella-Bella) was a prominent

DR Congo 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 ...

soukous Soukous (from French '' secousse'', "shock, jolt, jerk") is a genre of dance music originating from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire) and the Republic of the Congo (formerly French Congo). It derived from Congolese rumba in ...

band that formed in the early 1970s. It was led by the Soki brothers ("Les frères Soki" in French).{{Cite web , date=8 May 2010 , title=Congo-Kinshasa: Kinshasa s'est souvenu d'Emile et Maxime Soki , trans-title=Congo-Kinshasa: Kinshasa remembers Emile and Maxime Soki , url=https://fr.allafrica.com/stories/201005100936.html , access-date=24 May 2025 , website= Le Potentiel , language=fr , publication-place=Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo With Shama Shama and Lipwa Lipwa, it was one of the bands that popularized a smoother, softer style in the soukous scene. The band was a starting ground for many successful musicians, including Nyboma and Pepe Kalle.

History

The band was founded in 1969 by the Soki brothers, Maxim and Emile Soki. Its lineup included guitarists Johnny Roger and Jean Bosco. Emile, who was only 16 when Bella Bella started, became a

teen idol A teen idol is a celebrity with a large teenage fan base. Teen idols are generally young but are not necessarily teenagers themselves. An idol's popularity may be limited to teens, or may extend to all age groups. By region Asia Ea ...

of the youth of

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 ...

.Frères Soki & l'Orchestre Bella Bella
/ref> Since their early years, the band recorded several hits, such as ''Baboti bapekisi'', ''Sylvie'', ''Alexandrine'', ''Mwasi ya moto'', ''Luta'', ''Lina'', ''Mandendeli'', ''Mbuta'', ''Bipale ya pembeni'', and ''Sofele''.Orchestre Bella Bella
at Vibes d'Afrique Around 1972 the band experienced drastic changes in its lineup and internal quarrels, that eventually led to one the Soki brothers, Emile, leaving the band for a while to create a spin-off group called Bella Mambo. In the same period, Pepe Kalle joined Bella Bella for a few years, in order to earn the money he needed to buy instruments for his own band Empire Bakuba. Nyboma joined at the same time. With Kalle as a replacement for Emile, Bella Bella managed to keep their leading position in the soukous scene, with hits like ''Mbuta'', ''Kamale'', ''Kimbundi'', ''Lipua Lipua'' and ''Sola''. In 1973 Emile quit Bella Mambo and rejoined his brother in Bella Bella. In the same year, the Soki brothers created their own

recording label "Big Three" music labels A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and t ...

, Allez-y frères Soki, which released two major hits of their career, ''Bienvenue Doudou'' and ''Sentina''. Both were written with the contribution of Dizzy Mandjeku. These two singles were incredibly successful, and brought several talented musicians to ask the Soki brothers to join in. These two singles were followed by a string of other hits (e.g., ''Mwana yoka toli'', ''Menga'', ''De base'', ''Tikela ngai mobali'', ''Pambindoni'', ''Nganga'', ''Houleux-houleux'', ''Zamba''). Eventually, the Soki brothers became so rich that they would sponsor other ensembles, one notable example being

Papa Wemba Jules Shungu Wembadio Pene Kikumba (14 June 1949 – 24 April 2016), known professionally as Papa Wemba (), was a Congolese singer and musician who played Congolese rumba, soukous, and ndombolo. Dubbed the "King of Rumba Rock", he was one of ...

Viva La Musica Viva La Musica is a popular band from Zaire (now DR Congo) founded by singer Papa Wemba in 1977. While Viva La Musica started out as a soukous band (essentially a spin-off of Zaiko Langa Langa), it eventually grew into a world music act, reachi ...

. In 1977, while the Soki brothers were on tour in Europe, Emile had health problems that would lead to a

nervous breakdown A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness, a mental health condition, or a psychiatric disability, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. A mental disorder is ...

and, eventually, to his definitive departure from the band. Maxime made several attempts at revitalizing the band, but several longtime members left between the late 1970s and the early 1980s. New entries (including, most notably, Kanda Bongo Man and

Diblo Dibala Diblo Dibala (born 9 August 1954), often known simply as Diblo, is a Congolese soukous musician, known as "Machine Gun" for his speed and skill on the guitar. He was born in 1954 in Kisangani. He moved to Kinshasa as a child, and aged 15 won a ...

) did not save the band from its decline.Bella Bella
at Benn loxo Maxime himself finally gave up Bella Bella and relocated in Germany.

Partial discography

* ''Les plus grands succès de l'orchestre Bella Bella – vol. 1'' (Ngoyarto NG 029) * ''Les plus grands succès de l'orchestre Bella Bella – vol. 2'' (Ngoyarto NG 030) * ''Les plus grands succès de l'orchestre Bella Bella – vol. 3'' (Ngoyarto NG 031) * ''Les plus grands succès de l'orchestre Bella Bella – vol. 4'' (Ngoyarto NG 032) * ''Les plus grands succès de l'orchestre Bella Bella: The serie single fetish'' (Ngoyarto NG 049) * ''La naissance de l'Orchestre Bella Bella: Jamais de la Vie'' (Ngoyarto NG092) * ''Les plus grands succès de l'Orchestre Bella Bella: Nono'' (Ngoyarto NG093) * ''Les plus grands succès de l'Orchestre Bella Bella: Sola & Sofele'' (Ngoyarto NG094) * ''Les plus grands succès de l'Orchestre Bella Bella: Muana Yoka Toli'' (Ngoyarto NG095) * ''Les plus grands succès de l'Orchestre Bella Bella & les frères Soki – vol. 5'' (Ngoyarto NG096) * ''Bella Bella des Freres Soki 1970/1973'' (Sonodisc CD 36541) * ''Frères Soki & Bella Bella 1970/1975'' (Sonodisc CD 36602) * ''L'Afrique danse avec l'Orchestre Bella Bella & Soki Vangu'' (Sonodisc 1976) * ''Compilation Orchestres de la generation "Bella-Bella"'' (VVAA compilation, Sonodisc CD 36532) * ''Jeunes Orchestres Zaïrois'' (VVAA compilation, Sonodisc CD 36517)

Footnotes

References

* ttp://vibesdafrique.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=1&action=display&thread=165 Orchestre Bella Bellaat Vibes d'Afrique Democratic Republic of the Congo musical groups Musical groups established in 1969