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RECORDS: COPINAGE TREMBLEMENT 
DE TERRE LA GUERRE 100 ANS AMOUR INTERDIT BANA CONGO NESSY DE LONDON
| Language: | Lingala |
| Genre: | Soukous |
| Instrument: | Male vocals |
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General Defao belongs to the younger guard of soukous artists from the Congo. He hails from the Bas (Lower) Congo province, as does Franco, incidentally. General Defao has a background with the Choc Stars band - an offshoot of Zaiko Langa Langa. In other words, it’s the music from the heart of modern soukous tradition. ZLL complemented the brass group in the traditional rumba orchestra with shouts, yells and whistle pipes; the band altered the tempos, giving the guitar a more central role. In short, they rocked up the rumba and brought in something they called sebene: more funky but at the same time more folk-inspired parts of the songs. In the 1990s, the synthesizer/drum machine took on an important role in the overall picture.
General Defao is firmly placed in this tradition. The style can remind one of Koffi Olomide but lacks his refinement. Defao also takes his dose of sapeur via glittery clothes and gold streaked hair. He is very popular and tours a lot in Africa.
Relevant artists: Koffi Olomide Kanda Bongo Man Pepe Kallé Diblo Dibala Papa Wemba Franco
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Last Modified:
22 nov 2009
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COPINAGE 
Scorpions Productions/1996
Pure and simple soukous, without the big surprises. Much sebene here, yet with a sweet, romantic undertone that will go down well in the dance halls of Kinshasa and its environs. Good voices from several vocalists. On the whole it’s competent and traditional, but for this listener it's a little boring to sit and hear more than one song in a row. One the other hand, it's good dance music.
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LA GUERRE 100 ANS
Scorpions Productions/1997?
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AMOUR INTERDIT 
Scorpions Productions/1998
An album rather like "Copinage". The songs begin quietly and ingratiatingly and adequately loosen up toward the end. This is really not bad, but you would have to have grown up in this tradition to appreciate the almost endless sebene sections that just go on and on, with drums and guitar. The guitarist, who goes by the name of Burkina Faso(!), is not untalented. But varied is not the word with which to describe the music of the General and his band.
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