Alias:

Antoine Makila Mabe

Language:

Lingala

Genre:

Soukous Ndombolo

Instrument:

Male vocals Guitar

Articles:
Interview
Biography
Kenyapage - Article
Koffi conquers New York - Interview

On the Internet
Additional discography/Videos
BBC London Concert 2005

Biography

Koffi Olomide has been a professional musician since the end of the 1970s. He started, like so many other self-taught musicians in the Soukous field, by playing with a band in Kinshasa. There he played with Papa Wemba’s Viva La Musica for several years before he formed his own band in 1985. In his college time, while he studied commerce in Switzerland and France, he released several singles and had in the 80s and 90s released albums where he developed his own style based on the synthesizer. The arrangements of his romantic ballads are airy, easily crossing over to the male choir of the backing group, Quartier Latin. With his sophisticated style and spectacular shows, Koffi Olomide is today the fashion-leader in Soukous-singing and incredibly popular in Africa. After the trendsetting album “LOI”, in 1997, he has called his music style ndombolo, which is the word for buttocks in Lingala. Release of the album was blocked in the Congo, but the ban was not especially effective.
As an illegitimate child, with a mother from Nigeria and a father who just came to visit, Koffi Olomide has systematically striven to get to where he is today. He is convinced that Fate chose him to become a star, and has always been acutely aware of his “image” and “style”, something that is quite visible on his latest releases. These were put out simultaneously on CD and video and the riotous dance numbers on video have the air of fashion shows. Koffi Olomide takes his dandy-style to the extreme and denies himself nothing in terms of his self-designed attire. The dandy from Kinshasa is also known for his outspoken attitude. “I shit on the French public and their narrow minded taste in music,” says Koffi. “I would say that I globalise the public. And I am not, like Youssou N’Dour for example, prefabricated by the white music industry and Peter Gabriel."
Koffi Olomide’s lyrics are difficult to access for non-Congolese. He sings only in Lingala, interspersed with French words and Kinshasa slang, that has their own meaning. In the song “Andrada”, from V 12-album, says Koffi “Don’t speak ill of the meat you have just eaten. Don’t behave like those who crucified Jesus. God has not been to school, but see what he has performed!”
Rumours that his band, Quartier Latin, is dissolving have done the rounds several times. The band is also making discs under their own name now, one of them with the suggestive title “Ultimatum”.

Relevant artists:
Papa Wemba
Kanda Bongo Man
Diblo Dibala
Pepe Kallé
General Defao
Mbilia Bel

LES PRISONIERS DORMENT
Sonodisc/1990

TCHA TCHO  
Stern’s Africa/1990

Koffi Olomides’s only release in England, thus far, on the reputable Stern’s. This is really a compilation that contains several of his hits from the homeland, recorded anew: "Elle et moi", "Mannequin" and "Henriquet". Fine blend of the easy, romantic, and heavy dance music.

DIVA
Sonodisc/1991

GOLDEN STAR DANS STEPHIE  
Sonodisc/1991

One of Koffi’s early releases, 6 songs prettily arranged. Song material doesn’t hold up too well, but here are at least 20 minutes of Koffi’s ingratiating, melodious ballads. The song “Myriam Moleka”, at 7 ½ minutes, with the world’s most melancholy synt flute in the background, is worth the whole disc, in my opinion.

KOWEIT, RIVE GAUCHE
Sonodisc/1992

PAS DE FAUX PAS
Sonodisc/1992

NOBLESSE OBLIGÉ  
Sonodisc/1993

The second album made with those who became his permanent backing group, Quartier Latin - performing incredibly well, and added; a female choir. Koffi’s sumptuous arrangements find their level, but the composer Olomide has a tendency to finish every song in the traditional sebene manner, which is boring. The disc should have been shortened and tightened a bit here and there, but this is not Koffi’s style. Quite the contrary.

MAGIE  
Sonodisc/1994

A cosy album with Quartier Latin in central position. More of the same as on “Noblesse Oblige”, but with the guitar more visible in this picture. The best from “Magie” is among Koffi’s most well produced, but the album on the whole suffers from too much repetition and overlong songs.

V 12  
Sonodisc/1995

This marks the definitive breakthrough for Koffi’s new, sophisticated style, where he pulls a long list of elements into music that is never predictable. It's is simply great to hear the alternating original and African use of the synthesizer and lovely choral arrangements for Quartier Latin. This is to enjoy! (Click record company for alternative review.)

LOI  
Sonodisc/1997

Further developments from “V 12”. Quartier Latin has a yet more forward looking role and sings better than ever. The songs are full of delightful details and you never know in which direction Koffi will lead you. Sensual, playful and airy. Occasionally it is really masterful, as in the hypnotic “Fontaine” that can make you dance on the table!
This album is already a classic!

LIVE A L’OLYMPIA  
Sonodisc/1998

Mainly tracks from “V 12” and “LOI” performed before an ecstatic audience in Paris. Double CD with a playing time of over 2 hours, as definitive as possible. Many of the songs lose something of themselves in the “stadium version”, where much subtlety is lost. And the visual aspect, that surely compensates the audience, is impossible to reproduce on the disc.

DROIT DE VETO  
Sonodisc/1999

A little disappointing following the glimmering studio recordings of 1995 and 1997. It lacks an almost indefinable sting that is found on “V 12” and “LOI”. This is more a common dance album, with Koffi an idling artist and Quartier Latin sounding a bit forced. This is hard to listen to but, if you just want to dance, it is something else! The disc will probably disappoint Koffi’s many fans a bit, but for the true Koffiphile there is a lot to be happy about. And the playing time is 75 minutes.

ATTENTAT (Version radio)  
Sonodisc/1999

A new trendsetting album from Koffi. After det hectic "Droit de veto" the man cools down a bit and presents a new grand album. This disk has everything, from the intensly danceable tracks in the opening, to the soft and poetic in the beautiful soullike duet with Coumba Gawlo from Senegal in "Si Si Si". The duo brings tears to my eyes, and Koffi makes a great follow up with the soft, but swinging "Tchernobyl"(!) . Koffi Olomidé is playful about it all, the songs are inventive, the repertoir is broader than ever. Here are elements, voices and arrangments from a number of styles, but everything is kept together by the rhumba rhythm in the bottom and the excellent choir arrangements of Quartier Latin. There is not very much left of the old sebene-refrains here, "Attentat" is the final confirmation of Koffis new, trendsetting style ndombolo. Wow!

FORCE DE FRAPPE  
Sonodisc/2000

Another glittering album from Koffi, who just continues to carve out his global dance music. As with “LOI”, the expression varies the whole time, and it is playful and elegant - you can just let yourself fly and enjoy it. It is more nicely produced than ever, yet doesn’t seem too smooth. Koffi Olomide’s popularity in Africa and with the black French just grows, and fills the concert halls, one after the other. When will Northern Europe open its eyes to this incredible artist?

LIVE A BERCY
Sonodisc/2000

EFFRAKATA  
Sonodisc/Nextmusic/2001

It's lavish, of course, Koffi never sets limits for himself. But I don't quite understand his reasons for releasing a double album this time. There's really nothing especially new about "Effrakata" - nothing to justify the double format. This release would have benefited from some limits. That said, there's no denying that these two CDs contain much good music. Koffi and his comrades in Quartier Latin alternate as usual between danceable swinging stuff and more hushed, silky and seductive song material. The danceable songs tread well-known trails with much sebene that I personally find becomes boring(!). There are many dull and uninspired tracks on the album - perhaps Koffi sets too much store by routine? On CD 1 I especially miss strong melodies and the ecstatic spark that, at his best, Koffi can produce - like "Airways" from "LOI" to mention but one example. Things improve on the second CD where he shows himself at his most seductive and insinuating with incredibly well-arranged songs about "bolingo" (love). The backing choir and "question & answer" songs wash up against a soft saxophone and you sit just there and hum while your feet begin to tap. Like on "Effervescent" - the disk's best track, and "Robot" - where "Le Grand Mopao" flirts effectively with funk/soul. On the whole, "Effrakata" is an album where half the songs maintain Koffi's usual high standard and the other half are rather mediocre.
(My own edited version contains 8 tracks and is the Koffi album I play most regularly.)

BEST OF
Sonodisc/Nextmusic/2002

01 SOS 06:21
02 Effervescent 06:39
03 Civilise 06:32
04 Zaniha 03:54
05 Spaghetti 06:12
06 Sef 05:09
07 Dessin Anime 06:42
08 Eternellement 05:16
09 Myriam Moleka 07:28
10 Porte Monnaie 06:22
11 Sans Anesthesie 05:17

CD2
01 Generation Bercy 07:31
02 Effrakata 04:47
03 Le Guide 03:24
04 Moprete Lendila 05:03
05 Force De Frappe 07:25
06 Attentat 02:54
07 Urgence 02:24
08 Roint Point 02:45
09 Fontaine 05:04
10 Loi 01:57
11 Miko 01:52
12 Ultimatum 03:04

AFFAIRE D'ETAT  
Sonodisc/Nextmusic/2003

A new double album from Koffi is ready and waiting. There are 18 tracks in all on the 2 CDs - over 70 minutes playing time per CD. Quartier Latin, Koffi's backing group for many years, is well profiled here. In fact all the 13 members contributed, each with his own track, in addition to a couple from Koffi himself together with double versions of 3 songs. At the end of 2002 Koffi was given 4 "Kora Awards" in South Africa for his album "Effrakata", something that has given the man another nickname: "Quadra Kora Man", information he certainly did not forget to mention on the new album's cover.
There are many incredibly good songs on "Affaire D'etat". It appears that the idea of letting the members make their own songs has inspired Quartier Latin to surpass themselves. Koffi and the gang spring out with wonderful songs in their usual airy synthesized arrangements for which they are famous. His permanent colleague on keyboard, Philippe Guez, who has cooperated with several Congolese artists, is in situ as usual. I like the "Inch'Allah" best, where Koffi lets loose with a great guitar at the end. A terrific chorus can be heard on "Ko Ko Ko Ko", and "Draperau Blanc" is heavily salsa-inspired. CD 1 moves lightly and is varied, one beautiful voice replacing another in pretty and captivating exchanges. Koffi resists the temptation to break out in clapped-out sebene. On CD 2 things change and the second part of "Affaire D'etat" pulls things a bit down somewhat. Koffi drones along with one noisy and over-used sebene refrain after another, for example on the 11 minute long "Affaire". It's unnecessary. As on "Effrakata" one can find much lovely music on these 2 CDs. And, as many times in the past, Koffi and his colleagues would have gained by keeping the album tighter. But Koffi Olomide's goal is quite clear: Give his public as much as possible for their money. That results in a tendency to sacrifice quality for quantity.
Why all these deafening exaggerations, Koffi?

MONDE ARABE
Sonodisc/Nextmusic/2004

AFRICAN CLASSICS
Cantos/2007

1. G.B. Gros Bébé
2. Elle et Moi
3. Ca et Ca
4. Koweït, Rive Gauche
5. Dulcinée
6. Henriquet
7. Effervescent
8. Dieu Voit Tout
9. Canal Plus
10. Aquarelle
11. Tsiane

Startpage    Artists, search    Articles and interviews    Links   

Design: Idar Lind
English: Katherine Stewart-Kreisman
Swahili: Francis Chagula (francis.chagula@malvik.kommune.no)
Swahili: Habiba Rajabu (habiba@online.no)
Flags: 3Dflags.com

This site is a member of WebRing. To browse visit here.