Watch: Tash LC digs into the roots of Congolese Rumba
A joyous journey through the immeasurably influential sounds of Congo.
"Rumba forms so much more than just its music. It is also very political. It's just a foundation of Congolese society."
In her latest Listening Room session at 180 Studios, DJ, record collector and LR resident Tash LC takes a record-by-record journey through Congolese rumba and soukous – the music she's been obsessed with since the start of her DJ career.
Recorded on Devon Turnbull's system, the session chronologically charts the genre's evolution, starting with the colonial-era choral recordings of Les Troubadours du Roi Baudouin's "Missa Luba" and Hugh Tracey's field recordings of Northern Congo.
Moving through the foundational guitar work of Franco and OK Jazz, Papa Wemba, the soukous explosion in Paris, the pioneering women of Congolese music and into contemporary Kinshasa sounds from KOKOKO!, Tash discusses the music that defined Congolese identity and continues to shape global dance music today.
Watch the full video on YouTube now.
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