Diblo Dibala

Diblo Dibala and Matchatcha

Career outline Diblo Dibala, born in 1954 in Kisangani in the Congo (now Zaire), of the Baluba people, is the one of the hottest African Soukous lead guitarists around. At the age of 6 Diblo moved to Kinshasa and by the age of 15 he was playing guitar in the great Franco's TPOK band. In Kinshasa, Diblo continued to master his lava-hot guitar chops with such top Zairean bands as Vox Africa, Orchestre Bella Mambo, and Bella Bella.

In 1979 Diblo left Zaire and landed in Brussels where he played a rented guitar and washed dishes to make money. In 1981 he moved to Paris, where the Soukous scene was a happening thing. He rejoined Kanda Bongo Man, who he had played with in Bella Bella. Their first album, Iyole (1981), was a big hit: Kanda became a big star, and Diblo became the most sought-after session man in Paris. Diblo's huge European success with Kanda Bongo Man led to the formation of his own band, Loketo (which means 'hips', as in 'shake your...'), featuring the work of the gifted vocalist Aurlus Mabele. By this time Diblo was the dominant Soukous session man in Paris and he was in great demand. On recordings by such Soukous giants as Kanda Bongo Man and Pepe Kalle you can hear them calling out "Diblo" when guitar solo time comes around. In 1990 Diblo left Loketo to form Matchatcha (means "a type of flower that produces an itch"). Copyright © 1995-1998 Janet Planet, The African Music Encyclopedia

Line up:

Diblo Dibala on guitar, J.P. Kinzaki on rhythm guitar, vocalists,, Miguel Yamba on bass, Komba Bello Mafwala, Dely Mpeletu and David Mondoand on vocals and dancers Antoinette Yelessa and Joelle Esso.

== Festive Fifty Entries ==

Sessions

1. Recorded: 19/07/1992. First broadcast: 08/08/1992.

First 4 songs on Kershaw’s show and second 4 on Peel’s

Repeated: Unknown

Kershaw: Mondo Rei, Matchatcha Wetu, Merci Papa,

Peel: Cheke, Medesence, Laise Passe, Extraball

2. Recorded 19/11/1994

3 Recorded 24/06/1995

(Please correct mistakes and add any missing info)

== Other Shows Played ==

* DD Month YYYY: Song (single/album) Label

(Please add any missing info)

== External Links ==

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diblo_Dibala Wikipedia

[http://www] Official site

http://africanmusic.org/artists/diblo.html The African Music Encyclopedia

http://www.africasounds.com/Diblo_Dibala.htm Africa Sounds

Available: Mooo