Congo Guitar

My introduction to African finger-style guitar came from reissues by Mississippi Records, who have released gorgeous folk music by musicians like Jean-Bosco Mwenda, John Ondolo, George Mukabi and others. In the 50’s and 60’s, these guitarists displayed not only an effortlessly virtuosic command of their instruments, but an exceptional exuberance and joy in their performances. Congo-born and Sweden-based Vumbi Dekula is bringing that joy into the 21st century.

Dekula, a veteran of various groups from Africa and Europe, released his first album as a solo artist last month. Congo Guitar builds on the innovations made by his predecessors by adding delicate drum machines supplemental instrumentation, but never in a way that calls attention away from Dekula’s playing. The sparse accompaniments and wordless backing vocals are so sensitively arranged and executed you hardly notice they’re there at all.

The melodic lines and chord progressions on the album are repetitious in a way that’s hypnotic rather than monotonous. The perpetually danceable and sometimes jazzy “Zuku” skips and frolics underneath a sky dotted with atmospheric piano twinkles. “Afro Blues” and “Congo Yetu” are accompanied by field recordings - the sounds of traffic and passersby - generating a scene in which Dekula is busking on the side of a busy, vibrant Kinshasa street.

On Congo Guitar, Dekula delivers seven furiously intricate and rhythmic tracks with a calmness and grace that emphasizes the music itself rather than the skill it takes to play it. He grew up idolizing and emulating the early practitioners of Congolese guitar, and after decades as a sideman and bandleader, his first outing on his own is a singular statement of praise and gratitude for the music that made him.

PS: Since Vumbi Dekula is part of a long lineage of African guitar music, there’s a lot of material to discover if you’re interested in exploring some of what came before him. My sub-recommendations are Mississippi Records’ compilation Jean-Bosco Mwenda and, for pursuers of more contemporary tunes, the work of Mdou Moctar, Bombino and other “Desert Blues” guitarists from the Sahel region of Africa. Much of their music has been put out by the Portland, Oregon-based label Sahel Sounds.