"Emala" - Eddy Mboyo & La Sanza

Eddy Mboyo & La Sanza
Eddy Mboyo

Songs

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  • artist:Eddy Mboyo & La Sanza
  • featured artist:Laetitia Boango Bakekolo/Olga Tshiyuka Tshiby/Désiré Isako Bola/Jimmy Musenzo Mpuya/Reagan Amela Matuke
  • region:Central Africa
  • release year:2007
  • country:Congo (Democratic Republic of the)
  • formats:CD (Compact Disc)
  • record posted by:Sowarex / Igloo Records
  • label:Igloo Mondo
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La Sanza is a talented group - led by Eddy Mboyo - which sings in Luba, Mongo and Swahili. The line-up consists of four male percussionists and two women who are both dancers and musicians. The group's originality lies in its blend of traditional instruments and others dreamt up by the fertile imagination of Eddy Mboyo. All instruments are made from recycled materials – drums, percussion instruments, balafons and so on. Eddy Mboyo, who was born in 1974, showed an early interest in percussion and the sanza, an instrument used in traditional music. Once he had finished his secondary education, the young artist embarked on a musical career. In 1989, he performed with the folk group Willo Punch, excelling in dance and percussion. Six years later, he joined the Kiti Na Mesa Ballet, and then L'Eclipse de l'An 2000, a contemporary musical group. Moving from one contemporary band to another, and taking in various folk groups along the way, he acquired experience and gained a mastery of a number of instruments he loves. Mainly basing his work on traditional sources, Eddy Mboyo breathed new life into the Kiti Na Mesa Ballet, which put on many shows in the Congo and toured Africa in 2002. Being both keen on free expression and eager to restore the standing of traditional instruments in general, Eddy works tirelessly on behalf of musical cross-fertilisation, building a solid bridge between tradition and modernity by creating new hybrid sounds through the use of traditional instruments in a modern orchestral setting.