Music from the Republic of the Congo

The Republic of the Congo shares in the great Congolese rumba tradition while sustaining its own Brazzaville-centered scene of soukous, popular dance bands, hip-hop, gospel, and regional music.

The Republic of the Congo (or Congo-Brazzaville) is an African nation with close musical ties to its neighbor, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC, or Congo-Kinshasa). DRC's homegrown pop music, soukous, are popular across the border, and musicians from both countries have fluidly travelled throughout the region playing similarly styled music, including Nino Malapet and Jean Serge Essous. Brazzaville had a major music scene until unrest in the late 1990s, and produced popular bands like Bantous de la Capitale that played an integral role in the development of soukous and other styles of Congolese popular music. The Hip-Hop group "Bisso na Bisso" also hails from Congo-Brazzaville. 

Overview adapted from Wikipedia’s “Music of the Republic of the Congo” article.

Roga Roga and Extra Musica’s “Bokoko” delivers the polished guitars, vocal interplay, and dance energy associated with Brazzaville’s modern soukous scene.

Bisso Na Bisso connects Congolese identity with French hip-hop, reflecting the cultural movement between Brazzaville and the diaspora.

Music from the Democratic Republic of the Congo

The Democratic Republic of the Congo has shaped popular music across Africa through Congolese rumba and soukous, while its many regions also sustain diverse ceremonial, vocal, and instrumental traditions.

Describing the music of the Democratic Republic of the Congo is difficult, due to vagaries surrounding the meanings of various terms. The country itself was formerly called Zaire and is now sometimes referred to as Congo-Kinshasa to distinguish it from the Republic of the Congo (or Congo-Brazzaville). In this article, Congo will refer specifically to theDemocratic Republic of the Congo unless otherwise noted. Outside of Africa, most any music from the Congo is calledsoukous, which most accurately refers instead to a dance popular in the late 1960s. The term rumba or rock-rumba is also used generically to refer to Congolese music, though both words have their own difficulties and neither is very precise nor accurately descriptive. People from the Congo have no term for their own music per se, although they have used muziki na biso (our music)until the late 1970s and now the most common name is "ndule" which simply means music in the lingala dialect. Most songs from the Democratic Republic of the Congo are sung in the "lingala" dialect, mainly because it is the dialect which is the most spoken in the country.  

Overview adapted from Wikipedia’s “Music of the Democratic Republic of the Congo” article.

“Love,” from the Kinshasa One Two project, offers an experimental contemporary view of music made in the Congolese capital.

Innoss’B’s “Yo Pe” represents a younger Congolese pop generation carrying dance music into the digital era.

Eden and Nana’s “Na zongi epai na yo” connects the post with the melodic, guitar-centered Congolese song tradition.

Music from Comoros

Comorian music reflects the islands’ position between East Africa, Madagascar, and the Arab world, blending regional rhythms, Islamic devotional influence, string traditions, and contemporary song.

Comoros is a group of islands in the Indian Ocean, mostly an independent nation but also including the French territory of Mayotte. It is historically linked to both East Africa and France, and now has a strong Malagasy influence. Zanzibar's taarabmusic, however, remains the most influential genre on the islands, and a Comorian version called twarab is popular. Leading twarab bands include Sambeco and Belle Lumière, as well as star singer Mohammed Hassan. Comorian instruments include the 'ud and violin, the most frequent accompaniment for twarab, as well as gabusi (a type of lute) and ndzendze. Sega music from nearby Mauritius and Réunion is also popular.
Modern musicians include Abou Chihabi, who composed the Comorian national anthem and who is known for his reggae-tinged pan-African variet music, reggae/zouk/soukous fusionists like Maalesh and Salim Ali Amir, Nawal, Diho, singer-songwriters and instrumentalists.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia’s “Music of the Comoros” article.

Comorian singer and multi-instrumentalist Nawal’s “Meditation” draws together spiritual reflection and the islands’ African, Arabic, and Indian Ocean musical connections.

Nawal’s “Musica” adds a more outward-facing contemporary performance while remaining grounded in her Comorian identity.

Music from Colombia

Colombia’s music reflects its Caribbean, Pacific, Andean, plains, and urban regions, producing an exceptional range of traditions including cumbia, vallenato, currulao, joropo, salsa, and modern popular styles.

The music of Colombia is an expression of the Colombian culture, which contains diverse music genres, traditional and moderns according with the features of each geographic region; although it is frequent to find different musical styles in the same region. The diversity in musical expressions found in Colombia can be seen as the result of a mixture of African, native Indigenous, European (especially Spanish) influences, as well as more modernAmerican and Caribbean musical forms, Cuban, and Jamaican.
In a globalised world, many musicians are fusing traditional music with other styles (usually styles from the popular music genres). While this is not necessarily a bad thing, it is no longer traditional music since it is not entirely based on local culture, being influenced by the music that it has been fused with. As a result traditional music tends to be found in a pre-commercial setting. While traditional music continues to evolve today, but generally as a continuation of the music from a pre-globalised culture.
Styles like vallenato and porro were especially influential. When the waltz became popular in the 19th century, a Colombian version called pasillo was created. 

Overview adapted from Wikipedia’s “Music of Colombia” article.

This cumbia selection represents one of Colombia’s most influential musical exports, rooted in the country’s Caribbean coast and African, Indigenous, and European exchange.

Folklore Urbano brings Colombian traditional rhythms into an urban ensemble setting, showing how regional forms continue to evolve.