The band Staff Benda Bilili have just released their second album, Bouger le Monde, meaning "make the world shake." Indeed, that’s what the band has been doing for the past few years.
Listen to "Sopeka" from Bouger le Monde.
Listen to "Osali Mabe" from Bouger le Monde.
In 2009, an unbelievable story emerged from Congo, when a group of disabled street musicians released its first album, Très Très Fort. Music lovers were amazed to discover that the core members of the band are four disabled street musicians, who all suffered from polio when they were younger. They get around on elaborately motorized tricycles that they've customized with spare parts. The four musicians play guitar and are joined on percussion by a few abandoned street kids the men look after.
The group was discovered in 2005 by two French documentary filmmakers, who changed their original project to focus exclusively on the compelling story of Staff Benda Bilili. The filmmakers spent five years following the band and putting its story on film. They also introduced the band to producer Vincent Kenis, who recorded Très Très Fort on the grounds of the Kinshasa zoo, where the band would gather to practise. (Kenis has also produced the newly released Bouger le Monde.)
The documentary Benda Bilili! received massive critical praise and standing ovations at Cannes and spread the story about this incredible band.
Watch the trailer.
One of the street kids in the band, a boy named Roger, plays an instrument he made himself. It’s a one-string, tin-can "lute," on which he plays stunning solos. He’s refined his skill even more for the new disc. Listen to the solo at the two-minute mark while watching this video about the making of the new album.
The band is on a two-month European and North American tour, which includes stops in Montreal on Oct. 15 and Vancouver on Oct. 28.
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