The cliché about artists suffering for their art applies to Ricky Lickabu, Coco
Ngambali and their merry band of fellow troubadours more than
most. Lickabu, Ngambali et al comprise Staff Benda Bilili, a group of
street musicians from the Democratic Republic of the Congo who will perform in
the closing slot of this year’s Israel Festival on June 14.
Most of the
members of the band are polio victims who live in makeshift shelters near the
grounds of the zoo in the Congo capital of Kinshasa and play music that is
rooted in rumba, with elements of old-school rhythm ‘n’ blues and reggae. The
four core members, who play guitars and sing, are backed by a rhythm section of
socially disadvantaged youngsters, including Roger Landu, who made his own
instrument out of an empty fish can, a piece of wood and a guitar string and
produces incredible Hendrix-like riffs on his rudimentary invention.
A
recent documentary about the band, called Benda Bilili, shows the players
trundling through the streets of Kinshasa on spectacularly customized motorized
tricycles that look more like Disneyland hippie motorbikes than vehicles for the
physically disabled.
Benda Bilili portrays the trials of the musicians,
which include getting some flak from other residents of the city streets, but
mostly the joie de vivre they exude in their daily life and particularly through
their music. They were discovered three years ago by Vincent Kenis, a Belgian
record producer who specializes in Congolese music, and he pulled the necessary
strings to get the band recording facilities to put together its debut release
Tres Tres Fort (Very Very Strong).
Lickabu says he and his colleagues
have always been involved in music. “We started when we were very young. At the
beginning we played mostly religious music at the local church,” he explains,
adding that they soon began exploring the rhythmic possibilities of other
musical areas and that their creative vistas received a boost from an unexpected
pugilistic source.
“We mainly get our inspiration from Congolese music –
urban and traditional, Congolese rumba and all the different kind of music
existing in Congo. Then we discovered the afro beat with Fela, and soul music from America and, of course,
from James Brown when he and some other American artists came to Kinshasa for
the Mohammad Ali-George Forman fight.” The latter refers to the 1974 world
heavyweight boxing match that became known as “The Rumble in the
Jungle.”
When Kenis came across the band, neither he nor the musicians
had much in the way of state-ofthe- art facilities to help get the group’s
message out there, so they opted for an unusual, but also perfectly natural,
recording venue.
“When we recorded, the zoo was our headquarters, so for
us it was very familiar and probably the best place at that time for us to
record the first album,” notes Lickabu. “We couldn’t imagine it would be okay
for Vincent, the producer, but he’s sometimes more Congolese than the
Congolese!” All went well with the recording sessions, and Tres Tres Fort soon
began making the rounds of the radio stations and well-placed industry
professionals. The band eventually got international exposure when the musicians
performed in France, and the rest is history. They won the prestigious Artist
Award at world music expo Womex in 2009 and have enchanted audiences across the
globe with their exuberance and their driving rumbabased bluesy
rhythms.
The documentary includes footage of the band members getting
ready for their first foray out of the streets of Kinshasa, their first time on
a plane, and their first taste of the outside world, when they go to perform in
France. Their wide-eyed admiration of the Western world is reminiscent of the
reaction of the Buena Vista Social Club old timers, when they stared in
amazement at the skyscrapers and bright lights of New York City just over a
decade ago. But Lickabu says he and his musical cohorts are not blinded by the
material comforts that come their way on tour, and that there is common ground
between them and the people they see on the road.
“Most of the countries
we traveled to are more rich and much more organized than our country, but in
the end we discovered that there is no paradise, and each country and its people
have more or less similar problems. When we are traveling in Japan and Europe
and we can see homeless in the streets, we feel at home,” says
Lickabu.
He adds that one of the greatest sources of happiness for him
and the rest of the band is that others in Congo have followed their lead and
are taking their destiny in their own hands.
“There are now more and more
disabled people in Kinshasa creating music bands; but even before our success,
many disabled people in Congo worked hard to get out of their misery, as there
is no support from the government so this is the only way.”
While he says
he is aware that the public relates to the band members’ physical appearance,
Lickabu believes audiences quickly get hooked on the musical vibes they put out.
“I think it’s a combination of things – we are disabled, musicians and human
beings, but there is always a specific way of looking at us and always will
be.”
The Staff Benda Bilili gang are now a fixture on the global world
music scene. They are proud of their success and of making it under their own
steam.
“It was important for us to make our way independently, both in
music and in life,” says Lickabu.
“That is the only way to
survive.”
Even so, there must have been some moments when the band
members, faced with seemingly impossible odds, felt like giving up.
“No!
Never!” declares Lickabu.
That unstinting optimism will, no doubt, be
front and center in the musical mix on June 14.
Staff Benda Bilili will
perform at the Jerusalem Theater at 8:30 p.m. on June 14. For tickets and
more information: (02) 560-5755, *6226, (02) 623-7000 and
www.israel-festival.org.il