‘El Son de Congo’ is a new double-LP compilation in Planet Ilunga’s ‘Les Éditeurs Congolais’ series, focusing on the phonographic work of the first generation of Congolese record-label owners. Following a previous compilation dedicated to African Fiesta and the Vita label, Planet Ilunga turns it attention this time to two other labels managed by Roger Izeidi. Spanning the early to mid-1960s, the compilation brings together an original selection of recordings from four different leading Congolese bands, released originally on two important Congolese music labels.
During the 1960s, Roger Izeidi was by far the most prolific entrepreneur in popular Congolese music. After Congolese independence, Izeidi successively managed the music labels Cefa, Vita, Tcheza, PakaSiye, Hit-Parade, Otembe, and Les Artistes Réunis. He had been trained in the fifties by Bill Alexandre, the Belgian jazz player and A&R manager at Compagnie d'Enregistrement du Folklore Africain (CEFA). Together, Izeidi’s labels produced approximately 1,400 songs from the leading Congolese bands at the time, spanning popular genres such as Congolese rumba, cha-cha-cha, pachanga and bolero, yet Roger Izeidi also embraced Congo’s deep folkloric music traditions as well as religious music. By carefully overseeing the labels, Roger Izeidi built a solid publishing house that would earn admiration and recognition from Kinshasa to Havana.
On this new compilation, Planet Ilunga focuses on the two labels Cefa and Tcheza, with a largely unknown and strongly Latin-tinged selection. The first side is dedicated to the Bantou Jazz series on Cefa, with songs originally recorded in November 1961 in Brussels by the iconic Congo-Brazzaville band in its formative days. Side B is reserved for the recordings of OK Jazz made in 1962–1963 in the Belgian capital for Cefa. The second disc presents an overview of the Tcheza label, active from mid1960s through late 1960s. Planet Ilunga selected ten tracks from the two biggest bands on this label: Conga Succès and Négro Succès. The heirs of Roger Izeidi kindly gave permission to release this album on the Brussels-based label.
