Ethnophony

Fredy Massamba’s 2010 album Ethnophony is a perfect synthesis of his  influences up until that point. Hip hop was the big thing when he was  growing up in Brazzaville, Congo, in the 1980s, where he was also surrounded by the sweet sounds of rumba; for over a decade he toured with Belgian-Congolese act Zap Mama, from whom he absorbed the onomatopoeic vocal techniques of the pygmy people. Even though Ethnophony is Massamba’s debut, it’s obviously the work of an accomplished musical polymath, combining hip hop with Congolese elements and  a warm, soulful vibe.