"Paris, Africa" in a Week

Koffi Olomide's 44th Birthday Celebration featuring Quartier Latin

By Martin Sinnock "Muana Machete"

Sunday, 13 August

We manage to sleep for a while but get disturbed by some phone calls. Ethan gets up and disappears to meet his pal Samba Mapangala who is in town recording his new cd. They return to our hotel and we sit and chat for a while. Charlie, Ethan and I spend the afternoon in Virgin and FNAC megastores in the Champs Elycées where we can see what new releases of non-Congolese music are available. We have dinner in my Belgian restaurant but Ethan is not too impressed. Clearly he is an American food connoisseur – but the Belgian Trappist Monk beer puts a cheery smile on his yankee face and I reassure him that he will soon be back in Boston indulging himself in the local Taco Bell fast food eatery. We retire fairly early to try and catch up on lost sleep.

Monday, 14 August

Ethan returns to America today so we have a leisurely breakfast and walk to some record shops. We bump into an Ivoirienne friend of mine, Anita, a superb dancer and singer who has just released her second cd. I’ve been translating a brief biography for her and she wants to check that it has been typed correctly in English so we agree to meet later in the day. I want to show Charlie and Ethan around the African/Arab district of Chateau Rouge but, being Monday morning, most shops and businesses are still closed. At mid-day we sadly bid Ethan farewell. His trip has been far too short but he seems well satisfied. He is heavily laden with cds; he’s heard some good live music; and he’s met a lot of musicians. He’s also several hundred dollars lighter and probably a few kilos less around the waist. Charlie and I have some afternoon lunch and we meet up with Anita briefly. We have another rendez-vous with a Senegalese friend of Charlie’s who used to live in New York. The two of us escort the lovely Fatou to a cafe on the edge of the Paris canal where we sit enjoying the evening sun and a couple of drinks.

Tuesday, 15 August

Today is a French national holiday so Charlie and I have a leisurely morning and another gourmet lunch, this time in Restaurant Flo, a chain of high class, good value restaurants. Winan meets us at the hotel at 1600 and we set off to Salle LSC, an exhibition estate up near the Stade de France in St. Denis. LSC is where most of the Congo concerts used to take place and it is a venue that I like, especially for a “Spécial Terrain” or “Concert Kermesse”. These are my favourite type of Congolese shows for two very good reasons – 1. There is a picnic before and during the concert where Congolese families can set up barbecues and sell beer. 2. The music starts early and finishes by 0100 or 0200 instead of starting at 0200 and finishing at 0700 in the morning.

Flyer for the Koffi Olomide Special Terrain Birthday Fete

Today’s “Spécial Terrain” is to celebrate Koffi Olomide’s 44^th birthday. This is essentially a fan-club family event and so there has been very little publicity and the entrance fee is only 100 francs ($15). When we arrive there are already plenty of barbecue fires alight in the outside area where there are tables, chairs and sun awnings.

Koffi Olomide leading Quartier Latin through a disciplined rehearsal prior to the 44eme Anniversaire spectacle

(Photo by Martin Sinnock)

The public has not yet entered but we are invitees and so we go straight into the big hall where Koffi is personally sound-checking his band. He is fastidious about his preparations but takes time to come over and greet us. The security staff remove everybody, except us, out of the hall and Koffi rehearses Quartier Latin through some songs. We know that it will be packed this evening but Koffi happily gives us total access to the stage area to take photographs. He says we can talk and do some portrait pictures later.

After the soundcheck is finished and Koffi has disappeared we join Mama Christianne Kwassa who will be feeding us tonight. Beer and Kamundele (barbecued meat with pili-pili sauce) are plentiful and cheap, and as we sit we meet various old friends.

(Left to Right): Charlie Fuller, Mama Christianne Kwassa and Martin Sinnock enjoying barbecued meat with pili-pili sauce (Photo courtesy of Martin Sinnock)

Charlie’s pal Montana, former singer with Defao’s Big Stars, is now with Koffi’s group and is pleased to see us. Pepe Akoundji insists we come and eat some of her Kamundele and as the area begins to fill up there is a real summer family picnic atmosphere. The young Congolese girls turn out in force for these picnic shows, especially when Koffi is playing. Charlie, Winan and I enjoy ourselves in the sun spotting the most outrageous hair-styles and scanty designer outfits. Damien Dimonekene and Zacharie Bababaswe come over and interview us for the video of the event. Photographer Athis buys us some beers and takes some photos. Chanteuse Faya Tess spots me and rushes over to greet us. Some of the band come and chat to us on their way into the hall. By 2100 hours the outside area is packed, with the barbecue smoke thick, and the smell of good African food wafting from every direction.

Ex-Big Stars singer Montana, now with Quartier Latin, showcasing his expressive dancing techniques

(Photo by Martin Sinnock)

The band start to play and hundreds of girls are pressed up against the security fencing. There are lots of children here so the security staff have to lift them over the fence so they can sit on the floor in front of the stage where Athis, Photo Joel, Photo Gege and I are taking pictures. Once Koffi arrives on stage the hall becomes really packed and the security crew have difficulty holding the barriers back. The audience is on the verge of getting out of control but Koffi continues performing.

Koffi Olomide joins Quartier Latin onstage to thrill the packed hall (Photo by Martin Sinnock)

He shrewdly uses the children as a video and photo-shoot opportunity – and it looks brilliant. I see little girls of only five or six years screaming for Koffi and mimicking his dance moves perfectly. I’m getting worried for the kids’ safety but at the same time I’m emotionally charged to see them enjoying themselves. Winan passes up a couple of kids for me to pass to Koffi to have their photos taken on stage. He tells me later that they are the twin sons of MJ Ngoie and Stino. MJ will be thrilled with me when she receives the pictures - but what the hell will Stino think about it?

Koffi's most ardent fans

(Photo my Martin Sinnock)

Olomide flanked by his fans (Photo by Martin Sinnock)

Olomide’s showmanship is faultless – but the band are not as good as they used to be in the old days. I’m still missing soloist Popolipo and guitarists Do Akongo, Lebou and Rocky Blanchard. Also the dancers seem to be almost disinterested; and the backing vocalists are not as good as I’ve seen before, except for Claude “Muana Lola”, Dindo Yogo’s son who sings a solo that sounds exactly like his Dad. Who would believe that exactly one week later we would be mourning the death of Dindo?

A surprise appearance by singer Scola Miel (Photo by Martin Sinnock)

The Koffi Olomide performance is exemplary and the audience are going predictably wild. But by midnight the pressure is becoming intense and the security has greatly increased in number. The guards periodically ram the barriers back into the crowd in order to try and stop them creeping forward. The hooligans have infiltrated the audience and things start to get a bit nasty. Local young Congolese gangs (“Zoulous”, “Yankees”, “New Jack” – chegués) frequently try to disrupt these kind of shows. Too much beer and a chance to show off in front of the girls. They may be fanatics of a rival group who are intent on disrupting the show or they may just be provocateurs. Someone lets off some tear-gas which stops the show for fifteen minutes. A few scuffles break out. I manage to get out from the comparative safety of the stage area in order to go to the rest room. I see half a dozen security guards dragging off a lone troublemaker to receive a little Kinshasa-style rough justice.

Olomide with his dancers (Photo by Martin Sinnock)

Winan and I go out to the external area and are amazed to see just as many people outside as there are inside the concert. We spot one of the provocateurs with his head badly cut, covered in blood, busy arguing with some security guards. A couple of women are having a pretty serious fight and quite a crowd are enjoying the spectacle. It’s an electric atmosphere but a bit heavy and so we grab a couple of beers to calm ourselves down. We manage to push our way back through the crowd and re-claim our place in the stage area. Koffi’s confident performance continues until 0100 at which time the security crew rush him out to his awaiting V12 Mercedes. There is such a mass of people that we have no chance of meeting up with Koffi again as planned. We’ve heard the show, we’ve talked to Koffi, and we’ve seen enough heavy violence, so we leave promptly and walk back to Central Paris. We bid Winan farewell and Charlie and I crash out.

Olomide and Quartier Latin bid his fans farewell (Photo by Martin Sinnock)

Wednesday, 16 August

After breakfast Charlie and I head off for the Eurostar train back to England where Charlie can pick up his flight to New York. It is another easy ride home and we discuss some of the details of our trip.

Charlie has had an amazingly fortuitous visit. I emphasise to him that my frequent trips are rarely as intense as this one has been. It has been a happy coincidence that we have managed to combine several events in one short trip: Two nights rehearsals with three different groups; on the road with Bozi & Déesse; a big stadium concert with the cream of Congolese music; and an invitation to Koffi’s birthday concert.

For me the trip has been a real thrill. I usually spend plenty of time with Winan but to have Charlie and Ethan along as travelling companions has doubled the pleasure of the trip for me. I sure hope you guys will come back soon. – and remember – “Suivez le guide!! – Tonton Martin!”