NA LINGUI YO from STAFF BENDA BILILI

Staff Benda Bilili are like nothing you have ever seen or heard before. A group of paraplegic street musicians who live in and around the grounds of the zoo in Kinshasa, Congo, they make music of astonishing power and beauty. The band s mesmerising rumbarooted grooves, overlaid with vibrant vocals, remind you at times of Cuban nonchalance, at other times of the Godfather of Soul himself. You can hear echoes of oldschool rhythm and blues, then reggae, then noholds barred funk. Four senior singer, guitarists sitting on spectacularly customized tricycles, occasionally dancing on the floor of the stage, arms raised in joyful supplication, are the core of the band, backed by a younger, allacoustic, rhythm section pounding out tight beats. Over the top of this are weird, infectious guitarlike solos performed by young Roger Landu, (an exstreet kid the band took under their wing), who plays a onestring electric lute he designed and built himself out of a tin can. The lyrics of the Staff Benda Bilili