Various

*2025 stock* Planet Ilunga, the Brussels-based publisher has, since 2013, produced a series of recordings dedicated to the history of Congolese popular music from artists like Franco & OK Jazz, Docteur Nico, Orchestre Rock-a-Mambo and Joseph Kabasele & African Jazz. For its tenth release and in celebration of its tenth anniversary, the label launches with "The Soul of Congo" its most ambitious project to date: a well-documented and extensive anthology about the illustrious and legendary Congolese music label Ngoma.

The Soul of Congo is a compilation that spans the years from 1948 to 1963 as the Belgian Congo emerged from colonial subjugation into the first flower of Independence. Singers and players came to Congo’s capital Léopoldville, from all over Central Africa — from the streets of Brazzaville on the opposite shore of the Congo river to the vast plateau of Mbanza Congo in Angola, from the mineral rich areas of Lubumbashi (Elizabethville) in the Deep South to the lively docks of Kisangani (Stanleyville) in the northeast, from the rocky wastes of Mbandaka (Coquilhatville) in the West to the majestic forests of Bukavu (Costermansville) in the East.

Léopoldville became a cauldron of musical syncretism between the African rhythms that arrived with these musicians and the European, Caribbean and Cuban tunes that were popular in the big city. The new sounds were recorded for one of the big five Congo labels: Opika, Loningisa, Esengo, Olympia or Ngoma. None of the other Congolese labels better showcased the energy, variety & spirit of this era than the Ngoma label. The label was founded by the Greek Nicolas Jéronimidis in 1948. After his early death in 1951, it was further developed by Nikis Cavvadias and Alexandros Jéronimidis. During its existence, from 1948 until 1971, Ngoma made over 4500 recordings, creating a crucial cultural legacy. Now with Unesco declaring Congolese Rumba as an intangible cultural heritage of humanity as of December 2021, it is fitting they are restored to the ears of the world.

As the Ngoma label flourished, so too did the first big stars of this new sound: Manuel d’Oliveira from San Salvador, Antoine Kolosoy “Wendo’’ from Bandundu and Léon Bukasa from Katanga. The three of them are heavily featured in the Ngoma catalogue and in this compilation. Ngoma also provided a way for female singers, such as Martha Badibala, to rise to fame and inspire other women to dream of a life beyond taking care of the kids and husband. Futhermore, the label was keen to record traditional folkloric music, such as the songs by likembe player Antoine Mundanda. It also looked for fresh talent as far away as Brussels where they recorded Camerounian heartthrob Charles Lembe fronting a fierce quartet on some flashy adapted Cuban Guaracha rhythms. Instrumentalists like Antoine Kasongo (clarinet), Albino Kalombo (sax) and Tino Baroza (guitar) also made their mark through the Ngoma recordings.