Tracklist
1 | Kadi Yombo | |
2 | Gho Mitsaba No Voko | |
3 | Bossogho Aketi Na Missingui | |
4 | Moghogho | |
5 | Gho Minongo | |
6 | Ngonde | |
7 | Popedaka | |
8 | Niaghaulianau Ghuni | |
9 | Kudu | |
10 | Gho Mboka Nzambe |
Reissue of a monumental example of late-80s Gabonese musical postmodernism. »Kadi Yombo«, published in 1989, is certainly Nziengui's most successful album in the quest for a fusion between tradition and modernity. Combining beating rattles with a layer of synthesizers, Nziengui blends in a contrapuntal dialogue characteristic of harp playing: male song in appeal and female choir in response, male voice of the musical arc and rhythms of female worship. But above all it’s Tsogho ritual music and modern studio orchestration. The result is an initiatory itinerary of 10 musical pieces which are all milestones likely to be simultaneously listened to, danced, meditated on, and soon acclaimed. In the years since, Nziengui has traveled he world from Lagos to Paris, from Tokyo to Cordoba, from Brussels to Mexico City to become a true icon, the emblem of Gabonese music.
Like Bob Dylan, "electrifying" folk and Bob Marley mixing rock with reggae, some purists have criticized Nziengui for having distorted the music of harp by imposing a cross with modern instruments. They even went so far as to claim that Nziengui was just an average harpist covering his shortcomings with stunts that were only good for impressing neophytes; like playing a harp placed upside down behind his back or playing two or three harps simultaneously. Sincere convictions or venomous defamations, in any case, Nziengui never gave in to such attacks, imposing himself on the contrary to pay homage to the elders (Yves Mouenga, Jean Honoré Miabé, Vickoss Ekondo) while instructing the maximum of young people. He is thus the promoter of many young talents, the most prominent of which is certainly his nephew Jean Pierre Mingongué.