by young Roger Landu, (an ex-street kid the band took under their wing), who plays a one-string electric lute he designed and built himself out of a tin can. The lyrics of the Staff Benda Bilili are wise, ironical advice to the people who live in the streets. In Lingala, “Benda Billi” means “look beyond appearances”. Entitled “Très Très Fort” (’Very Very Strong’… or ‘Very Very Loud’), their first album was produced by Vincent Kenis (already responsible for introducing and producing Konono N° …
If you want to get in touch with Talon Lumiere, they can be reached from the Democratic Republic of Congo at 09 98 91 56 05, or they can be found on Rue Barunabu Avrananga no 1. Ask for a guy named X-Or near the “Salon Consol.” As for this song, they wrote and instantly performed it on a patio in the Bandal neighborhood of Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo during a blackout. On that evening in late October 2006, just after the DRC prepared to vote for its first democratically …