Henri Dikongué - Biography
By J Poet
Henri Dikongué hails from Cameroon, a country known for its driving dance music, but Dikongué’s art is more mellow and acoustic, although not without its own rhythmic drive. His second album C’est La Vie (1998 Tinder) hit Number One on the world music chart and in Cameroon, his music made him infamous. His debut Wa (You) (1999 Shanachie) dealt with racism and the day-to-day hardships of post-colonial life brought on in part by the Military junta that rules the country. Dikongué’s music embraces reggae, samba, salsa, soul and jazz as well as the Cameroonian rhythms of makossa and bikutsi. Like many young African artists, Dikongué’s uses African, American, Caribbean and European elements in a way that takes them in a subtle new direction, as much Global pop as African.
Dikongué was born in Douala in 1967, but grew up in Yaoundé Cameroon’s capital and a bustling city. He started guitar at five, on an instrument his uncle bought him, but his father broke it to force him to pay attention to his studies. His uncle bought him a second guitar, which he secretly mastered. The family sent him to live with a sister in Switzerland when he was 17; his musical inclinations were disrupting the family’s life. He soon left for Paris where he studied classical European guitar and played in the bands of Manu Dibango and Papa Wemba while sharpening his African guitar skills. He also played in an African music and theater company Masques & Tam-Tam as well as Banthu Maranatha, a South African vocal group. He eventually put together the band that played on Wa (1995 Buda Musique France, 1999 Shanachie US). Its combination of African, Brazilian, blues and jazz and political commentary made a strong impression in France and back home. Its home recorded, low-key production made it sound unlike any other Afropop album. His second album and international debut, was C’est La Vie (1998 Tinder), which took two years to make. It concentrates on love songs and includes “Na Teleye Owa Ngea” a soca/bikutsi hybrid and “A Muni” which combines makossa, high life and soukous.
A successful tour of the US followed the release of C’est La Vie. Returning to his adopted Parisian home, he set to work on Mot’a Bobe (2000 Tinder), which took two years to make. Mot’a Bobe combines rhythms from Cameroon and the Congo to produce another highly rhythmic, but low-key collection with a guest shot from of Manu Dibango. Dibango also contributed to N’oublie Jamais (Never Forget) (2000 Buda Musique France) a slightly more up-tempo collection with touches of flamenco guitar and European classical music added to the mix. Biso Nawa (2005 Buda Musique France) combined Dikongué’s introspective lyrics with his usual penchant for bouncy, uplifting melodies. South African vocal harmonies, samba, jazz, and a bit of rock guitar float through the mix without overwhelming his sincere vocals or understated arrangements.
