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November 29, 2024 - 03:23 PM

Fanfan, as his fans know him, was a veteran musician of the second generation of Congolese rumba. He was primarily a guitarist but also excelled as a composer, arranger, and band leader.

Born in October 1945, Mose Sengo, aka Mose Fanfan, debuted in music in 1966 with a band called Rickem Jazz in Kinshasa. He also had a stint with the Orchestre Revolution, a formation mostly consisting of musicians who had rebelled from Franco's OKJ in 1967.

Fanfan, the only guitarist who could pull out a Franco on the fretboard, joined OKJ in 1968 and left in 1974. He played in the studio recording of several songs, including Beya, his own composition, dje melasi, and several others.

He quit the band to join Lovy Du Zaire where he played all the solo guitar for the band's recordings. He later formed Somo Somo, alongside another OKJ singer Youlou Mabiala, and with the outfit, they toured Zambia.
Youlou went back to Kinshasa as Fanfan came to East Africa via Tanzania, joining Mzee Makassy in Orchestre Makassy. He carried along Franco's guitar style to East Africa, and the band's trademark guitar can be heard in the songs sisika, mosese, athumani, molema, and others

Orchestre Makassy also featured Fanfans' former colleague at OKJ, renowned trumpeter Adamo Seye Kadimoke, currently in retirement in Lubumbashi

When the band relocated to Nairobi in 1979, Remi Ongala wasn't happy with the development and stayed behind in Tanzania, where he created Orchestre Super Matilmila. Fanfan stayed behind with him He set the pace of guitar at the band and that's what made the band play a unique brand of rumba, very close to the odemba of Franco, featuring at least two solo guitars. Fanfan later relocated to Nairobi and revived his Orchestre Somo Somo.

In 1983, he relocated to London, where he was then based. He has been performing with singers Rissa Rissasy Rossignol, Nzaya Nzayadio guitarist Lusambo Fiston, bassist Kib Douglas Misapi, drummer Saidi Tumba Saidi Kanda, and others.

He has been a frequent visitor to Nairobi, Ketebul music, where he had several musical projects. He died in May 2019 while visiting Nairobi. His death happened a few hours after the burial of another music titan and his former colleague at OKJ, Simaro Lutumba.

He is among the brains that made OKJ what it was and among those who made Congolese music a juggernaut to reckon with. His musical achievements are too numerous to sum up in one song, like Papa Lolo, as some radio presenters insist.


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