lOBOKO & LOLLISE
lOBOKO & LOLLISE
Saturday, May 10
Loboko/Lollise/Selector Tomás
At the Marigold in Easthampton
DOORS+DJ 7PM
A CONGOLESE DANCE PARTY & AFRO-FUTURIST POP
Here are two distinct sounds from Brooklyn’s African diaspora: LOBOKO, a tightly-welded Congolese soukous/rumba dance band led by guitarist/singer Yohni Loboko (from the Democratic Republic of Congo) — and LOLLISE, the bold multi-disciplinary hybrid songstress from Francistown, Botswana.
Our friend Morgan Greenstreet (Hampshire College grad of 2011) is the thread that binds these two projects together. The music journalist/DJ is the phenomenal drummer holding the rhythm section down in both bands. We’ve zero’d in on the Marigold in Easthampton for this dance banger —come ready to party, soukous style!
Selector Tomás (of Planetary HiFi) spins up eclectic, global sounds from around the world – before, between and after sets.
Congolese soukous is fast-paced, high-energy, guitar-driven dance music from 1960s Democratic Republic of Congo. “Soukous” is derived from the French word secouer, which means “to shake”.
NYC-based LOBOKO delivers the goods, powered by the young, virtuosic guitarist Yohni Loboko (Fally Ipupa, Soukous Stars, Zaiko Langa Langa). The band was founded in 2019 by Loboko, alongside journalist/DJ/drummer Morgan Greenstreet and multi-instrumentalist/producer Nikhil P. Yerawadekar.
Loboko’s unique style draws on classic Congolese soukous, rumba, and contemporary seben delivered in a punchy small band format. The band released their first recording in 2023 on the acclaimed Brooklyn label Names You Can Trust.
Motswana musician (Underground System, FELA! Band) and fashion designer Lollise charts new afro-futurist directions by creating hybrid songs that represent a patchwork of her childhood in Africa and her new home in NYC: Kalanga folk, Congolese soukous, electronic bubblegum, Zimbabwean sunguru blend into afrobeat, art-pop, and new wave, new world expressions.
She is kinetic on stage, performing in a near-telepathic duo arrangement with drummer/DJ/journalist Morgan Greenstreet. “I hit the water” is her latest full-length release, just out on Switch Hit Records — a gorgeous, intimate tapestry of afro-diasporic sounds.
