Member Listed Event: Siama and Dallas

Back in Africa, Congolese musician Siama Matuzungidi (see-AHH-maw maw-too-zoon-GHEE-dee) recorded hundreds of songs and toured the world with many popular soukous artists. (Soukous is a genre of dance music known as “the sound of happiness). The primary instrument in soukous music is the rhythm guitar and Siama’s masterful approach earned him the titles “Soukous Legend” and “Mualimu” (meaning teacher or master). Along with his contemporaries, Siama helped fuel the popularization of soukous music from the 1970s-early 1990s.

Siama comes from a culture where everyone creates and sings together. Siama, along with his wife and co-creator Dallas, are passionate about sharing the experience they had together visiting family. That’s why they always encourage everyone to sing along in Kikongo, Lingala, Swahili and English. People often describe Siama’s music as healing and spirit-lifting.