b. Bemba Pamelo Mounk’a, 30 October 1945, Ouesso, Congo-Brazzaville. Vocalist Mounka is one of the most popular Congo-Brazzaville recording artists, performing in a style which to Western ears is indistinguishable from that of the country’s larger neighbour, Zaire. In fact, Mounka’s first break in the music business came via Zairean band leader Rochereau, who recorded him in 1963. A member of the Bantous for some years, Mounka went solo in the mid-60s, releasing an unbroken string of over 70 hit singles between then and 1980, when he was taken to Paris by the Eddyson label to record, a venture that resulted in the major-selling album L’Argent Appelle L’Argent. In 1983 he was reunited with Rochereau on the album 20 Ans De Carriere, celebrating his 20 years in the record business. In 1985 he recorded the superb En Plein Maturite, which remains his finest work to date.