Mav Cacharel: the voice of Parisian soukous

Born in 1957 in Brazzaville, Mav Cacharel — whose real name is Hilaire Youla — is one of the pioneers of soukous, this Congolese music style born from a blend between African rumba and American rhythms & blues, characterized by interwoven electric guitar riffs¹. The nickname “Cacharel” comes from his admiration for the clothing brand, a name he received as a youth nickname.

In brief

Key dates

Origins and Loketo

Hilaire Youla started music very young, at eleven years old, in the small groups of Brazzaville. In 1970, Congolese television journalist Claude Alain spotted him and recruited him into his orchestra, Les Sensas. He stayed there for four years, then in 1974 founded the group Ndimbola Lokole with Aurlus Mabélé, Jean Baron and Pedro Wapechkado. In 1983, he won the RFI Discoveries Prize — a contest that, at the time, propelled young African talents toward an international career. The journey to Paris marked a turning point: he reunited with his old comrades and joined Loketo, the soukous orchestra founded in 1986 by Aurlus Mabélé and guitarist Diblo Dibala. With Geo Bilongo, Mac Baron and Mack Macaire, Cacharel became one of Mabélé’s faithful members within the group². Loketo crossed continents — USA, Canada, Europe, Africa — and recorded Trouble (1988), a landmark album that includes Cacharel’s first composition, Menssa.

Kebo and the solo career

In 1988, Cacharel left Loketo to create his own group, Kebo. He recorded Pour Toi (1989) and invited Denise Cairo to found Les A Nanas, a female group for which he wrote the lyrics. His album Kebo (1990) launched the tracks N’kembo and Bana Kebo, with the participation of Édith Lefel, his only feature on a discography. He followed up with Louzolo (1991) and Triple Force (1992), two works that opened the doors of Cameroonian television. After a discographic pause, he returned in 1997 with Mokokissa, an album with a Caribbean flavor. His latest album, Kebo Na Brazzaville (2004), followed by Lumière (2017) with the invitation of Diblo Dibala on guitar, confirm his willingness to remain faithful to his style while making room for new generations³.

Legacy

Mav Cacharel has marked soukous in two ways⁴. First, by contributing to the rise of Parisian soukous, as acknowledged in Brazzaville’s application dossier to UNESCO’s network of creative cities. Second, by directly influencing the evolution of the genre, a recognition formulated by the magazine Music in Africa. Loketo, which he helped build, reformed in 2007 for the album Réconciliation, a title that summarizes the idea of music capable of healing wounds. Mav Cacharel remains today one of the few soukous artisans to have worked both as a group member and as a bandleader, always as a songwriter-performer.

Major works

Sources and references