The bass (electric bass or double bass) is a string instrument played with bowing or plucking, of European and North American origin, which has established itself as the rhythmic backbone in all African popular music since the 1950s.
The bass in soukous and Congolese rumba
The soukous, a musical genre derived from Congolese rumba, relies on a very distinctive and rhythmic bass line. The characteristic style of soukous consists in alternating between low and high registers with a plucked technique (thumb and index finger), inspired by colonial military marches. Iconic bassists like Gode Lofombo (TPOK Jazz) and Samuel Tchoffo from the Orchestre African Styles have defined this unique musical language. The group Zaï Lopo, the Simba Kinshasa and Papa Wemba’s African Music International all illustrate this bass style.
The bass in highlife and afrobeat
The highlife from Ghana and Nigeria integrates the bass as a rhythmic pillar alongside the guitar. Groups like the Oriental Brothers International and musicians such as Oliver De Coque use driving and melodic bass lines. In the afrobeat, a style invented by Fela Kuti in Nigeria, the bass becomes an almost solo element, playing repetitive and syncopated motifs alongside the rhythm section.
The bass in other styles
- In Senegalese mbalax (Youssou N’Dour), the synthetic or electric bass pulses alongside the sabar drums.
- In Algerian raï (Khaled, Cheb Mami), the electric bass anchors the rhythms.
- In Congo, the rapundo and ndombolo rely on heavy and danceable bass lines.