Kristo Numpuby
Encyclopedia
Kristo Numpuby is a guitarist
, bassist
and singer born in Paris
but raised in Eséka
, South Cameroon
.
Author and composer, Kristo sings mainly in Bassa
and French on Assiko
music the traditional rhythm of the southern Cameroon forests, using a guitar, knives, forks and spoons, and empty bottles for the percussion. He is also inspired by other Cameroonian music styles (Makossa
, Bikutsi
) and Jazz.
of yesterday, today and tomorrow. At the age of 8, he began composing songs for children, and took an interest in percussion. “ In the village, there were always evenings with musicians, either baptism
s, marriage
s or wakes
, “he comments. “They became opportunities for me to admire the percussionists, playing bare-chested with their big muscles.”
The education
that his musician-grandmother gave him made Kristo a boy with a great interest in anything musical. “My grandmother Nguéba ran a bar in Eséka,” he says. “We listened to lots of different music ail day long... classical
, jazz
, rhythm and blues
, James Brown
, Afro-Cuban, rumba
from Zaire
, highlife
, makossa
and biguine
. You could say that I was totally immersed in a very colourful music world.”
Kristo finally received his first guitar
at age 12. He began playing ail the hits he heard on the radio
. Two years later, he was guitarist in one of the four groups in his school. At age 18, he formed a trio that played only his own compositions. The three musicians constantly played each other’s instruments during their concerts. He was the lead singer in a group that mostly played assiko music, which no young people usually played. Kristo says, “my buddies didn’t understand how a guy like me who spent his vacations in Paris was still interested in village music. Even though I liked disco and ail the music in fashion, that music still fascinated me. Why? I can’t tell you. But I found real pleasure in playing Jean Bikoko, Médjo Me Nsom and Dikoumé Bernard, and to finger the guitar strings like them in an unusual way. The assiko musicians and dancers have a special knowledge and a particular technique. I liked their style of music because it was different. But I was just as interested in classical technique as in that of the forest guitarists.”
In 1990, Kristo Numpuby got back into the music he had somewhat left behind. “After finishing high school in Douala
, I went to the University of Yaoundé
, before heading off to Paris in 1986. I wanted to be a TV director. There were such beautiful posters in the metro and TV ads that left you breathless “Generation Mitterrand
, Citroen
cars, Dim stockings... I was completely subjugated. There were advertising schools everywhere. I got a technical qualification and then for four years, I was an advert wonder kid. This is how I wound up in the studio to oversee the recording of adverts that I was responsible for. We had a problem finding musicians. I reacted quickly, and Morning Limbé, a blues
piece composed in 1982, became the soundtrack.”
Eventually, music replaced advertising. Kristo began hanging out in recording and rehearsal studios, and became a studio bass player. “In December 94, I was touring in Ghana
with an African star for the Panafest
. At the hotel, I ran into Stevie Wonder
. I had about 20 of his records at home. When we finished talking, he asked me if I had some work of mine he could listen to. I had nothing to show him what I had been doing musically. That’s when I understood that I had to record my compositions.”
In his first two albums “Assiko City” (Night & Day, 1997) and “An Sol Mè” (Night & Day, 2001), Kristo varies in style from sharp traditional African rhythms to the folk sounds of African-Americans, played on acoustic instruments. On stage, accompanied by a percussionist/bottle player and two other musicians, he is one of those artists who excites and surprises his audience at every concert.
Kristo also recorded with drummer Denis Tchangou (Mory Kanté
, Papa Wemba
...) an album entirely devoted to the chanson legend George Brassens. The result is “Brassens in Africa” (Lon Yes/Mosaic Music), an album that illustrates the beauty of cultural crossovers but also a warm tribute to the French poet on African rhythms.
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
, bassist
Bassist
A bass player, or bassist is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass, bass guitar, keyboard bass or a low brass instrument such as a tuba or sousaphone. Different musical genres tend to be associated with one or more of these instruments...
and singer born in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
but raised in Eséka
Eséka
- Transport :It lies on the main Camrail railway, where the line enters more rugged terrain from the coastal plains.- External links :...
, South Cameroon
Cameroon
Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon , is a country in west Central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the...
.
Author and composer, Kristo sings mainly in Bassa
Basaa language
Basaa is a Bantu language spoken in Cameroon. It is spoken by about 230,000 people in Centre and Littoral provinces.-Vowels:-Consonants:...
and French on Assiko
Assiko
The Assiko is a popular dance from the South of Cameroon.Originally based in the Bassa country, this rhythmed dance takes its name from two words: ISI, changed into ASSI, which means earth or ground; and KOO meaning foot....
music the traditional rhythm of the southern Cameroon forests, using a guitar, knives, forks and spoons, and empty bottles for the percussion. He is also inspired by other Cameroonian music styles (Makossa
Makossa
Makossa is a type of music that is most popular in urban areas in Cameroon. It is similar to soukous, except that it includes strong bass rhythm and a prominent horn section. Makossa, which means " dance" in Duala, originated from a type of Duala dance called kossa, with significant influences...
, Bikutsi
Bikutsi
Bikutsi is a musical genre from Cameroon. It developed from the traditional styles of the Beti, or Ewondo, people, who live around the city of Yaounde. It was popular in the middle of the 20th century in West Africa...
) and Jazz.
Biography
If the term “ cosmopolitan “ did not already exist, it would have to be invented for Kristo Numpuby. This musician, born in Paris and raised in a tropical forest, personifies the AfricaAfrica
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
of yesterday, today and tomorrow. At the age of 8, he began composing songs for children, and took an interest in percussion. “ In the village, there were always evenings with musicians, either baptism
Baptism
In Christianity, baptism is for the majority the rite of admission , almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition...
s, marriage
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
s or wakes
Wake (ceremony)
A wake is a ceremony associated with death. Traditionally, a wake takes place in the house of the deceased, with the body present; however, modern wakes are often performed at a funeral home. In the United States and Canada it is synonymous with a viewing...
, “he comments. “They became opportunities for me to admire the percussionists, playing bare-chested with their big muscles.”
The education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
that his musician-grandmother gave him made Kristo a boy with a great interest in anything musical. “My grandmother Nguéba ran a bar in Eséka,” he says. “We listened to lots of different music ail day long... classical
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
, jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
, James Brown
James Brown
James Joseph Brown was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and recording artist. He is the originator of Funk and is recognized as a major figure in the 20th century popular music for both his vocals and dancing. He has been referred to as "The Godfather of Soul," "Mr...
, Afro-Cuban, rumba
Rumba
Rumba is a family of percussive rhythms, song and dance that originated in Cuba as a combination of the musical traditions of Africans brought to Cuba as slaves and Spanish colonizers. The name derives from the Cuban Spanish word rumbo which means "party" or "spree". It is secular, with no...
from Zaire
Zaire
The Republic of Zaire was the name of the present Democratic Republic of the Congo between 27 October 1971 and 17 May 1997. The name of Zaire derives from the , itself an adaptation of the Kongo word nzere or nzadi, or "the river that swallows all rivers".-Self-proclaimed Father of the Nation:In...
, highlife
Highlife
Highlife is a musical genre that originated in Ghana in the 1900s and spread to Sierra Leone, Nigeria and other West African countries by 1920...
, makossa
Makossa
Makossa is a type of music that is most popular in urban areas in Cameroon. It is similar to soukous, except that it includes strong bass rhythm and a prominent horn section. Makossa, which means " dance" in Duala, originated from a type of Duala dance called kossa, with significant influences...
and biguine
Biguine
Biguine is a style of music that originated in Guadeloupe and Martinique in the 19th century.-History:Two main types of French antillean biguine can be identified based on the instrumentation in contemporary musical practice, which is call the drum biguine and the orchestrated biguine . Each of...
. You could say that I was totally immersed in a very colourful music world.”
Kristo finally received his first guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
at age 12. He began playing ail the hits he heard on the radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
. Two years later, he was guitarist in one of the four groups in his school. At age 18, he formed a trio that played only his own compositions. The three musicians constantly played each other’s instruments during their concerts. He was the lead singer in a group that mostly played assiko music, which no young people usually played. Kristo says, “my buddies didn’t understand how a guy like me who spent his vacations in Paris was still interested in village music. Even though I liked disco and ail the music in fashion, that music still fascinated me. Why? I can’t tell you. But I found real pleasure in playing Jean Bikoko, Médjo Me Nsom and Dikoumé Bernard, and to finger the guitar strings like them in an unusual way. The assiko musicians and dancers have a special knowledge and a particular technique. I liked their style of music because it was different. But I was just as interested in classical technique as in that of the forest guitarists.”
In 1990, Kristo Numpuby got back into the music he had somewhat left behind. “After finishing high school in Douala
Douala
Douala is the largest city in Cameroon and the capital of Cameroon's Littoral Province. Home to Cameroon's largest port and its major international airport, Douala International Airport, it is the commercial capital of the country...
, I went to the University of Yaoundé
University of Yaoundé
The University of Yaoundé is a leading university in Cameroon, located in Yaoundé.It was built with the help of France and opened in 1962 as the Federal University of Yaoundé, dropping the "Federal" in 1972 when the country was reorganized....
, before heading off to Paris in 1986. I wanted to be a TV director. There were such beautiful posters in the metro and TV ads that left you breathless “Generation Mitterrand
François Mitterrand
François Maurice Adrien Marie Mitterrand was the 21st President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra, serving from 1981 until 1995. He is the longest-serving President of France and, as leader of the Socialist Party, the only figure from the left so far elected President...
, Citroen
Citroën
Citroën is a major French automobile manufacturer, part of the PSA Peugeot Citroën group.Founded in 1919 by French industrialist André-Gustave Citroën , Citroën was the first mass-production car company outside the USA and pioneered the modern concept of creating a sales and services network that...
cars, Dim stockings... I was completely subjugated. There were advertising schools everywhere. I got a technical qualification and then for four years, I was an advert wonder kid. This is how I wound up in the studio to oversee the recording of adverts that I was responsible for. We had a problem finding musicians. I reacted quickly, and Morning Limbé, a blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
piece composed in 1982, became the soundtrack.”
Eventually, music replaced advertising. Kristo began hanging out in recording and rehearsal studios, and became a studio bass player. “In December 94, I was touring in Ghana
Ghana
Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
with an African star for the Panafest
Panafest
Panafest is a cultural event held in Ghana every two years for Africans and people of African descent. It was first held in 1992. The idea of this festival is to promote and enhance unity, Pan-Africanism, as well as the development of the continent of Africa itself...
. At the hotel, I ran into Stevie Wonder
Stevie Wonder
Stevland Hardaway Morris , better known by his stage name Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and activist...
. I had about 20 of his records at home. When we finished talking, he asked me if I had some work of mine he could listen to. I had nothing to show him what I had been doing musically. That’s when I understood that I had to record my compositions.”
In his first two albums “Assiko City” (Night & Day, 1997) and “An Sol Mè” (Night & Day, 2001), Kristo varies in style from sharp traditional African rhythms to the folk sounds of African-Americans, played on acoustic instruments. On stage, accompanied by a percussionist/bottle player and two other musicians, he is one of those artists who excites and surprises his audience at every concert.
Kristo also recorded with drummer Denis Tchangou (Mory Kanté
Mory Kanté
Mory Kanté is a vocalist and player of the kora harp. He was born into one of Guinea's best known families of griot musicians...
, Papa Wemba
Papa Wemba
Papa Wemba was born Jules Shungu Wembadio Pene Kikumba in 1949 in Lubefu . He is a Congolese rumba musician, one of Africa's most popular musicians, and prominent in World music.-Zaiko Langa Langa:...
...) an album entirely devoted to the chanson legend George Brassens. The result is “Brassens in Africa” (Lon Yes/Mosaic Music), an album that illustrates the beauty of cultural crossovers but also a warm tribute to the French poet on African rhythms.
Discography
- Assiko City (1997, Lon Yes/Night & Day)
- An Sol Mè (2001, Lon Yes/Night & Day)
- Brassens en Afrique (2007, Lon Yes/Mosaic Music)