Aurlus Mabele
Benoit Aurélien Miatsonama (24 October 1953 – 19 March 2020) known professionally as Aurlus Mabélé, was a Congolese singer-songwriter, arranger, producer, dancer, bandleader, and sapeur. Often referred to as the "King of Soukous", he was one of the leading figures in the genre during a career spanning more than three decades. He sold more than 10 million albums worldwide and helped popularize soukous outside Africa, especially in France, Belgium, and the Caribbean. His hits include "Betty", "Asta De", "Loketo", "Vacances aux Antilles", "Zebola", "Femme ivoirienne", "Ebouka", "Sans frontières", "Waka Waka", and "Liste Rouge".
Born in Poto-Poto, Brazzaville, Mabélé began his musical career as a student in the early 1970s. In 1974, he co-founded the band Les Ndimbola Lokole, before relocating to Paris in 1981, where he became a central figure in the city's growing Congolese music scene. His collaboration with producer Jimmy Houetinou yielded Africa Mousso (Femme d'Afrique) in 1986, which brought him recognition, and buoyed by its success, Mabélé joined forces with Diblo Dibala, Mav Cacharel, Blondin Wabacha, and John Boxingo Macaire to form the "loose-knit" band Loketo, which became a fixture of dance clubs across Europe and the Americas during the late 1980s. With Loketo, Mabélé modernized the modern soukous sound by dispensing with the genre's traditional slow introduction in favor of an immediate, guitar-driven sebene, and popularizing dances such as kwassa kwassa, madiaba, and soundama. After parting ways with Dibala in 1991, Mabélé continued to lead Loketo and later collaborated with guitarist Dally Kimoko and released the commercially successful album Embargo that year. He continued recording and performing internationally until he died in 2020.
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