Siama Matuzungidi played guitar on and wrote some of the biggest pop hits of the 70s in Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo) and Kenya. In today’s episode of Composer Quest, I talk with him about the soukous style of creating interesting rhythm guitar parts and lead parts to complement them. We also talk about Tim, his talented cockatiel who can improvise in the right key over Siama’s guitar playing. As a bonus, Siama writes a song on the spot in honor of the thief who stole his shoes in Uganda.

[audio:https://charliemccarron.com/mediaftp/composerquest/composer-quest-123-siama-matuzungidi.mp3]

Right click to download Ep. 123, or open in iTunes.

You can hear more of Siama’s music on his website, Soundcloud, or CDBaby.

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