MUSIC: The Congolese singer, Aurlus Mabélé, infected with coronavirus, legend of the soukouss, died Thursday 19th March at the age of 67
The singer Aurlus Mabélé, a figure of the soukouss – a modern version of the Congolese rumba -, infected with the coronavirus, died Thursday in Paris at the age of 67, announced on social networks by his daughter Liza Monet, and his former collaborator,
“My dad died of coronavirus this morning, thank you for honouring his memory. He is a great legend of the soukouss that the Congolese people are losing today, ”wrote rapper Liza Monet on Twitter in particular.
Mon papa est mort ce matin du coronavirus … Merci d’honoré sa mémoire . C’est une grande légende du Soukouss que le peuple congolais perd aujourd’hui . Je suis inconsolable et effondrée . Mon papa que j’aime tant … Aurlus Mabele …
— . (@LizaMOfficiel) March 19, 2020
Claudy Siar, the producer of the program “Couleurs Tropicales” on RFI, also announces the news and pays tribute to the singer in a video posted on the Internet. His former collaborator Mav Cacharel also confirmed this on Facebook .
AURLUS MABÉLÉ EMPORTÉ PAR LE #CORONAVIRUS…
C’est un immense artiste qui vient de nous quitter. Il était l’un des rois du soukouss !
Honneur et respect ! Que la terre te soit légère Grand Frère…❤️🎼🙏🏾 pic.twitter.com/15cT8XXqJV— Claudy Siar (@Claudy_Siar) March 19, 2020
A fragile state of health
His real name Aurélien Miatsonama, Aurlus Mabélé, born in Brazzaville, Congo, in the Poto-Poto district, established himself on the soukouss scene in the 1980s with the group Loketo, founded in the company of guitarist Diblo Dibala .
The soukouss, which is just a variant, faster with the addition of sounds from synthesizers and rhythm machines, Congolese rumba from the 50s, 60s. In the 1990s, it will bring a Caribbean touch to his music, which earned him some success in the Antilles, like another older Congolese group, Les Bantous de la Capitale.
The musician had been in poor health for fifteen years and had already suffered a stroke. His latest album, Ça va se savoir, was in 2004.
