Mbongwana Star hail from Kinshasa, the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s heaving capital, and the pulsating energy of “Kala” channels the nation’s rhapsodic heritage as the birthplace of kwasa kwasa rhythms and soukous dance music. 

The mercurial group’s origins can be traced back to world music stars Staff Benda Bilili, a 10-piece band of local street musicians who saw a stratospheric rise from early hardships with homelessness and polio to headlining London’s Royal Albert Hall in 2012. Following their split in 2013, the band’s Coco Ngambali and Theo Nsituvuidi called upon younger musicians, and Liam Farrell, aka Doctor L, an Irish producer known for collaborating with Afrobeat legend Tony Allen. 

Mbongwana translates as “change” and the band's disparate elements collide in a self-styled new genre: “space-afro punk-rock electro.” Ngambali and Nsituvuidi’s tongue-twisting vocals float above Doctor L’s post-punk distortion and relentless sounds of the townships.