The Music In Africa portal was celebrated at a concert staged at the Institut Francais in the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo on Friday 21 November 2014.

The event, staged by the Goethe-Institut in cooperation with the local Institut Francais and the Music In Africa Foundation, was also to celebrate the opening of a new Goethe-Institut Liaison office in the country next year.

Congolese band Jocelyn Balu et les aigles de la révolte opened the event with songs and dances that lifted the mood of the audience. Jocelyn’s beautiful voice was joined by young German singer Kathrin Alexandra in the breathtaking duet ‘Koko’, followed by some songs with her own band Nsinsani. The night’s headline act, Jupiter Bokondji and his band Okwess International, then provided a memorable performance that showcased his signature fusion of Afro-pop, traditional Congolese rhythms, funk and rock. Born in Kinshasa, Jupiter grew up partly in East Berlin, which is where he started his first band. This selection of musicians provided a glimpse of the rich variety of musical creativity from the streets of Kinshasa.

Besides the musical entertainment on offer, Philippe Larrieu, director of the Institut Francais in Kinshasa, provided opening remarks to the audience before Dr. Norbert Spitz, regional director of the Goethe-Institut in sub-Saharan Africa, briefly presented the Music In Africa portal. Dr. Spitz expressed his wish to see the project greatly contribute to the growth of the African music industry, and underlined the support of the project by both the Goethe-Institut and the Siemens Stiftung.

The audience at the event, which free to the public, was a mix of music lovers, fans, officials, local representatives of diplomatic missions, musicians and journalists, as well as representatives of the Goethe-Institut’s regional head office in South Africa, who came to Kinshasa for the inauguration of their new Liaison Office in the DRC, which will be situated within the Institut Francais.