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Artist
Niwel Tsumbu
12+ albums
folkjazzacousticclassical guitarafrican
about
Niwel is the fifth child of a family of six, born in 1982 in the Democratic Republic of Congo (ex Zaire). Growing up in Kinshasa he was a shy boy and devoted himself to school, until one day his brother Coco Ngoma brought a guitar home which he used when he played with a local band.A week later Niwel's cousin Papy Makaya who taught him his first piece on the guitar was amazed with the sixteen year old's ability to learn and play his homeland music- Soukous and Rhumba. Three months later his schoolbag was under his bed and the guitar took its place: instead of studying he stayed up all night playing the guitar; went to school with one copybook and no pen, humming melodies and thinking of the fingering on the guitar. NIwel's mother Georgina was crying and blaming Coco for Niwel losing path, as she thought her clever son would become an engineer or lawyer. And that's when the guitar was banned from the house. However this did not stop the seventeen year old, but opened up doors for him to go out and meet other musicians and play with them. Niwel still did not own a guitar so he borrowed his friend's and had to climb over the back wall and sneak it into his house. He would then lock himself into his room and play for the day. He was then introduced to Crispin Ngoy: a very talented musician who passionately taught Niwel jazz. This became a way of discovering many other types of music. Niwel's love and passion for different kinds of music and instruments increased more and mor
