Orchestre Massako

Description

Jean-Christian Mboumba Mackaya, known as Mack-Joss, was the founder of the famous Orchestre Massako. A devotee of folkloric rhythms, Mack-Joss began his career as a musician at the age of 17 and quickly established himself as an essential artist on Libreville’s nightlife scene, the capital of Gabon, singing in various local groups. In 1966, he released “Le Boucher,” his first hit, which made its way across African radio waves and earned him the respect of Franco, the legendary master of Congolese rumba. Franco’s encouragement helped him move from the status of Gabonese singer to that of a rising figure in pan-African culture. Between 1968 and 1970, Mack-Joss and Negro-Tropical immortalized a good number of singles recorded in makeshift open-air studios. In 1971, the Gabonese armed forces decided to form their own group. Mack-Joss was recruited to become the group’s leader, and thus Orchestre Massako was born, which became Gabon’s national orchestra. At the end of the 1970s, funds were released to bring recording equipment from France. The Massako Mobile Studio took shape and Mack-Joss’s compositional talents allowed him to string together hit after hit. The master tapes of the recordings were sent to Paris to be mixed, with Mack-Joss himself making the trip to France, carrying the reels in his hand luggage. The vinyl records were then pressed in France and sent back to Gabon, as well as to other distributors on the continent. A dozen albums were recorded between 1978 and 1986, and most were released on Mass Pro, Mack-Joss’s label. Some of these recordings feature a singer from Guinea Conakry named Amara Touré, who had joined Orchestre Massako as a singer in 1980 and had become an important ingredient in the group’s success. His distinctive, immediately recognizable voice leaves no one indifferent — as fans of the compilation Amara Touré (Analog Africa, 2020) can attest. Mack-Joss’s retirement in 1996 marked the end of Orchestre Massako. With a career spanning four decades, his contribution to Gabonese culture is considerable and continues to inspire respect and devotion from those who knew him.