Diblo Dibala

Diblo Dibala (born 9 August 1954), often known simply as Diblo, is a Congolese soukous musician,¹ known as "Machine Gun" for his speed and skill on the guitar.

He was born in 1954 in Kisangani. He moved to Kinshasa as a child, and aged 15 won a talent competition which led to him playing guitar in Franco's TPOK band. Dibala remained with the group for only a short period, going on to play with Vox Africa, Orchestra Bella Mambo and Bella Bella, in which band he first played with Kanda Bongo Man.²

In 1979, he moved to Brussels, and in 1981 he joined Kanda Bongo Man's band in Paris. Their first album, Iyole (1981), was a success. Diblo became a sought after session guitarist, working with Pepe Kalle and many other soukous musicians.

In the mid-1980s, he formed his own band, Loketo (meaning 'hips'), with singers Aurlus Mabele and Mav Cacharel. A few years later, he left the band in 1990 and formed a new group, Matchatcha, which is still active after a number of personnel changes.