Belgian Congo (now Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Location
Léopoldville (now Kinshasa)
Opika was an early record label in the Congo, which recorded and promoted African pop, guitar, and rumba - not only from the Congo, but from Cameroon and Ghana as well. The label also recognized the value of ethnographic recordings, which were featured on a number of their releases. Started by brothers Gabriel Moussa Benetar and Joseph Benetar, from the Greek island of Rhodes, Opika was a prodigious producer of 78 rpm shellac recordings through the late 1950s.[1] The company was initially called "Kina," but the name was subsequently changed to “Opika” from a phrase in Lingala, “opika pende” meaning “stand firm”.[2] The name Opika was chosen in some sense as a challenge to the reigning and monolithic recording house Ngoma that this new recording company was a force to be reckoned with.[3] The label was the first to sign Joseph Kabaselle who, along with other Opika session players Nico and Déchaud formed the band African Jazz, which contributed heavily to the evolving Latin-style Congolese rumba. The label also gave rise to the careers of many early rumba stars in the Congo, such as Jhimmy and Paul Mwanga.[4]
^"A brief history of Opika on ExcavatedShellac". 27 April 2008.
^"A brief history of Opika on ExcavatedShellac". 27 April 2008.
^Nzonga, Jean-Pierre François Nimy (2010). Dictionnaire des immortels de la musique congolaise modern. ACADEMIA. p. 99. ISBN 978-2872099771.
^"Early history at Opika by WorldService blog". 7 October 2008.
Opika was an early record label in the Congo, which recorded and promoted African pop, guitar, and rumba - not only from the Congo, but from Cameroon...
"more vibrant than ever." Pretty Magic Spell (2018, Opika/Independent) Washington by the Sea (2019, Opika/Independent) Long Time Coming (2021, Rounder) Trail...
1950s, record labels began appearing, including CEFA, Ngoma, Loningisa and Opika, each issuing many 78 rpm records; Radio Congo Belge also began broadcasting...
virtuoso guitarist Zacharie Elenga "Jhimmy," and was signed to the Opika label. At Opika, she proved herself to be an improvisational and expressive singer...
producers; John Fleenor & Steve Kemp, mastering engineers (Various Artists) Opika Pende: Africa at 78 RPM Steven Lance Ledbetter & Jonathan Ward, compilation...
Kronberger Opika von Méray Horváth Ludowika Eilers 1912 Davos Opika von Méray Horváth Dorothy Greenhough-Smith Phyllis Johnson 1913 Stockholm Opika von Méray...
established the enterprise by purchasing material from the recently defunct Opika record label and recruiting Loningisa guitarist and composer Henri Bowane...
Ewondo, Tapelon, Epata, Eyoum Decca, Willy le Pape, etc. Labels such as Opika, Decca, Ngoma, Disques Cousins, etc., allowed them to record for them. These...
Lichtenfeld - martial arts Zoltán Magyar - gymnastics Gyula Mándi - football Opika von Méray Horváth - figure skating Zoltan Nagy - professional wrestler Henrik...
Kronberger 1912: Found state, Opika von Méray Horváth 1913: Found state, Opika von Méray Horváth 1914: Found state, Opika von Méray Horváth 1922: Found...
(player and coach of national teams) Géza Maróczy (1870–1951), chess player Opika von Méray Horváth, three-time world figure-skating champion József Munk...
guitarist Zacharie Elenga during his brief stint in the group before joining Opika. With the support of white-owned labels like Olympia and Ngoma, Antoine...
Kronberger 1912: Found state, Opika von Méray Horváth 1913: Found state, Opika von Méray Horváth 1914: Found state, Opika von Méray Horváth 1922: Found...
businesses in the Belgian Congo and fortuitously they decided to launch the Opika recording company in challenge to the monopolistic Ngoma record label. In...
Kronberger 1912: Found state, Opika von Méray Horváth 1913: Found state, Opika von Méray Horváth 1914: Found state, Opika von Méray Horváth 1922: Found...
company of seminal greats such as Wendo, and recorded a number of hits on the Opika Label teaming up with famous "Hawaiian" style guitarist Jhimmy (Zacharie...
tradition by founding several recording companies like Olympia, Ngoma, Opika and others. When the country declared its independence in 1960 there were...
houses some 135 students. In partnership with the Charitable Foundation Opika (which means "guardian" in Ukrainian), students from this school regularly...
Imre Szent-Györgyi and retired from competition, handing the baton over to Opika Méray Horváth. She died in Budapest in 1974, at the age of 83. Kronberger...
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