There is a longstanding historical and cultural relationship between Congo and Cuba via the slave trade and the ’return’ of Cuban music to Africa, a relationship that has apparently been very scantily documented. It is acknowledged that Congolese roots are present in Cuban music but there is little musical analysis of the actual elements concerned. Charting the formation and experience of the fusion band Grupo Lokito, Sara McGuinness explores the contemporary relationships between Cuban and Congolese music, approaching the topic from the perspective of the practitioner. Gropo Lokito brings together musicians from the two musical worlds, and with them McGuinness works through the experience of developing, recording and performing material with them. Her understanding of both traditions is thus deeply rooted in the experience of this cultural exchange. McGuinness investigates whether the historic connections enable contemporary musicians from both worlds to recognize similarities in each other’s music. Also included is a historical overview of the Congolese arrival in Cuba, how Congolese musical practices were preserved and assimilated into Cuban music as well as an overview of the evolution of twentieth-century Congolese music.

Sara McGuinness combines her career as a professional musician and academic. She currently is a lecturer at the University of West London, specializing in Performance and Music Technology and a senior teaching fellow at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. She has had several CDs released including Esengo Ya Ko Bina by Grupo Lokito and Esta Bueno by El Equipo. She has been on panels at the African Studies Association UK 2012, Institute of Music Research 2010 and European Society of Ethnomusicology 2009 conferences. She is involved in a charity, Sandblast Arts, setting up sound recording training in the Saharawi refugee camps in the Sahara desert and she teaches an annual Cuban music school in Havana Cuba