Congolese king of electric guitar

Irish-based prodigy Niwel Tsumbu tells Nicki ffrench Davis about his change of direction on new album, S’all Vibration

Niwel Tsumbu is a native of Kinchasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo. He picked up guitar at the age of 16. In the 12 years since, he has performed with the Buena Vista Social Club, Nigel Kennedy and Michael O Suilleabhain, and shared a stage with Baaba Maal.

Tsumbu settled in Cork in 2004. and has released three albums. His latest, S’all Vibration, has been two yeras in the making. “It started as a technique,” says Tsumbu. “I was practising, trying to get it right. I was working on one song and that’s when I decided I should build an album around it.”