donkeller

Seattle, WA, USA

Don Keller is a rare channeler of the rhythmic, tropical sounds of soukous and Congolese rumba music. The Seattle-based guitarist and composer first learned soukous music in his 20s without prior experience with African music. For more than a decade, Don has interwoven bright lead guitar lines with hypnotic drums, earthy bass, relentless rhythm guitar, and vocals reminiscent of Franco & le TPOK Jazz, Zaiko Langa Langa, Nyboma & Kamalé Dynamique, and Kanda Bongo Man. His passion is bringing back the joyous sounds of music that reigned in Zaire from the ‘60s through the ‘80s and has worked on projects with Kanda Bongo Man, Nyboma, Malage De Lugendo, and Jeannot Bel.