Werrason Short Bio
Werrason is a composer, singer, dancer, producer and leader of the Wenge Musica Maison Mère band. He was born in Christmas of 1965 in Kikwit (Zaire), hence his name Noel (Christmas) Ngiama Makanda. Werrason’s was born from father Theo Musoko, who passed away when Werrason was young, and mother Albertine Mukala.
Early Days
He mainly grew up in Moliambo a small settlement near Kikwit and Kinshasa. His aunt reportedly named in Ngiama, instead of his father’s name, Musoko. His elder brother Patrice Ngoy Musoko is a famous religious musician in DRC. As a child, young Noel stumerred and had dyslexia, making him timid.
At age 8 Werrason sang at his local protestant church. Around 1977, he played drums in a group of young friends, all under 16 years old. These friends included Aime Buanga, Alain Makaba, Dede Masola and Didier Masela. Still in college, they founded a band on Dider Masela’s idea and Aime Buanga provided the Celio Stars name. The band was seasonal since they were still students.
Wenge Musica Era
When new friends J.B Mpiana, Adolphe Dominguez and Blaise Bula joined Celio Stars in 1981, the band became “Wenge Musica 4X4 Tout Terrain Bon Chic Bon Genre”. Wenge Musica became a very popular band, especially among youth, but broke into two groups in 1997. Werrason, along with Didier Masela, Adolphe Dominguez and other members founded Wenge Musica Maison Mere. Maison Mere translates into parent’s company, or headquarters. That started the “Wenge war” with the remaining faction led by the acclaimed JB Mpiana.
Maison Mere and Forward
From the beginning of Wenge Maison Mere, Werra took the leadership role. The other pillars, Adolphe and Didier would retract from the group latter, leaving Werra as the sole commander. Nonetheless, the three released their first album Force d’Intervention Rapide in 1998 and Werrason’s song Chantal Switzerland received a very positive reception. Werrason and Maison Mere cemented their artistic reputation when they released their second album Solola Bien in 1999. The band achieved high levels popularity within DRC and abroad, performing in many mythical European venues like the Palais des Sports de Paris in the same year. Werra made history by being the second African artist to play and fill the 17 thousands seats of the Paris Bercy venue in 2000. The United Nations appointed Werrason the title of Ambassador of Peace. This further increased his popularity.
Things did not stay this smooth though. Like many other bands in Congolese music history, Wenge Musica Maison Mere saw most of its key members resign in 2003 to form a rival band. Werrason recruited and trained new musicians once more. His determination paid off, since his new team took on the challenge and maintained Maison Mere to the level expected by it fans.
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