Maestro Vumbi Dekula’s new single “Slavery Is A Crime” reasserts his status as one of Europe’s most vital Congolese guitarists, balancing a bright, rumba-rooted sound with lyrics that condemn injustice and historical violence.

Originally from the Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of Congo and now based in Sweden, Vumbi has been a formative presence in East and Central African music since the early 1980s. A former soloist with Tanzania’s Orchestra Maquis Original, he earned the nickname “Vumbi” — meaning dust — for the speed and sting of his high-register guitar phrasing. His move to Stockholm in the 1990s led to long-standing collaborations with artists including Sammy Kasule and Ahmadu Jarr, before forming the Dekula Band in 2008.

On “Slavery Is A Crime”, Vumbi combines the rhythmic uplift of Congolese rumba and soukous with direct, vocal appeals for justice and equality. The track opens the new EP of the same name, a four-track project featuring both vocal-led compositions and instrumental arrangements driven by Vumbi’s signature guitar lines. He’s joined by longtime collaborators Joseph Iluba (bass), Uriel Seri (drums, congas, maracas), Gaby Kababa Nkomba (vocals), and Henrik Westerberg (saxophone), with Swedish producer Karl-Jonas Winqvist overseeing the recording for his label Sing A Song Fighter.

The contrast between the song’s breezy surface — melodic call-and-response vocals, tumbling percussion, and limber guitar leads — and its serious thematic charge is deliberate. Vumbi’s writing calls out the legacy of transatlantic slavery and its ongoing social repercussions, threading heavy subject matter through music that insists on life and movement.

The Slavery Is A Crime EP follows the 2021 solo guitar release Congo Guitar, also produced by Winqvist, which drew praise for its stripped-down spotlight on Vumbi’s melodic invention. Here, with his full band in studio once again, the energy is collective, full-bodied, and dance-driven.

Stream the full Slavery Is A Crime EP HERE