Ray Lema

Raymond Lema A'nsi Nzinga (born 30 March 1946), known as Ray Lema, is a Congolese (DRC) musician. A pianist, guitarist, and songwriter, he settled in France in 1982.

Biography Lema was born in Lufu-Toto, Bas-Congo Province. As a child, he wanted to be a Catholic priest and in 1957, at the age of 11, he entered a seminary with the White Fathers, where his talent for music was recognized. He began learning the organ and piano, within a European classical canon that included Gregorian chants, Mozart and Chopin;

Lema left the seminary in 1962 and subsequently attended the University of Kinshasa, where he studied chemistry.

In 1979, he was invited by the Rockefeller Foundation to the United States, where he recorded his first album, Koteja (1982). He then moved to Europe, settling in 1982 in France. His album Kinshasa-Washington DC-Paris was released in 1983.

Lema has become a major figure in world music, performing at numerous music festivals, and has also worked as a film composer. He has also been involved with various international collaborations. Guests on Lema's 1989 album Nangadeef include Courtney Pine and the Mahotella Queens. In 1992, Lema spent time in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, writing the opera Un Touareg s’est marié avec une pygmée with Cameroonian Werewere Liking, and also that year worked with German pianist Joachim Kuhn to record Euro African Suites. In 1997, Lema recorded the album Bulgarian Voices with the choir of the Pirin Folk Ensemble, and composed The Dream of the Gazelle for a Swedish chamber orchestra. In 2000, he worked with Moroccan band Tyour Gnaoua and brought out the CD Saf.

Selected discography 1983: Kinshasa, Washington D.C. Paris 1985: Medecine 1989: Nangadeef 1990: Gaia 1995: Tout Partout 1996: Green Light 1997: Stoptime 1998: The Dream Of The Gazelle 2004: Mizila 2012: V.S.N.P. 2016: Headbug 2016: Riddles: duet with Laurent de Wilde 2021: Riddles: duet with Laurent de Wilde