Unmuting the Manza

An immersive journey through the Congo’s musical heritage

From January 27 to February 1 (with the exception of Wednesday 28 January, when the museum will be exceptionally closed due to a staff celebration), Son.Oor - formerly known as La Semaine du Son / De Week van de Klank - presents a temporary exhibition at the MIM, featuring a sound installation by Adilia Yip and Edward Dekeyser.

The exhibition will be officially opened on January 27, from 12:00 to 14:00, with a live performance by Adilia Yip (marimba, MIDI manza) and Edward Dekeyser (immersive 5.1 sound system).

Unmuting the Manza invites audiences on an immersive journey into the sound world of the manza, a traditional xylophone once played by Azande chiefs in the Belgian Congo (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo). The installation opens a space to listen, reflect, and reimagine the cultural meanings and sonic memories of manza xylophones preserved in the Africa Museum in Tervuren since the late nineteenth century.

Using interactive electronic interfaces, participants can explore the instrument’s sounds and learn its playing techniques—now largely forgotten within local communities due to colonization and modernization. In collaboration with musicians from the DRC, South Africa, Belgium, and Hong Kong, the installation weaves together archival recordings, local hip-hop, jazz, and the soundscapes of the city of Kisangani (DRC). From church choirs and airport luggage belts to the rhythmic engines of boats along the Congo River, the installation revives a lost musical heritage through collective listening and creation.

Adilia Yip is a performer of marimba and balafon and a postdoctoral researcher in the arts (practice-based research, University of Antwerp, 2012–2018). She investigates the cross-pollination of musical traditions and technology, with a particular focus on co-creation and contemporary expressions, in projects such as ReSoXy: ReSounding the Xylophone Collections of RMCA (Africa Museum, Tervuren, and BELSPO BRAIN-be 2.0) and PercAI: A Generative AI Model for the West African Balafon Polyrhythm (Royal Conservatoire Antwerp). She performs and gives lecture-recitals at international symposia, museums, festivals, and music venues, and also teaches African music and world music at the Royal Conservatoire of Antwerp.

Edward Dekeyser studied electroacoustic composition at the Royal Conservatory of Mons and pursued studies in multiphonic composition and diffusion at the sound design atelier of the Royal Academy of Antwerp. In 2021, he won first place in L’Espace du son: Concours de spatialisation, an international competition organized by “Influx – Musiques & Recherches,” for the spatial interpretation of electroacoustic works on a world-renowned acousmonium of over 80 loudspeakers. Among many collaborations, he recently composed tape music for soprano Françoise Vanhecke.