|
KONONO NO1 |
|
|
Track Listing Pressed
|
| KONONO N°1 was founded
over 25 years ago by Mingiedi, a virtuoso of the likembé (a traditional
instrument sometimes called "sanza" or "thumb piano", consisting of metal
rods attached to a resonator). The band's line-up includes three electric
likembés (bass, medium and treble), equipped with hand-made microphones
built from magnets salvaged from old car parts and plugged into amplifiers.
There's also a rhythm section which uses traditional as well as makeshift
percussion (pans, pots and car parts), three singers, three dancers and a
sound system featuring megaphones dating from the colonial period. Instead
of apologizing for the heavily distorted sounds of such DIY amplification,
KONONO N°1 have embraced them, provoking a radical mutation of their sound,
and has accidentally connected them with the aesthetics of today’s most
underground forms of music as much through their sounds as through their
sheer volume (they play in front of a wall of speakers) and merciless
grooves. Hailing from Africa and rooted in a very social form of folk music making, KONONO N°1 is one of the main exponents of a spectacular style of music which has developed in the suburbs of the capital city of Kinshasa. The Congolese refer to this style as "tradi-modern", meaning electrified traditional music. These are musicians who have left the bush to settle in the capital and, in order to both continue fulfilling their social role and make themselves heard above the urban din, they have resorted to DIY amplification of their instruments, and the use of megaphones. The CD version of this album is being released on Crammed Disc.
"'Every so often there comes a record of such
unlikeliness, of such overpowering rhythmic intensity and such majestic
indifference to global musical trends that you're knocked sideways. This is
one of them.' - Telegraph "Konono No1 may epitomize the DIY ethic, but Congotronics is neither punk rock nor African music recontextualized as punk. The low fidelity sonic warmth and socially conscious lyrics aren't art school affect, but a matter of course for Konono No1. The music of Konono No1 possesses an air of inevitability and importance that largely defies comparison with the western music I'm familiar with (trance? Babyland? Crass? Atari Teenage Riot?). Pick it up." - Beat Route "As much an intuitively rhythmic experience as a sonically and culturally fascinating one, Konono's Congotronics is exactly what all "urban" music should be: vital, supremely danceable, innovative, and heavy. Well worth investigating at all costs." - Grooves
"Konono No. 1’s D.I.Y. aesthetic puts western punk bands to shame. While most
groups work the underground circuit with store-bought guitars and drum kits,
this African collective creates its own instruments and amplifiers. Konono’s
signature sound lies in its three home-made electric likembes, essentially
tiny thumb pianos jury-rigged to microphones made from magnets. The North
American release of the band’s 2004 Congotronics album entrances with
circular rhythms banged out on pots and car parts. Mixing traditional
African music with beyond-lo-fi electronics, the group creates surreal
effects. The Frankenstein patchwork of the likembe’s sound, somewhere
between an angel’s harp and steel drums being played through a broken
megaphone, takes full control on the instrumental “Paradiso”.
Konono rarely slows down over the album, with frantic, percussive noises and
the occasional seizure-inducing whistle-blowing session setting the pace of
the record. The group’s playful nature shines all throughout Congotronics,
especially the call-and-response vocals on the more-than-10-minute-long
“Mama Liza”.
Given the punk underground’s recent obsession with Afrobeat, Konono No. 1
has emerged at a fortunate time. Touring Europe with Tortoise hasn’t hurt
the band either. Outfits like Konono No. 1, Gang Gang Dance, and Mahjongg
are helping ensure that world music doesn’t become this year’s electroclash.
Two years from now, chances are good that people won’t be hiding
Congotronics with their Fischerspooner records."
- Gregory Adams / The Georgia Straight |
|
