Sunday, September 2, 2007

KONONO Nº1 - CONGOTRONICS (2005)


Original cover.
NON-STOP RAVING NOISE AFRICAN MADNESS FROM CONGO!
ARTIST`````````````KONONO Nº1
ALBUM`````````````CONGOTRONIC
GENRE`````````````BAZOMBO TRANCE MUSIC
YEAR```````````````2005


MY VIEW:
This is a complete and sudden surprise. You could call this - pure contemporary african rave. Unfortunately, of all the musicians in the world, Bjork was the first capitalist bitch who gave them a bunch of money to play for her...

NICE ALBUM REVIEW (by Steve Leggett):
This amazing record is the product of utility, coincidence, and accidental discovery as much as it is a product of academic deliberation, and it manages to sound old and traditional even as it is refreshingly (even radically) new and avant-garde. Konono No. 1 was formed in the 1980s by a group of Bazombo musicians, dancers, and singers from the Democratic Republic of Congo to play traditional likembe (thumb piano) music in the streets. They soon discovered, though, that they needed amplification to be heard and -- this is where the story of this album really begins -- they took a DIY and utilitarian approach by building their own amplification systems out of junked car parts, magnets, and other flotsam. Once assembled, the system produced a huge hum that Konono No. 1 embraced as part of the sound of the group. At the center of everything were three amped-up thumb pianos tuned to three different registers, and coupled with all manner of pots, pans, whistles, and brake drum snares for percussion and with the vocals blasting through megaphones, all embedded in the huge buzz and hum of the homemade PA system, the group accidentally created a sound that was at once both ancient and traditional and yet eerily akin to experimental 21st century electronica.

Congotronics is Konono's second album (the first was a live outing entitled Lubuaku), and while it was ostensibly recorded in a studio setting, it sounds wonderfully live and immediate, as if the dozen members of the group were standing on a busy street corner like some Congolese version of a second-line Mardi Gras band, only with thumb pianos instead of horns. Musical themes emerge and reemerge in the various tracks, and what sounds initially chaotic and random is revealed to be nothing of the sort, giving the whole album the feel of a ragged, joyous suite. Part traditional, part African rhumba, part smart avant-garde electronica, Congotronics is the sound of an urban junkyard band simultaneously weaving the past and the future into one amazingly coherent structure, and not only that, you can dance to it. This is the band Tom Waits has been looking for all his life.

The group recently finished collaborating with Björk on the song "Earth Intruders" from her studio album, Volta. They will also accompany her on her promotional tour for the album.

DOWNLOAD

Reuploaded 8/June/2010.

16 comments:

fuzztunnel said...

Thanks very much for this- heard it at a bar the other night and it hooked me instantly. Truly remarkable hybrid sounds.

Anonymous said...

Holy crap! Thank you!

Anonymous said...

Leaving a comment as requested - since it ain't gonna kill me ;) Great album, unlike anything I've ever heard. Thanks for the upload.

Bleeding Panda said...

hahaha... ;)

Anonymous said...

gracias inmensas dios panda que has abierto una parte de mi hemisferio musical para deleitar mi melomania.proximamente creare un blog para compartir musica contigo.see you panda

C.R. said...

thanks a lot!

Bleeding Panda said...

Thanx people :)

vala said...

thank you panda. quite an impressive collections you have

Anonymous said...

Been after another copy of this for a while. Love the Konono!

As for Bjork, i kicked off the mass booing that greeted her lateness in Glasto 2007. I was there with friends who like her (honestly).

Anonymous said...

cheers!

C said...

I found this a little late, link is dead. Please mighty panda, reup!!!

:D

Bleeding Panda said...

@ C - It's reuploaded:) Enjoy it!

C said...

THANK YOUUUU!!!

Hashish said...

Saw them in concert in DC back in 2007. Let me set the stage, the A/C was out at the Black Cat and no windows = African dance party!

Bleeding Panda said...

@ Ashish: I'd love to jump with their music:) I hope I find my way to some of their gigs in Europe soon. If you have some photos be sure to share them:)
Cheers and thanks for stopping by!

Bleeding Panda said...

V.A. Congotronics 2 - Buzz n Rumble from the Urb n Jungle (2005)

http://www.mediafire.com/?e98myp9xxzzt3b4

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