Congo Style
* Konono Nr. 1: Kule Kule (5.5 mb) | Mama Liza (13.5 mb)
From Congotronics : Crammed Discs : Craw 27
I forget which audio blog first introduced me to wild, mulit-layered sounds of Konono Nr. 1, but I’m definitely glad that they did. This group is a wild trip through the city streets of the Congo. They make sounds that, while utterly foreign, still sound strangely familiar. The main core of this group are a trio of electric metal thumb pianos called the likembe. The likembe is a series of metal rods connected to a resonator. The rest of the group consists of makeshift percussion, dancers and singers. It’s a riotous affair that threatens to fall into chaos but never does.
The most intriguing part of their sound is a result of their use of DIY/homebrewed electronics. They make everything - sound system, mixers, instruments, etc - from old magnets and discarded car parts. The result is an incredibly distorted sound that they’ve incorporated into their overall aesthetic.
…these are musicians who left the bush to settle in the capital and who, in order to keep fulfilling their social role and make themselves heard by the ancestors (and, more concretely, by their fellow citizens) despite the high level of urban noise, have had to resort to do-it-yourself amplification of their instruments, and to the megaphones (conical speakers), which they call “lance-voix”, i.e. “voice-throwers”. This makeshift electrification has provoked a radical mutation of their sound, and accidentally connected them with the aesthetics of experimental rock and electronic music, as much through the sounds they use as through the sheer volume of their performances (they play in front of a wall of speakers) and their merciless grooves.
(from the liner notes)
So, crank that stereo up to 11 and be prepared for the earth shaking grooves that are about to come pouring out of your speakers.
—–+—–
Apparently, our fair city (Chicago), has been blessed by the appearance of the Virgin Mary on the side of an expressway viaduct. Wow, is all I’ve got to say about that.
T said,
April 22, 2005 @ 4:48 pm
The dutch band The Ex (www.theex.nl) have a tribute/cover of Konono on their last album “turn” ….worth checking out.
troy said,
April 22, 2005 @ 9:29 pm
this is incredible! thanks for turning me onto it.
cb said,
April 24, 2005 @ 10:08 am
T - Yeah, I think they also played a show together and, by all accounts, it was an incredibly intense performance. Wish I could’ve seen it.
Troy - Glad you’re enjoying the music. Wish I could remember who turned me on to this in the first place…
-cb
the of mirror eye » Congo Style Pt 3 said,
October 7, 2006 @ 10:48 pm
[...] Well, the Congo story continues (look here and here) courtesy of Crammed Discs. Congotronics 2 is a continuation of their look into the wild and wooly world of urban music from the Congo. These musicians all employ some native instruments along with more modern ones, homemade amps/electronics and walls of amplifiers to create a very distinctive and distorted sound. Some instruments used by these bands already sound ‘distorted’ when played acoustically, like the buzzing Kasaian drum featured in many songs; most of them are original creations or re-creations, made by the musicians themselves. We already know the electric likembe, or thumb piano, pioneered by Konono No1, with its pickups made of copper telephone wire wound around crushed car alternator magnets. Electric likembes come in different shapes and sizes - you can even sit on some of them, like Masanka Sankayi use for bass; others are designed to play the bass and solo parts at the same time, like Sobanza Mimanisa’s. We also have electric guitars reassembled from parts with origins as divers as Bulgaria, China and Mexico, a hi-hat made from hubcaps and film cans on top of a front axle and wheel held upside down, a rattle made of a steel spring and two sardine cans, a jug made of a drain pipe glued onto a calabash with gaffer tape, etc. (from the liner notes) [...]