Congotronics

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Konono No 1

Usually Ships: 2 - 6 Days
Normally: ~~$39.95~~
SmokeCDs Price: $29.95

Disc 1:
#	Track Name	MP3 Sample
1	Lufuala Ndonga	MP3 sample

2	Masikulu	MP3 sample

3	Kule Kule	MP3 sample

4	Ungudi Wele Wele	MP3 sample

5	Paradiso	MP3 sample

6	Kule Kule Reprise	MP3 sample

7	Mama Liza	MP3 sample

Smoke Notes

One of the most unique sounding albums in years - This is essentially "world" music, but sonically Konono No. 1 have more in common with Einsturzende Neubauten than Youssou N'dour.
Formed nearly 30 years ago by the now 75 year old Mingiedi, a virtuoso of the Likembe (similar to what we know as a thumb-piano), with the intent of keeping the traditional music of his home Kinkasha - on the border of the Congo and Angola - alive in times of corruption and war. Performing at street parties, the group found a need to amplify their instruments, to be heard over the large crowds that gathered. Improvising microphones and amplification from old car-parts and megaphones (or "voice-throwers") left behind by the Belgian colonists in the late 50s early 60s. The makeshift battery-powered PA system was functional but had a distorted hum that resonated over everything. Rather than remedying the "problem" Mingiedi incorporated the distortion into the groups sound and unwittingly started a new musical form that is exciting fans of dance, electronica, krautrock, industrial and experimental music.
With artists like Aphex Twin and Tortoise already putting their hands up to do remixes, many are calling this album the missing link between World and Electronic music.
The basis of the Konono No.1 sound is three Likembe – A bass, a baritone and a treble. The bass provides the bed with just a couple of persistent notes (getting some impressive and surprisingly low frequencies for an acoustic instrument) while the baritone plays the "riff" and the treble takes care of the higher melodies, sounding at times like an electric guitar. On top of this is percussion – both traditional and a ramshackle collection of hub-caps and other "trash" - as well as whistles and a call-and-response style of singing.
It's high beats per minute stuff, and could certainly be called dance music (Konono No. 1 also has five dancers as part of the group). The combination of the rhythms, the many different and new sounds and the fact that the human ear supposedly finds distortion appealing makes listening to this album an hypnotic experience - This is quite literally Trance music.
Whether you're constantly on the lookout for the next "buzz" album or you're looking for something completely new - this is undoubtedly it. Highly Recommended

Product Details

Artist: Konono No 1
Album: Congotronics
Cat #: CDD27
Date: 22/02/2006
Format: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Label: Crammed
Usually Ships: 2 - 6 Days
Genres: Electronic , World
Normally: ~~$39.95~~
SmokeCDs Price: $29.95