borrowed tunes: konono no. 1

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June 16, 2005

konono no. 1 :: congotronics

To put it simply, Congotronics is my favorite non-rock disc of the year so far. It's a hypnotic form of African energy music made possible by necessity as the mother of invention. Konono No. 1 has been working in the Congo for 25 years, making do or doing without. Their primary instrument is the mbira or thumb piano, amplified by improvised microphones made out of car parts and spare electronics. They have an apparently giant sound system that is ratty and distorted, not by choice, but which unifies their sound in a warm fuzz. Percussion is made from whatever's around - pots, pans, bells, what have you. And how do they get the vocals across? With megaphones, of course. Live, it must be quite a sight.

It's a rare feat to pull off experimental music that is both listenable and danceable; I suppose the key is that these Konono folks don't intend to experiment at all. The sound of this music is a byproduct of their environment. They just want you to shake it, and they'll use what they've got.

I owe this discovery to posts several weeks ago on other blogs, specifically The Suburbs are Killing Us (read for further background from the disc's producer) and Fluxblog, and I hope I'm able to pass the discovery on. The record label, Crammed Discs, has announced another disc of this kind of music to arrive soon. More is better.

Ungudi Wele Wele (mp3)
Masikulu (mp3)

Posted by borrowed_tunes at June 16, 2005 07:33 AM