KONONO No. 1
(Congo)
Pauline Mbuka Nsiala vocals, Makonda Mbuta likembé, Augustin Makuntima Mawangu likembé, Waku Menga vocals, Vincent Visi percussion, Ndofusu Mbiyavanga percussion
The Congolese group Konono No. 1 creates exciting trance grooves with unusual instruments. The band was founded more than 25 years ago in the Congolese countryside, where they played traditional dance music. The migration to the city caused a problem: the band could not be heard above the din of urban noise. Their voices and instruments needed electric amplification, so the mbiras or thumb pianos were hooked up to microphones, made up of magnets and old car parts, that were plugged into amplifiers. This caused all kinds of sound distortion and unintended noise, but that gave the irresistibly funky music an edge similar to experimental rock and electro. ‘Feverishly pulsing percussion… this is music with its feet planted firmly on the street’ (The Wire).