Konono No.1's "Congotronics" album introduced the world to the strange and spectacular electro-traditional mixtures which are being concocted in the suburbs of Kinshasa, Congo. World music, electronica and avant-rock aficionados have all been equally amazed by this otherworldly music, which has driven the international press to come up with some surprising comparisons (from Can and Krautrock to Jimi Hendrix, Lee Perry and proto-techno!...).
The band was founded back in the 1960s by Mingiedi Mawangu, a virtuoso of the likembé (a traditional instrument sometimes called "sanza" or "thumb piano", consisting of ...
Konono invited by CocoRosie for Paris show
May 22 at Casino de Paris
Konono No 1 have been invited by CocoRosie to take part in their show at Casino de Paris on May 22!
The wildest and most talked about Congolese band are now on the last leg of their European tour, after ecstatically-received appearances in Brussels, London, Manchester, Bristol, Cologne and at Matt Groening's ATP,
Do not miss them in Amsterdam (16/5), Pau (18/5), St Nazaire (20/5), Art Rock Festival in St Brieuc (where the show will be filmed by Les Inrockuptibles for ARTE Live Web, 21/5), Paris (with CocoRosie on 22/5, and on the next day at the Barbes l'Africaine festival), Cadiz (27/5) and Madrid (29/5).
US/Canada tour to follow, July 9 to 23
Konono's smashing new album "Assume Crash Position" is now out everywhere (except in the US, where it'll come out on June 8).
Details of all dates here
