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 ...
Follow the writing sessions for Congotronics vs Rockers !...
10 Congolese and 10 indie artists in 6 countries are currently swapping files to prepare this incredible project.
Follow this (almost) in real time, by visiting the blog which documents the rehearsals for the show. At this very moment, members of Kasai Allstars & Konono No.1 (in Kinshasa, Congo), Deerhoof (in New Mexico and elsewhere), Skeletons (in NY), WIldbirds & Peacedrums (in Sweden), Girls in Hawaii (in Belgium) and Juana Molina (in Argentina) are recording sketches, emailing them back and forth, and adding ideas onto each other's contribution.
Everyone will then get together in Brussels for rehearsals, prior to the world premiere of the Congotronics vs Rockers project, on May 12 at the Cirque Royal in Brussels, on the opening night of the Nuits Botanique Festival.
