Konono N°1 - Congotronics (2004)

It is entirely possible that an amplified, slightly distorted likembe creates the most awesome sound on earth. There's no other sound quite like it, and there's no other band like Konono No. 1, the assemblage of Bazombo musicians, dancers, and singers from Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire) that makes the likembe the center of their sound. It's something of an accidental update on Bazombo trance music, and it's thrillingly unique stuff, a torrent of kinetic sound that straddles the line between the traditional and the avant-garde. The likembe is commonly known in the West as a thumb piano, and there are variations of the instrument in different cultures across Africa-- perhaps the most well-known is the mbira, which is used across Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, and parts of South Africa. The instrument has a pinging tone that is practically designed by nature to sound awesome with a bit of amp fuzz on it. Konono employ three electric likembes-- each in a different register-- and the amplification is very makeshift. The band formed in the 1980s to perform its traditional music, but soon found that being heard above the street noise of Kinshasa wasn't a going concern as long as they remained strictly acoustic. Scavenging magnets from car parts, they built their own microphones and pickups, and they augmented their percussion section with hi-hat and assorted scrap metal. Vocal amplification came from a megaphone, and the accidental distortion they drew from the likembes cemented their distinctive sound. Though their music is still traditional in style and content, recent trips to Europe have turned them on to how avant-garde what they're doing is, and they've fallen in with musicians like the Ex, Tortoise, and the Dead C.

Congotronics is actually the second Konono record to receive international distribution-- last year's Lubuaku was a live recording from a European tour-- and it's bound to win them a following amongst noiseniks, experimental music buffs, and open-minded worldbeat fans, though most other people will likely find it merely interesting. The record opens with "Kule Kule" and a reprise of the same, and these tracks stake out the sound of what follows quite precisely. "Kule Kule" is hauntingly subdued, with the three likembe players locking in with each other on a series of choppy riffs and bursts of crazy melody (anyone familiar with the Ex's "Theme From Konono" from last year's Turn will recognize the themes and riffs), while the reprise adds vocals sans megaphone. The four remaining songs all sound as though they were recorded live, and there is in fact some applause between a few of them.

The themes laid out on the introductory songs surface repeatedly over the course of the album, lending it a suite-like feel. "Lufuala Ndonga" comes crashing to an end, and its conclusion becomes the introduction of "Masikulu", on which the frantic chants are swept up in swirling currents of percussion. The most stunning song is the instrumental "Paradiso", which puts the likembe interplay front and center, their distorted, scattershot melodies ricocheting from side-to-side over a thumping backbeat, skittering hi-hat, and some amazing snare work. It's funky in a sort of incidental manner-- obviously meant for dancing-- but hitting on a sort of deep funk rhythmic sensibility without really even trying.

Konono No. 1 are the kind of band that remind us that music still possesses vast wells of untapped potential, and that there's virtually no limit to what can be developed and explored. There's little precedent for a record like Congotronics, even as the music at its core goes back many generations and predates the discovery of electricity by some time. It's important to note that these are not pop songs in any sense of the word-- this is traditional trance music with an electric twist, and should be approached as such. That said, it's among the most fascinating music I've heard and deserves a listen by anyone with even the remotest interest in the possibilities of sound.

~Pitchfork

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