Konono No. 1

Konono No.1 was founded over 25 years ago by Mingiedi, a virtuoso of the likembé (a traditional instrument sometimes called "sanza" or "thumb piano," consisting of metal rods attached to a resonator). The band's line-up includes three electric likembés (bass, medium and treble), equipped with hand-made microphones built from magnets salvaged from old car parts, and plugged into amplifiers. There's also a rhythm section which uses traditional as well as makeshift percussion (pans, pots and car parts), three singers, three dancers and a sound system featuring famous megaphones.

The musicians come from an area which sits right across the border between Congo and Angola. Their repertoire draws largely on Bazombo trance music, but they've had to incorporate the originally unwanted distortions of their sound system. This has given them a unique style which, from a sonic viewpoint, has accidentally connected them with the aesthetics of the most experimental forms of rock and electronic music, as much through their sounds as through their sheer volume (they play in front of a wall of speakers) and their merciless grooves.

The first album by Konono No.1 was recorded and produced by Vincent Kenis — definitely the right person for the job. He is a great connoisseur of Congolese music; he has produced albums by Zap Mama, Taraf de Haïdouks and Koçani Orkestar, and he has played a key part in the sonic design of many albums of electronic music on Crammed/SSR.

Konono No.1 is the first volume of Crammed's new series, Congotronics, which is devoted to electrified traditional music from the Congo.

Congotronics 2 is an album entitled Buzz and Rumble from the Urban Jungle, featuring no less than five different Kinshasa bands, plus a couple of bonus remixes by luminaries from the electronic and avant-rock scenes.

— Courtesy Calabash Music