Interesting and occasionally sad cover story on them in the Wire. The author went to the Congo and spent time with them there as well with their producer. The article ambitiously covers life in wartime Congo, musical issues regarding purism/exoticism/ what the kids want/producers imposing their vision, and more. He also saw rumba star Koffi Olimide there and contrast the 2. As someone who has seen Koffi on tour here and follows Congolese rumba performers (he calls him soukous but I do not think the Congolese use that term anymore)I found that portion a bit simplistic but it may not be that way for others.
Plus new cd coming as well as a box set.
― curmudgeon, Sunday, 2 May 2010 15:28 (fourteen years ago) link
http://ih.constantcontact.com/fs009/1102271303916/img/15.jpg
Konono No 1 Vinyl LP: Congotronics- Congotronics 2 /"Buzz'n'Rumble From The Urb'n'Jungle" Vinyl LP (feat. five different Kinshasa bands)- Kasai Allstars Vinyl LP: In The 7th Moon, The Chief Turned Into A Swimming Fish And Ate The Head Of His Enemy By Magic- Staff Benda Bilili Vinyl LP: Très Très Fort- the brand-new Konono No 1 double vinyl LP: Assume Crash Position- a Congotronics book with exclusive photos from Kinshasa, Congo.- a customized, re-usable 2Gb USB pen drive containing 9 videos, and mp3s (in 320 kbps) of all 5 albums.- 7" vinyl with two exclusive tracks by Kasai Allstars, one of them featuring a collaboration with Akron/Family!
― scott seward, Sunday, 2 May 2010 15:43 (fourteen years ago) link
Looks like $$$ but I am interested.
― Trip Maker, Sunday, 2 May 2010 15:50 (fourteen years ago) link
one of the illest live show i've ever seen. unbelievable escalating energy. blissful and transcendent.
"missing link between world music and the Velvets/Can"
no. the relationship of this music to the Velvets/Can is that of Parent and Child. Hulger Czukay was immensely influenced by African music, and the Velvets took cues from the likes of Steve Reich, whose work was also largely derivative of African rhythms.
― zoom, Monday, 3 May 2010 10:25 (fourteen years ago) link
http://www.africanhiphop.com/africanhiphopnews/baloji-konono-no-1/
nice collaboration from 2010 I somehow missed.
― curmudgeon, Friday, 8 July 2011 18:34 (twelve years ago) link
I just watched Félicité (2017) a few nights ago. Excellent film which features a lot of Kasai Allstars musicto great effect.
― nicky lo-fi, Friday, 16 November 2018 17:27 (five years ago) link
JUst listening to this stuff on Nyege Nyege tapes when I saw this thread and thought the sound pretty much crossed overhttps://nyegenyegetapes.bandcamp.com/album/kadodirelentlessly p[ercussive tribal African meets electronica stuff I just discovered cos of an article on a festival the record label held in September.
― Stevolende, Friday, 16 November 2018 18:24 (five years ago) link
^^ purchased
― Uhura Mazda (lukas), Friday, 16 November 2018 18:52 (five years ago) link
Cool, just been listening through various of the acts on the label thanks to the feature here https://daily.bandcamp.com/2017/04/06/nyege-nyege-tapes-feature/and the initial article which was in the latest Wire.
― Stevolende, Friday, 16 November 2018 19:00 (five years ago) link
Saw this great documentary about the making of the first Staff Benda Bilili album.Most of the band members are paraplegic due to childhood polio. The shelter for the disabledburned down during the first attempt at recording them and that delayed things for overa year. God bless the French dudes who kept on until it was done.
One amazing thing to see is the transformation of a little street kid, playing a one string homemadeinstrument, that the band took under it's wing.
Watch them go from practicing on the grounds at the Kinshasa zoo, to touring Europe and Japan.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJX2GdYr054
― nicky lo-fi, Thursday, 10 January 2019 14:19 (five years ago) link
Worth watching
― curmudgeon, Friday, 11 January 2019 19:14 (five years ago) link