Amazing DIY electronica from the Congo

Thanks to Ray for pointing me towards this great page about Congolese group Konono N°1. They've been going 25 years and play electric thumb-pianos (properly called likembé).

They also build their own hand-carved wooden microphones with magnets from old car parts, and that thing on the left is apparently a mixer. It's definitely worth listening to this sound clip [small mp3] - the electrified likembé sound almost like 303s. Konono N°1 have an album, 'Congotronics', out now.

Posted by Tom Whitwell.

Comments:

Fix the 'this great page' link?

# posted by

Anonymous : 7:09 pm

The Suburbs Are Killing Us posted an interesting interview with Konono's producer. (link via Inaudible Cities)

# posted by

Anonymous : 11:07 pm

This is great music, but does it really count as "electronica"? It doesn't seem to be more "electronica" than Led Zeppelin or any other band sporting an amplifier.

# posted by

Anonymous : 10:57 pm

Good question. I don't know what counts as electronica, but it strikes me that this music, at first seeming to resemble electronic dance music I've heard in Europe and America, actually turns out to be a bit more rhythmically sophisticated than the electronica I'm used to. The musicians shown here seem to focus more here on subtle variations in syncopation, while Euro/American electronica musicians focus a lot of attention on variations in timbre, and leave the rhythms fairly untouched within a given piece.

# posted by

Anonymous : 8:22 pm

awesom post. thanks for puttin me on.

# posted by

wilsonreps : 9:18 pm