Congotronics

In the suburbs of Kinshasa, the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, there is a "strange and spectacular electro-traditional" sound being concocted. Drawing largely on Bazombo trance music, the most well-known of the bands creating this sound is Konono No.1, a band founded over 25 years ago which finally saw its first recording released last year.



The music is shaped by likembé, or thumb piano, Konono using three (bass, medium, treble). Rigging these instruments to homemade microphones, and playing in front of a wall of speakers, the sound created is a mix of the traditional trance and experimental electronic music, an inadvertent though impressive combination. The addition of makeshift percussion and sometimes guitar and bass rounds out the line-up and sound. If this description defies comprehension, take a listen to this sample by Konono.



On the heels of Congotronics 1 came the second installment this year, a mix of eight musicians creating similar but varied music. Subtitled Buzz n' Rumble from the Urban Jungle -- recalling the 1974 Ali-Foreman boxing match that took place in the Congo in 1974 -- I'm reminded of The Indestructible Beat of Soweto, another mix of African musicians, though South African instead of Congo. What each compilation shares is not only a snapshot of a certain time and a certain type of music but also a certain place.



Where The Indestructible Beat grew out of the "rural-urban contradictions" of Soweto, according to Robert Christgau, Congotronics grew from the traditional-modern confrontations of Kinshasa, according to my interpretation of things. Most obviously this is apparent in the mix of trance and electronics, the latter a necessity to be heard in the city's noisy streets. In some ways, Konono and these other bands are trying to tame the "urban jungle", creating acacophonyy of sound (that's sometimes rather beautiful) with an underlying structure that holds it all together.