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"Every so often there comes a record of such unlikeliness, of such overpowering rhythmic intensity and such majestic indifference to global musical trends that you're knocked sideways. This is one of them."
-Mark Hudson, London Telegraph (UK)
"Konono N°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."
-Joe Tangari, Pitchforkmedia.com
Konono N°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 these 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 made them develop 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.
Congotronics, the first studio album by Konono N°1 was recorded and produced by Vincent Kenis - definitely the right person for the job. A great connoisseur of Congolese music, he has produced albums by Zap Mama, Taraf de Haïdouks & Koçani Orkestar. Released on the ubiquitous Crammed label in early 2005, Congotronics has garnered phenomenal reviews from such diverse and influential media as the New York Times, Mojo, the BBC and The Wire. The US release is currently out on Rykodisc.
After two successful North American tours in 2005 and 2006, Konono N°1 will return to the United States in May of 2007.
"amped-up, distorted call-and-response chants with dizzying plinking patterns that just grow fiercer and more jubilant as they stretch out."
-Joe Pereles, New York Times
"Mind-melting noise-funk from the Congo... rhythmically red-hot, full of transcendent builds that DJ aficionados will feel in their bones "
-Will Hermes, Spin (click here to view this article)
"Techno, Congo style. Heaviest album of the year?"
-David Hutcheon, Mojo Magazine (Congotronics, World Album of the Month, May 2005- click here to view this article)
“Congotronics is to the modern streets of Kinshasa what turntablism is to the South Bronx, what rave is to Ibiza and what the oral tradition is to Georgia’s Sea Islands… the funkiest dance/trance music from a region that could use a little release.”
–Steve Ciabattoni, CMJ
"thrillingly unique stuff, a torrent of kinetic sound that straddles the line between the traditional and the avant-garde. 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... 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."
-Joe Tangari, Pitchforkmedia.com
"a roof-shaking dance band... an incredible sound"
- Blender
"a rhythmic, gloriously frantic album that includes echoes of anything from blues, dub and rap through to bursts of line-and-response chanting and slinky riffs, along with passages of wild improvisation on the likembes that at times sounds like free-form jazz. This could be one of the unexpected successes of the year."
-Robin Denselow, The Guardian (UK)
"a blend of traditional Bazombo folk with gritty sound distortions that would make Jimi Hendrix proud… dizzying, danceable and frenetic"
- Newsweek
"It could really be from anywhere, at any time; its rawness at odds with the slow fall towards slickness and a polished, homogenized sound so sought after these days. And like all the best music, it needs to be played loud, as loud as their legendary, dizzying live performances."
-Dale Shaw, BBC
"As you try to sift through the dense crosstalk of twittering beats, your ears are beguiled ever deeper into Konono's rhythmic thrashing machine."
-The Wire (UK)
"an aural perpetual motion machine that goes from zero to heaven in breathtaking gradations… utterly great and refreshing."
-Mike Powell, Stylus Magazine
"insanely wonderful… truly fantastic stuff."
-Chris May, AllAboutJazz.com