Konono No.1 – Whelan’s, 12th April

Tickets go on sale Tuesday morning for Konono No 1 who play their first Irish gig since their 2007 Analog performance at Whelan’s on Friday April 12th.

After literally years of trying, we’ve finally managed to book one of the best bands in the world. The fathers of Congotronics, live and direct from Kinshasa, République Démocratique Du Congo, Africa, KONONO NO 1!!

Konono N°1’s “Congotronics” album introduced the world to the strange and spectacular electro-traditional mixtures which are being concocted in the suburbs of Kinshasa, Congo. World music, electronica and avant-rock aficionados have all been equally amazed by this otherworldly music, which has driven the international press to come up with some surprising comparisons (from Can and Krautrock to Jimi Hendrix, Lee Perry and proto-techno!…).

The band was founded back in the 1960s 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 distorsions 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 than through their sheer volume (they play in front of a wall of speakers) and their merciless grooves.

u:mack in Association With Whelanslive.com Presents
Konono No 1
7:30pm, Friday April 12
Whelans
Tickets €25 From www.wavtickets.ie, tickets.ie & Elastic Witch.

http://www.konono.net

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