The Congotronics series is devoted to the strange and spectacular electro-traditional mixtures which are being concocted in the suburbs of Kinshasa, Congo.

Konono N°1, Kasaï Allstars, Ndara, Sobanza Mimanisa and Kisanzi Congo are what they call in the Congo "tradi-moderne" bands.  Most of these musicians left the bush to settle in the capital. In order to continue to fulfill their social role and make themselves heard by the ancestors (and, more concretely, by their fellow citizens) despite the high level of urban noise, they had to resort to a makeshift electrification of their instruments, which provoked a radical mutation of their sound. The much-commented similarities  between this music and some forms of avant-rock or electronica is purely fortuitous, since these bands draw exclusively on traditional trance music and have been totally unaware of current Western trends so far.

These bands come from various parts of the country: the ancient Kongo kingdom, situated across the Congo river between Kinshasa and the Atlantic; the Kasai province, occupying the center of Congo; and the lake Mai Ndombe area, situated 300 km north-east of the capital. The original styles vary greatly from region to region but, being based in Kinshasa, the musicians tend to recruit each other on a personal rather than tribal basis, which leads to a lot of cross-cultural pollination. In particular, Kasai Allstars is, as far as we know, the first group to initiate a meeting between luba and lulua musical traditions which previously were supposed to be incompatible.

Some instruments used by these bands already sound 'distorted' when played acoustically, like the buzzing Kasaian drum featured in many songs; most of them are original creations or re-creations, made by the musicians themselves. We already know the electric likembe, or thumb piano, pioneered by Konono N°1, with its pickups made of copper telephone wire wound around crushed car alternator magnets. Electric likembes come in different shapes and sizes - you can even sit on some of them, like the one Masanka Sankayi use for bass ; others are designed to play the bass and solo parts at the same time. Some other bands use, for example,  electric guitars reassembled from parts with origins as diverse as Bulgaria, China and Mexico, hi-hats made from hubcaps and film cans on top of a front axle and wheel held upside down, rattles made of a steel spring and sardine cans, jugs made of a drain pipe glued onto a calabash with gaffer tape, etc.

The Congotronics series is curated and produced by Vincent Kenis.
 
STOP PRESS: the release of The Congotronics Vinyl Box Set has just been announced.
A strictly limited edition which is only available from the Crammed store, it will contain vinyl versions of 5 Congotronics albums  (including the Staff Benda Bilili album and Konono N°1's band-new ''Assume Crash Position''), plus assorted bonuses including a 7" single featuring a collaboration between Kasai Allstars and US indie-folk-rock band Akron/Family, a specially designed book with photos from Kinshasa, and a 2Gb re-usable pen drive packed with videos and mp3s.
 
Every buyer of the Congotronics Box will also immediately receive all 5 albums as downloads.
 
For more info + order details, click here