Some seriously interesting music going on here ...

While watching Kanye West on Charlie Rose last week, I had a discussion recently with my housemate about the dissolution of [musical] culture and the increasingly shared musical vocabulary worldwide. I don't completely agree with him nor share his pessimism because I think there's still a lot of interesting and new stuff going on all over the place (find-able with a little effort).

So it is very invigourating to read about artists like Konono, all the more interesting as they remix the use of a familiar and accessible African instrument like the thumb piano (likembé, mbira).

Check the blurb from the press release (with sound):

Accompanied by dancers and percussionists, the likembés wail and drone, buzz and moan, totally overblown and distorted, sounding a little like sixties fuzz guitars, turning a glorious high life jam into something much more strange and wonderful. Super rhythmic, and thick with the buzzing melodies of the likemebe's, Konono weave a massive sound. It's the wildest weirdest street party you've ever been to. Throbbing with energy and emotion, rambuctiously rollicking and totally infectious.

Click on the title image above to lead you back to the mothership, for images, vid of Kinshasa and sounds.