L'orchestre Folklorique Tout Puissant Konono N°1 de Mingiedi, more commonly known as Konono N°1, are a spectacular group of musicians, singers and dancers from the Congo. I was introduced to this remarkable band by a coworker of mine and was immediately hooked to their heavily energized, highly distorted and altogether brilliant sound.
Konono N°1, founded sometime in the 1970's by Mawangu Mingiedi, adapts traditional Bazombo trance/dance music and is performed with three likembé (thumb pianos), an array of percussion instruments, singers and dancers. Their distorted sound is because their instruments and amplifiers are home-made. The likembé are equipped with metal plates for pickups. A microphone is made out of a piece of carved wood and a magnet from a car's alternator. The percussion instruments are fabricated from items found in a junkyard. Their amplifers are made from previously discarded amps and a large horn. This band is so delightfully strange and easily some of the best and most innovative music I've heard in a long time.
A little side note: If you were a fan of Björk's Volta, you might remember the thunderous opening track "Earth Intruders", which is a collaboration with Konono N°1.
Konono N°1 - Lufuala Ndonga
Konono N°1 - Kule Kule Reprise
iamrogue:
Steve Jones, founder and guitarist of the Sex Pistols, will be live on location at the Sundance Film Festival throughout the week for in-depth interviews with guests such as Bob Saget, Adrian Grenier, Wilmer Valderrama and many more. These special interviews will be held throughout the week and aired live daily at 12PST on “Jonesy’s Jukebox” available exclusively on IAMROGUE.com. So, tune in to "Jonesy's Jukebox" for special Sundance interviews all week airing exclusively on iamrogue.com.