Thursday, September 02, 2004  

Konono No. 1 Upsies

The Ex, "Konono"
from a bootleg, live at the Knitting Factory on 9.9.03
The Ex, "Theme From Konono"
from Turn (Touch & Go)

Konono No.1 already toured in Europe with The Ex, who in turn covered "Theme From Konono" on their new CD. Without the makeshift Congolese IDM context, the Ex's versions don't do much for me, but don't shoot the messenjah.

Here's the word from Crammed Discs on the forthcoming Konono CD:
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Hi Chris,

We heard from Louisa @ Six Degrees that you liked the Konono excerpt that's on our site, and that you were wondering about our release plans. We also noticed an enthusiastic comment about Konono on http://www.christopherporter.com/

Konono No. 1 is actually only one of many "electro-traditional" bands which Vincent Kenis recorded during several stays in Kinshasa. As explained in the presentation text on the site, Konono No. 1 are part of a whole movement of bands who moved from the bush to the suburbs of Kinshasa, and went on to amplify their instruments.

We're doing extensive work with several of these bands, and have already gathered many hours of recordings.

We will be releasing a Konono No. 1 album around November, and are also finalizing a "various artists" album, to be entitled "CONGO ELECTRICO (Buzz & Rumble from the Urban Jungle)", which will feature tracks by several bands. This should come out in early 2005, and will include tracks by Kasai Allstars, Kisansi Congo, Sobanza Mimanisa, Konono No. 1 and several others.

Meanwhile we are also releasing a 12" with two Konono No. 1 tracks, through a small UK label called Fat Cat, which generally deals with experimental & electronic music. It's interesting that many people in those areas seem to be very excited by these recordings, and we're working on getting remixes done by interesting European & US producers.

Please get back in touch if you want additional info.

All the best,
Marc
Crammed Discs and associated labels
43 rue General Patton, 1050 Brussels, Belgium
phone (32 2) 640 79 14 - fax (32 2) 648 83 69
http://www.crammed.be

Posted by CP | Link |

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