Wednesday, December 01, 2004  

Konono No. 1
"Ditshe Tshiekutala"
Lubuaku (Terp, 2004)

Thanks to Mark from Subterranean Distribution in Amsterdam for giving me the heads up that Konono No. 1 finally has a CD out. It's not the one I wrote about on Sept. 2, but rather a live soundboard recording put out on Terp Records, which is run by Terrie from the Ex. I once wondered aloud if Konono was the Fennesz of the Congo? Now I just call them The Very Reverend Konono No. 1 because they deserve that honorific---there's nobody like them.

Mark also writes, "You might dig on a little video footage shot during Konono's tour with the Ex here in Holland. The clips are pretty short and arbitrary, but they capture a tiny bit of the Konono ass-shaking machine live."
Clip one
Clip two
Clip three

The MP3 and videos are hosted on Subterranean's Web site, which is where you can buy Lubuaku.

Also, Crammed Discs is listing that Konono's studio-recorded Congotronics 1 is for sale now, but I'm not sure where to buy it in the U.S. because according to this list there seems to be no distro over here. But I'll put on my parachute pants and Sherlock Holmeslice hat and find out for y'all. Man, I'm just earnest like that, what can I say?

Meanwhile, Konono's home country continues to eff itself up with war.
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Today is World AIDS Day.

AIDS is devastating Subsaharan Africa, and nearly 25 percent of the continent's residents are HIV positive. Roughly 40 percent of all deaths among South Africans between the ages of 15 and 49 is from AIDS, and more than 4 million South Africans are infected with HIV---more than any other country in the world.

South African president Thabo Mbeki needs to get a damn clue. (Don't be fooled by the year 2000 date of this story; President Nutjob still believes in his whack AIDS theories.)
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Time's heart-breaking report and photo essay
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Nelson Mandela's 46664 AIDS charity
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BBC report on AIDS in Africa
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CNN special report
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MSNBC photo essay
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Here's my own experience of meeting someone with AIDS in South Africa.

Posted by CP | Link |

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