WFMU's Beware of the Blog: Konono No. 1 video

WFMU's Beware of the Blog: Konono No. 1 video

KononoWFMU first played a Konono No. 1 demo from an MP3 back in March of 2003, and we've eagerly anticipated full-recorded outings from this mysterious Congolese outfit championed by (and covered by) the Ex. Hearing them for the first time is a truly mindblowing experience: traditional instruments like the likembe (thumb piano) are souped up by electric pickups jerry-rigged to car batteries, mics are hand carved out of bamboo, percussion isn't too far from Einsturzende Neubauten scrapyard material. The groups' intent is surely to be more ass-shaking than avant-garde, but apparently Fat Cat Records is emphasizing the meaning of the latter by dumping them onto a split 12' single with New Zealand's free-rock explorers the Dead C this month, and I've already seen other indie rock labels touting forthcoming Konono singles. For now, two great releases are out, a live album Lubuaku on the Ex's own Terp label, and a studio album Congotronics on the European Crammed Disc imprint (Aquarius' store site has been the only place I've seen carrying both). Both are stunning, though I find the live album to be a more exciting example of the pure electric power of this band, and am psyched to see this video being streamed on the Crammed Disc site giving us our biggest visual glimpse to date"