Because they couldn’t hear each other anymore within Kinshasa’s urban cacophony, the musicians from Konono N°1 have cobbled together a home amplification that has allowed them to not only get a volume that rises above the raucus, but also gave them an original signature sound, suitable for making the crowds go wild. Originally from the Angolan border, this Congolese group performs traditional trance music with electric likembé (thumb pianos), a percussion kit worthy of a Home Depot (hubcaps and pan covers piled up on a car steering column, bells and congas) and singing filtered by megaphone distortion. The whole thing gives the impression of a telescoping effect between African trance and electro-punk energy. Labelled as tradi-modern, their music, as exciting as it is brand new, took them all over the world and opened them to prestigious collaborations with Jeff Beck, Herbie Hancock and Björk. Recorded by the Belgian Vincent Kenis, this album that was released in 2004 (more than thirty years after an ethnic music volume by the Ocara label) gives thanks to the original sound of the band, who perform here their most popular hits. © BM/Qobuz