Konono N.1

This group was founded over 25 yrs ago by Mingiedi, a virtuoso of the likembé ('thumb piano'). The band's line-up includes 3 electric likembés, equipped w/ hand-made microphones built from magnets salvaged from old car parts, & plugged into amplifiers. There's also a rhythm section which uses traditional as well as makeshift percussion, 3 singers, 3 dancers & a peculiar sound system including megaphones dating from the colonial period. Their repertoire draws largely on Bazombo trance music, to which they've had to incorporate the originally-unwanted distortions of their sound system. This has provoked a radical mutation of their sound, & has accidentally connected them w/ the aesthetics of experimental rock & electronic music.