Кононо №1: Конголезская музыка из хлама и электроники

Congolese musical group

Konono Nº1 is a musical group from Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo. They are known for their DIY aesthetic, combining electric likembé (a traditional instrument similar to the mbira) with vocals, dancers, and percussion instruments that are made out of items salvaged from a junkyard. The group's amplification equipment is equally rudimentary, including a microphone carved out of wood fitted with a magnet from an automobile alternator and a gigantic horn shaped amplifier. The genre of the band's music has been characterized as difficult to classify; the group themselves have classified their music under the labels of "tradi modern" and "Congotronics". Konono Nº1 achieved international recognition around 2004, with the release of their album Congotronics through the Crammed Discs record label. Appealing to fans of rock and electronic music, they played at the Eurockéennes festival in France the following year. They collaborated with Björk for a song on her 2007 album Volta, and with Herbie Hancock for a song on his 2010 album The Imagine Project. Konono Nº1 released the album Assume Crash Position in 2010, followed by Konono Nº1 Meets Batida (2016), a collaboration between Konono Nº1 and the musician Batida, also known as Pedro Coquenão.

The group's full name, as seen on the banner in its music video, is L'orchestre folklorique T. P. Konono Nº1 de Mingiedi; "T. P." (short for tout puissant, or "all powerful") is an homage to the band of the legendary Congolese musician Franco, which was called TP OK Jazz.

Konono Nº1 originally came from the Kongo or Bacongo region that spans parts of Democratic Republic of the Congo and Angola. The group eventually headquartered themselves in the city of Kinshasa in the DRC. The group was formed in 1966 by Mingiedi Mawangu, In 2004 The Ex's guitarist Terrie Hessels released a live recording of a Konono Nº1 performance on his label Terp records. The album, titled Lubuaku, was recorded live in Vera, Groningen, during the band's tour with The Ex. In 2004 Konono Nº1 began releasing albums through The Belgian label Crammed Discs. The first of these, entitled Congotronics, was produced in Kinshasa by Crammed Discs' Vincent Kenis and released to much enthusiasm from the international press. Since then the group has achieved renown in North America, Europe, and Japan, supported by extensive touring. In 2006 the band won the Newcomer Award from the BBC Radio 3 Awards for World Music. That same month Crammed Discs released the fourth volume in its Congotronics series, Assume Crash Position, produced by Vincent Kenis. Six months later the label released Tradi Mods Vs. Rockers: Alternative Takes on Congotronics, a multi artist album containing interpretations, covers and tributes to the music of Kasai Allstars, Konono Nº1 and other Congotronics bands, recorded by 26 indie rock and electronic musicians, including a. o. Deerhoof, Animal Collective, Andrew Bird, Juana Molina, Shackleton, Megafaun, Aksak Maboul, Mark Ernestus and others. In 2011, Konono N°1 took part in the Congotronics vs Rockers project, a "superband" including ten Congolese and ten indie rock musicians that included members of Deerhoof, Wildbirds & Peacedrums, Kasai Allstars, Skeletons, along with Juana Molina. This superband collaborated to create a common repertoire and performed at 15 major festivals and venues in ten countries.

Konono Nº1 founder Mingiedi Mawangu stopped touring with the band around 2009, and entrusted his duties as band leader and lead likembe player to his son Augustin Mawangu Mingiedi, who further developed the sound of Konono's electric thumb piano by using various effect pedals. Mingiedi Mawangu died on April 15, 2015, aged 85.

Konono promotional video, Crammed Discs website.