Kinshasa, Congo, the Democratic Republic of the (1966 - present)
Bio
Konono No 1 is a musical group from Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly known as Zaire). They combine three electric likembe (a traditional lamellaphone similar to the mbira) with voices, dancers, and percussion instruments that are made out of items salvaged from a junkyard.
Has Performed With
Critic Concert Reviews
The Guardian (UK)
February 2, 2015
80
%
Part of the initial appeal was their exoticism their shadowy history (dating back to the mid-1960s) and the notion that they fashioned half their instruments from scrap metal and street refuse.
Ndjili is an overcrowded and hectic suburb not far from Kinshasa airport in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and it's here that Konono No 1 spent much of their career, playing in local bars and scouring the second-hand market for car parts that could be used to make DIY instruments.
The Grammy award winning group Konono No. 1 was formed in Congo in the late 1960s. Their distinctive sound is driven by three likembas (bass, medium and treble thumb pianos). What separates them from so many traditional acts is the rudimentary, homemade amplification of the likembas. This sound is also known
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