Konono No. 1 Meets Batida
Crammed Discs
2016
Rating: All the likembes!
I'm not even going to pretend I'm smart to be able to tell much of a difference from one Konono No. 1 record to another, I just know they're really fuckin' good at what they do, and this album "Konono No. 1 Meets Batida" is no different. Totally mesmerizing, repetitive beats layered with electric likembes and lots of different vocals from multiple members (the band has a shitload of members). There may well be other artists in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and elsewhere who are better at this particular style of music, but I've yet to hear them. It certainly doesn't hurt That these cats (as well as the popular Tuareg musicians to the north of Congo) have hooked up with wealthy western artists who can not only get high quality recordings from top-notch studios, but world distribution contacts as well.
Oh, in case you were wondering, Apparently Batida is a Portuguese DJ and producer who recorded this record, but it's not clear what he did beyond that to actually deserve his name in the title of the album.
And let it be known that if you ever get a chance to see Konono No. 1 live, run, don't walk. They're out-fuckin-standing.
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