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On September 11 Crammed Discs is releasing Live at Couleur Café by the Congolese band Konono No. 1, a burning concert recorded in Brussels. It follows on the heels of the digital-only Live in Tokyo EP—in fact, the artwork for both releases is practically identical. The band is in good form, its deeply hypnotic likembe patterns sounding cleaner than on the group’s celebrated Congotronics album, where the thumb piano licks were crusted with nasty distortion. The fierce rhythms and chanted vocals present nothing new, but remain highly effective. If there’s been any kind of complaint about the group’s music it’s that their songs all sound the same, and there’s certainly a kernel of truth to that; each piece begins with a practically identical intro figure, and while there is clearly some improvisation happening in the lead likembe, the circling riffs don’t vary much from tune to tune. Konono are not sophisticated artists; rocking the party is their only real concern, which suggests than unless they severely tweak their formula, additional recordings aren’t going to heighten their appeal. They’re a live act, plain and simple.
Today’s playlist:
