KONONO NO.1 [CONGO]
ditshe tshiekutala mp3
there’s been plenty written about konono no.1 around the blogshere for the last six months, and – when clearing out my bookmarks – i realised that i should have really posted this free mp3 some time back. if you’re not already aware of why konono no.1 are gaining so much critical praise – it’s simple. they are one of the most original groups operating in africa today, mainly due to their use of the electrified / amplified traditional instruments – a style known in congo as ‘tradi-modern’. boiled down, it’s old school analogue electronic music – thumb pianos, megaphones, pots & pans, old car parts etc, all amplified to the point of almost absurd distortion. if any modern euro-electro pioneer was making this, we’d be hailing them a genius – yet, konono no.1 have being doing their own DIY thing for nearly 25 years. it’s a classic tale – probably an archetype of some kind – where the westerners stumble across the indigenous people, doing their own thing for decades and doing it far better than those damn westerners could ever imagine. there’s a movie in there somewhere… crammed discs have released an album, entitled ‘congrotronics’, fat cat have dropped a split 7″ and finally there’s a live album, ‘lubuaku’ from which the above mp3 is taken.
INDIGENOUS RESISTANCE [CANADA]
eagle screaming red sky alight mp3
through the eyes of one who paints with earth mp3
the indigenous resistance label is run by an organisation called the fire this time with the aim of exploring “issues and examples of indigenous resistance and indigenous reality that normally don’t receive attention will be highlighted through our releases”. how that practically manifests itself is simple – the fire this time records indigenous artists, adds his own original production and contributions from like-minded artists, and distributes the results freely with the help and co-operation of original artists – a concept cheerily titled ‘ freedub’. that philosphy is manifested in the above tracks – the first has a long and convoluted history and is based around lyrics composed by performer / poet jessie kleeman from greenland (highlighting the country’s indigenous history), vocals performed by christine d and music by asian dub foundation‘s dr das and adrian sherwood. das also contributes bass to most of the mp3s found on the IR site, and the collaboration continues with the fire this time working on the track ‘powerlines’ from the new adfalbum, ‘tank’. the second mp3 features a contribution from michael franti from spearhead. more info & mp3s on this project can be found at firethistime.com.