As we rummage through our inboxes on the seemingly dying MySpace, we are still inundated with requests from people who believe they are the next big thing when really they're not.
One such person, who we don’t want to promote, proudly told us that she was due to play with Ian Van Dahl. Yes, that’s right, Ian Van Dahl the super-cheesy Euro pop dance muck who was popular in the mid-nineties who probably now resides in bars on Magaluf busking in the streets. People who we do like are artists who are a little bit more creative and even come from countries that you’d struggle to find on a map. Our choice for this week certainly got us scratching our heads when we discovered where they're from.
Konono No. 1 hail from Kinshasa which we believe is near Angola and the Congo. Best ask a geography teacher for some help if you’re confused. Konono No. 1 are so small that they have just really gotten a bit of attention despite their long career. But what makes them so unique?
For one thing, Konono No. 1 are the oldest act to feature on this page, an award which should be placed with pride above their toilet. Secondly, and more importantly, they build and create all of their instruments from old car parts, megaphones and discarded amps. It could end up sounding like a blender but the weird concoction creates something that takes electronic music and gives it a bloody good beating, by mixing old fashioned African traditions with technology that has been hand built does provide very unique and interesting results. It almost feels like a Brazilian samba at times with a lot of emphasis on the drum beats.
Of course, the more cynical of you will dismiss them for speaking in their native tongue. But if you can get past that, you’ll enter an exciting and energetic world of music that is nothing like the current musical trend. It’s at this time where we could be lazily copy and paste some biog blurb for you to read and make our job easier. But we won’t, it’s far more interesting to find out more about this band yourselves. Well that’s if you can be bothered.
Now, people may just think that we just pick things at random and the artists we choose have no relation to anything at all. Are you right? Of course not, some of you may have already heard of Konono No. 1 but not just realised it. Icelandic singer/star/nutjob Bjork actually enlisted the help of Konono No. 1 on her last album. Check out the track Earth Intruders to believe us and make sure we’re not just talking out of arses.
With such a unique blend of sounds going on, we wouldn’t be surprised if Avril Lavigne steals some of their rhythms for her next record and then acts like she’s never heard of them before.
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webfetti says
mySpace ain’t going nowhere…