ABOUT THIS ITEM

Konono No1 were founded over 25 years ago by Mingiedi, a virtuoso likembe (sanza / thumb piano) player. The band's line up consists of three electric ikembes equipped with hand made microphones built from magnets salvaged from old car parts, and plugged into amplifiers. There's also a rhythm section which uses traditional as well as makeshift percussion (pots, pans, more car parts), three singers, three dancers and a soundsystem with megaphones dating from the colonial period. Instead of apologizing for the heavily distorted sounds of such DIY amplification, Konono No1 have embraced them, provoking a radical mutation of African music.