Kasai is an area of the Democratic Republic of the Congo that is roughly the size of France, so a supergroup of musicians from notable local bands - including Masanka Sankayi and Basokin - that claims to represent the ethnic mix of the entire area is covering a very broad spectrum of musical traditions. In fact, the music of the Songye, Lulua, Tetela, Luba and Luntu peoples had always been considered to be entirely incompatible.
Having formed as a unit while working on the pioneering Congotronics 2 album, the 25-strong collective set to work cooking up a musical gumbo on their hugely acclaimed 2008 debut In The 7th Moon, The Chief Turned Into A Swimming Fish And Ate The Head Of His Enemy By Magic, which bottled the energy and magic of their live shows. They repeated the trick on their expansive follow up, 2014’s Beware The Fetish, which has been heavily supported by Radio 3’s Late Junction and 6 Music’s Tom Ravenscroft.
Oh, and don’t forget to watch out for the dancers. You don’t get that sort of thing with the Foo Fighters, it is fair to say.
Kasai is an area of the Democratic Republic of the Congo that is roughly the size of France, so a supergroup of musicians from notable local bands - including Masanka Sankayi and Basokin - that claims to represent the ethnic mix of the entire area is covering a very broad spectrum of musical traditions. In fact, the music of the Songye, Lulua, Tetela, Luba and Luntu peoples had always been considered to be entirely incompatible.
Having formed as a unit while working on the pioneering Congotronics 2 album, the 25-strong collective set to work cooking up a musical gumbo on their hugely acclaimed 2008 debut In The 7th Moon, The Chief Turned Into A Swimming Fish And Ate The Head Of His Enemy By Magic, which bottled the energy and magic of their live shows. They repeated the trick on their expansive follow up, 2014’s Beware The Fetish, which has been heavily supported by Radio 3’s Late Junction and 6 Music’s Tom Ravenscroft.
Oh, and don’t forget to watch out for the dancers. You don’t get that sort of thing with the Foo Fighters, it is fair to say.
