The teeming metropolis of Kinshasa is home to the music some folks call Congotronics, although that name is a bit too reductive to describe what's going on. The artists in question may or may not be using electronics, but they are tapping into traditional rhythms from all across their vast nation, as did the founders of Congolese rumba more than a half century ago.
But it's a new era for better or worse (for many in Kinshasa, a lot worse) and bands like Kin'Gongolo Kiniata ("the sound that crushes" in Lingala) with their MacGyvered homemade instruments fabricated from trash and their thoroughly punk-rock attitude are what Kinshasa sounds like in 2024. You'll hear Kin'Gongolo Kiniata's new single this week on Global A Go-Go, along with a couple of their predecessors.
Also this week (Sunday November 24, 1:00-3:00 PM on WRIR, for two weeks afterwards at wrir.org/listen, and any old time at my podcast site): An all-African first hour featuring new music from Aboubakar Traoré & Balima and Dogo Du Togo & The Alagaa Beat Band, plus a new compilation of the best of Benin's Albarika Store record label; Leenalchi's post-modern take on Korean pansori; more Anatolian rock with Aylin's Soulgarden's debut album and a vintage reissue of Cem Karaca; and some Macedonian brass madness including a band from Indiana from the 1940s.
Podcast: radio4all.net/program/119154
All the podcasts: radio4all.net/series/Global%20A%20Go-Go
Artist | Country | Song | Recording | Label | Year
Oliver Lake | USA | Separation | Matador Of 1st & 1st | Passin' Thru | 1997
Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros | England UK | Global A Go-Go | Global A Go-Go | Hellcat | 2001
Kélétigui Diabaté | Mali | Djandjo | Sandiya | Contre-Jour | 2004
Neba Solo | Mali | Vaccination | Kene Balafons | Mali K7 | 2000
Kassé Mady Diabaté | Mali | Eh Ya Ye | Kassi Kasse: Mande Music From Mali | Narada World | 2002
Aboubakar Traoré & Balima | Burkina Faso-Mali-Belgium | Gnani | Gnani / Turamagan - Single | Zephyrus | 2024
Gnonnas Pedro Et Ses Dadjes | Benin | Dadje Von O Von Non | The Band Of Africa Vol. 3 | African Songs Ltd. | 1977
Dogo Du Togo & The Alagaa Beat Band | Togo-USA | Zonva | Avoudé | We Are Busy Bodies | 2024
T.P. Orchestre Poly-Rythmo De Cotonou | Benin | Aiha Ni Kpe We (edit) | The Albarika Story | Acid Jazz | 2024-1978
Jupiter Bokondji & Okwess International | RD Congo | Bana Ya Congo | Man Don't Cry | Label Kinoise | 2006
Staff Benda Bilili | RD Congo | Kuluna (Gangs) | Bouger Le Monde! | Crammed | 2012
Kin'Gongolo Kiniata | RD Congo | Liseki Te | Liseki Te - Single | Helico | 2024
Paradise Bangkok Molam International Band | Thailand-England UK | Roob Lor Pu Tai | 21st Century Molam | Studio Lam | 2014
Dengue Fever | USA-Cambodia | No Sudden Moves | The Deepest Lake | Tuk Tuk | 2015
The Bombay Royale | Australia-India | Mauja | Run Kitty Run | HopeStreet | 2017
Leenalchi | South Korea | Watch Your Step | Lesser Gods And Chimeras EP | Hike | 2024
Cem Karaca | Turkey | Peynir Gemisi | Bekle Beni | Turkishvinyl | 2024-1982
Umut Adan | Turkey-Italy | Bembeyaz Cananım | Bahar | Riverboat | 2019
Aylin's Soulgarden | Germany | Bu Bir Demdir | Bu Bir Demdir | CPL-Muzik | 2024
Barış Manço | Turkey | Kirpiklerin Ok Ok Eyle | Dunden Bugune … | Sayan | 1971
Elia Kalkoff | USA-Greece | Chanakale | Complete Recordings Of The Macedonian Band Of Fort Wayne, Indiana ca. late 1940s | Canary | 2024-194x
Kočani Orkestar | North Macedonia | L'Orient Est Rouge | L'Orient Est Rouge | Crammed | 1997
Džambo Aguševi Orchestra | North Macedonia | Čoček Gazda Unikat | Čoček Gazda Unikat - Single | Asphalt Tango | 2021
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