|
Konono Nº1
Konono Nº1 is a musical group from Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo. They are known for their DIY aesthetic, combining electric likembé (a traditional instrument similar to the mbira) with vocals, dancers, and percussion instruments that are made out of items salvaged from a junkyard. The group's amplification equipment is equally rudimentary, including a microphone carved out of wood fitted with a magnet from an automobile alternator and a gigantic horn-shaped amplifier. The genre of the band's music has been characterized as difficult to classify; the group themselves have classified their music under the labels of "tradi-modern" and "Congotronics". Konono Nº1 achieved international recognition around 2004, with the release of their album ''Congotronics'' through the Crammed Discs record label. Appealing to fans of rock and electronic music, they played at the Eurockéennes festival in France the following year. They collaborated with Björk for a song on he ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kinshasa
Kinshasa (; ; ln, Kinsásá), formerly Léopoldville ( nl, Leopoldstad), is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Once a site of fishing and trading villages situated along the Congo River, Kinshasa is now one of the world's fastest growing megacity, megacities. The city of Kinshasa is also one of the DRC's Provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, 26 provinces. Because the administrative boundaries of the city-province cover a vast area, over 90 percent of the city-province's land is rural in nature, and the urban area occupies a small but expanding section on the western side. Kinshasa is Africa's third-largest metropolitan area after Cairo and Lagos. It is also the world's largest nominally Francophone urban area, with French being the language of government, education, media, public services and high-end commerce in the city, while Lingala is used as a ''lingua fr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Assume Crash Position
''Assume Crash Position'' is the second album by the Congolese musical group Konono Nº1, and the fourth volume in the group's ''Congotronics'' series, released by Crammed Discs. Reception Thom Jurek, in his review of the album for AllMusic, wrote that, for fans of Konono N°1, "''Assume Crash Position'' is a necessary addition to the catalog. For the intrigued, this is an excellent starting point." Chris Martins of ''The A.V. Club'' gave the album a grade of "A−", noting that, despite the band's collaborations with such artists as Björk and Herbie Hancock, the album features "guest appearances not from their international cadre of high-profile fans, but from their friends in Kinshasa." Martins concludes that, after "so many 10-minute epics", the more stripped-down production of the final track on the album, "Nakobala Lisusu Te", " ffersa glimpse into the soul of the band, which thankfully has been resistant to change." Douglas Wolk of ''Pitchfork'' wrote that the album fea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vincent Kenis
Vincent Kenis is a Belgian musician and record producer. He was a member of the avant-garde group Aksak Maboul (Onze Danses Pour Combattre la Migraine, 1977) and of The Honeymoon Killers (Belgian band), The Honeymoon Killers, an experimental rock band (Les Tueurs de la Lune de Miel, 1982). As a musician, he also collaborated with Congolese artists such as OK Jazz's Franco Luambo Makiadi (La Réponse de Mario, 1988) and Papa Wemba (La Vie est belle, 1989). Closely associated with Belgian label Crammed Discs since its inception, both as an in-house producer and an A&R, he co-produced the semina''Noir et Blanc''album by Zazou Bikaye (with Hector Zazou and Bony Bikaye, 1983), one of the first albums which blended electronic and African music. He produced the first album by a cappella band Zap Mama, and several albums by Balkan Gypsy bands Taraf de Haïdouks and Kocani Orkestar, while also being involved in the sonic design of many Crammed releases, including albums by Tuxedomoon, Cibe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Groningen
Groningen (; gos, Grunn or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen province in the Netherlands. The ''capital of the north'', Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of the northern part of the country; as of December 2021, it had 235,287 inhabitants, making it the sixth largest city/municipality of the Netherlands and the second largest outside the Randstad. Groningen was established more than 950 years ago and gained city rights in 1245. Due to its relatively isolated location from the then successive Dutch centres of power ( Utrecht, The Hague, Brussels), Groningen was historically reliant on itself and nearby regions. As a Hanseatic city, it was part of the North German trade network, but later it mainly became a regional market centre. At the height of its power in the 15th century, Groningen could be considered an independent city-state and it remained autonomous until the French era. Today Groningen is a universi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Enormous Door
''Enormous Door'' is an album by Dutch post-punk band The Ex and Brass Unbound, a quartet of horn players hailing from four different countries. The album was released in 2013 on The Ex's own label, comprising reworked versions of previously released songs and alongside entirely new material. Background Emerging as an anarchist punk rock quartet in 1979, The Ex began to frequently work with jazz musicians within their first decade. Their 1989 album '' Joggers and Smoggers'', 1995's ''Instant'', and the singles series the band released in 1991 and 1992 featured extensive collaborations with members of the Dutch free jazz ensemble Instant Composers Pool (ICO), and 2001's ''Een Rondje Holland'' presented a larger horn section as part of the band's Ex Orkest. As the band developed their repertoire into the 21st century, they turned their attention to Ethiojazz and were backing Addis Ababa saxophonist Getachew Mekurya on world tours and for his 2006 album ''Moa Anbessa'' with Fre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Turn (The Ex Album)
''Turn'' is a double album by Dutch anarchist post-punk band The Ex. After 20 years of working with Luc, their former bass guitarist, ''Turn'' is the only Ex album to feature double bass player Rosemarie giving the band a sound akin their prior work with cellist Tom Cora. In tandem with The Ex's drummer Katrin, Rosemarie also contributed significant female vocal harmonies to the album. The album received critical acclaim and has been singled out by many publications as the band's best album yet. Background & Recording ''Turn'' displays the influence of African rhythms and melodies on the band's music. On "Theme From Konono" The Ex's guitars imitate amplified thumb pianos in tribute to the Congolese percussion group Konono Nº 1 who had toured Europe with The Ex. "Getatchew" pays tribute to Ethiopian Saxophone legend Getatchew Mekuria with whom The Ex would later record an album. ''Turn'' also features The Ex playing the Eritrean revolutionary song "Huriyet" set to a t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Ex (band)
The Ex are an underground band from the Netherlands that formed in 1979 at the height of the original punk explosion. Initially known as an anarcho-punk band, they have since released over 20 full-length albums exploring a wide variety of genres, blending punk rock with free jazz and folk music from all over the world. Biography The Ex's music has undergone significant evolution over the years from their beginnings as a punk band. Founded by singer Jos Kley (better known as G.W. Sok), guitarist Terrie Hessels, drummer Geurt and bassist René, the band debuted with a song titled "Stupid Americans" on the ''Utreg-Punx'' vinyl 7" compilation released by Rock Against records in Rotterdam. The release of their first 7" ''All Corpses Smell the Same'' followed shortly after that, in 1980. Through the decades their music has gradually developed into its current form of highly intricate, experimental punk/post-punk/ no wave-inspired work. Expanding beyond punk rock, The Ex have in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Compilation Album
A compilation album comprises tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several performers. If by one artist, then generally the tracks were not originally intended for release together as a single work, but may be collected together as a greatest hits album or box set. If from several performers, there may be a theme, topic, time period, or genre which links the tracks, or they may have been intended for release as a single work—such as a tribute album. When the tracks are by the same recording artist, the album may be referred to as a retrospective album or an anthology. Content and scope Songs included on a compilation album may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several performers. If by one artist, then generally the tracks were not originally intended for release together as a single work, but may be collected together as a greatest hi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
DR Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in Central Africa. It is bordered to the northwest by the Republic of the Congo, to the north by the Central African Republic, to the northeast by South Sudan, to the east by Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi, and by Tanzania (across Lake Tanganyika), to the south and southeast by Zambia, to the southwest by Angola, and to the west by the South Atlantic Ocean and the Cabinda exclave of Angola. By area, it is the second-largest country in Africa and the 11th-largest in the world. With a population of around 108 million, the Democratic Republic of the Congo is the most populous officially Francophone country in the world. The national capital and largest city is Kinshasa, which is also the nation's economic center. Centered on the Congo B ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Uíge Province
Uíge (pronunciation: ; kg, Wizidi) is one of the eighteen Provinces of Angola, located in the northwestern part of the country. Its capital city is of the same name. History During the Middle Ages, the Uíge Province was the heartland of the Kongo Kingdom. The Bakongo North and South of the Kongo river were all part of this Kingdom, a centralized monarchy which for given periods of time also dominated part of the Ambundu further to the South. The kings lived in the city of M'banza-Kongo which had a population of about 50,000 in the 16th century. Knowledge of metallurgy among the Bakongo was renowned; their king was even called the “Blacksmith King”. Their reign was first strengthened by the arrival Portuguese priests who lived at the king's court and taught religion as well as literacy; the interaction with the Portuguese stronghold of Luanda was rather marginal for a long time. Things changed when the Portuguese started to conquer and occupy the hinterland in the 19th ce ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mbira
Mbira ( ) are a family of musical instruments, traditional to the Shona people of Zimbabwe. They consist of a wooden board (often fitted with a resonator) with attached staggered metal tines, played by holding the instrument in the hands and plucking the tines with the thumbs (at minimum), the right forefinger (most mbira), and sometimes the left forefinger. Musicologists classify it as a lamellaphone, part of the plucked idiophone family of musical instruments. In Eastern and Southern Africa, there are many kinds of mbira, often accompanied by the hosho, a percussion instrument. It is often an important instrument played at religious ceremonies, weddings, and other social gatherings. The "Art of crafting and playing Mbira/Sansi, the finger-plucking traditional musical instrument in Malawi and Zimbabwe" was added to the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2020. A modern interpretation of the instrument, the kalimba, was commerciall ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Angola
, national_anthem = "Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = Portuguese , languages2_type = National languages , languages2 = , ethnic_groups = , ethnic_groups_ref = , ethnic_groups_year = 2000 , demonym = , government_type = Unitary dominant-party presidential republic , leader_title1 = President , leader_name1 = João Lourenço , leader_title2 = Vice President , leader_name2 = Esperança da CostaInvestidura do Pre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
