Konono N°1 - Konono N°1 Meets Batida (2016)

Congolese vets Konono No. 1 have announced a new collaborative album with Lisbon-via-Angola producer and radio DJ Batida, appropriately titled Konono No. 1 Meets Batida. The album was recorded in Batida’s studio in Portugal and features contributions from a number of African and Afro-influenced musicians and artists.

Says Batida of working with the band: “I remember mixing Konono tunes with beats on my first broadcasts back in 2007. On my first album, the track Tribalismo was definitely inspired by K1’s sound, and at my concerts, I had my own kalimba going through a Big Muff pedal, linked to an amp, looking for a similar K1 effect.”

Konono No. 1 was founded in the 1960s by Mingiedi Mawangu, who trailblazed experimental music in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The band was introduced to a new audience in 2004 with the release of Congotronics and have since influenced artists like Animal Collective, Grizzly Bear and Thom Yorke, as well as worked with Björk and Herbie Hancock. Unfortunately, Mawangu passed away at 85 last April.