KOKOKO!
The artful dance music of Congolese collective Kokoko! manifests itself in a genre-averse mix of strange rhythms, lo-fi electronic textures, and relentless grooves all played on a variety of homemade instruments which the band created out of trash from the street and scrap materials. After coming together at a block party in the capital city of Kinshasa, the group began collaborating with French electronic producer Débruit to enhance their sound and began releasing a series of singles in 2017 and 2018 leading up to the release of their full-length debut, Fongola, in 2019.
Although the collective also includes dancers and performance artists, the core of Kokoko! consists of enigmatic vocalist Makara Bianko and instrumentalists Dido Oweke, Boms Bomolo, and Love Lokombe, a trio of scrappy, inventive players who grew up together in the city's Ngwaka neighborhood. Lacking the money and resources to acquire proper instruments, the three friends began inventing their own unique noisemakers out of whatever was available. Single-string guitars were cobbled out of spare wood and tin cans, a vocal talk-box was wired out of an old cassette player, and various bottles, typewriters, and scraps of metal were fashioned into percussion instruments. When they paired up with Bianko and several other local artists at a street party, they created a unique aesthetic that reflected the gritty and politically tumultuous climate of one of Africa's largest cities. When Frenchman Débruit entered the picture, he helped produce the band's sound in the studio, adding an electronic flair and joining Kokoko! as its fifth member. They released their first single, "Tongos'a" in 2017 and followed up with additional tracks "Azo Toke" and "Liboso" over the next year. Their debut album, Fongola, was released globally by the Transgressive label in June 2019. A year later Kokoko! contributed a track called "Bim Bam Bam" to the online video game Grand Theft Auto: The Cayo Perico Heist and in 2021, they issued an all-instrumental mix of Fongola, which showcased their unique homemade instruments.
© Timothy Monger /TiVo
Diskografie
16 Album, -en • Geordnet nach Bestseller
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Fongola
Electronic - Erschienen bei Transgressive am 05.07.2019
Qobuzissime24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Fongola (Instrumentals)
Alternativ und Indie - Erschienen bei Transgressive am 05.02.2021
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Donne Moi
Electronic - Erschienen bei Transgressive am 01.10.2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Liboso
Alternativ und Indie - Erschienen bei Transgressive am 07.12.2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tokoliana
Alternativ und Indie - Erschienen bei Transgressive am 30.06.2017
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bim Bam Bam (From Grand Theft Auto Online: The Cayo Perico Heist)
Electronic - Erschienen bei Rockstar Games am 18.12.2020
24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo -
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Tongos'a
Alternativ und Indie - Erschienen bei Transgressive am 20.10.2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Azo Toke
Alternativ und Indie - Erschienen bei Transgressive am 06.07.2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Malembe
Alternativ und Indie - Erschienen bei Transgressive am 20.03.2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Remixes
Alternativ und Indie - Erschienen bei Transgressive am 22.06.2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo