Kasai Allstars

Kasai Allstars

Kasai Allstars is a collective from Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It revolves around 25 musicians based in the city and is formed from members of five bands: Lusombe Madimba, Tandjolo, Dibua Dietu, Basokin and Masanka Sankayi.

The group brings together musicians from five ethnic groups: the Luba, Songye, Lulua, Tetela and Luntu. Their work develops from musical traditions that have often been treated as incompatible, with the collective combining these different styles, languages and instruments into a shared project.

Music and style

Kasai Allstars play rock rooted in Congolese traditions. Their music combines acoustic instruments, electric guitars, distorted thumb pianos with DIY amplification and vocal parts. It also uses a wider range of textures and more complex polyrhythms than Konono N°1, with an approach that links ritual and festive music from the bush with modern amplification and production.

The group’s sound depends on adaptation and invention, since members often create new parts or reshape musical patterns for instruments that do not normally play them. Their recordings are also shaped by their collaboration with producer Vincent Kenis.

Recordings

Kasai Allstars has released two albums: In the 7th Moon, the Chief Turned Into a Swimming Fish and Ate the Head of His Enemy by Magic and Beware The Fetish.

Context

The collective’s repertoire draws on festive and ritual music that was formerly played in the bush and later banned by Europeans, who regarded the dances and trance ceremonies as pagan. Kasai Allstars presents this material through a large-scale ensemble built on collaboration between different regional and ethnic traditions.