Konono Nº1

Konono Nº1

Konono Nº1 is a Kinshasa-based musical group from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Active since 1966, it is a Congolese ensemble associated with African music and with a sound built around electric likembé, voices, dancers and percussion.

Style and instrumentation

The group combines three electric likembé, a traditional lamellaphone related to the mbira, with percussion instruments made from salvaged junkyard materials. Its amplification is similarly improvised, including a wooden microphone fitted with a magnet taken from an automobile alternator. This setup produces a distorted, repetitive sound often described as Congotronics.

Formation and early recordings

Konono Nº1 is formed by Mingiedi Mawangu, a likembé player and truck driver. The group itself traces its beginnings to the 1960s, and in November 1978 an ensemble using the name Orchestre Tout Puissant Likembe Konono Nº1 records the track “Mungua-Muanga” for the compilation Zaire: Musiques Urbaines a Kinshasa.

Recognition and collaborations

The group gains notice in North America and Europe through its repetitive Congolese rhythms and DIY approach. It tours both continents and documents this with the 2007 live album Live at Couleur Cafe. Konono Nº1 also collaborates with Björk on her album Volta, and the Dutch rock group The Ex covers one of its songs.

Members

Current and listed members include Mawangu Mingiedi, Augustin Mawangu Mingiedi, Makonda Mbuta, Lulendo Arumba, Nzimbu Kuavita, Dodika Kungu, Duki Makumbu, Mawangu Makuntima, Kanda Mateta, Ndofusu Mbiyavanga, Pauline Mbuka Nsiala, Antoine Ndombele, Vincent Visi and Menga Waku. Augustin Mawangu Mingiedi later serves as band leader, and after his death in 2017 the lead likembé role passes to Makonda, who fronts the group with original singer Menga Waku.