Congotronics
Encyclopedia
Congotronics is the official debut album by Konono Nº1. It was released in 2004. by Crammed Discs
. It has won the band massive favour in the dance and alternative rock scenes as well as in world music circles and in the North American and European media.
Konono Nº1's Congotronics was also released on vinyl by Canadian label Ache Records, who issued three vinyl pressings of the album: the first included 546 on black and 548 on dark green; the next two were each 1,000 copies on black vinyl.
Congotronics will now also be released on vinyl as part of Crammed Discs
' Congotronics Vinyl Box Set, a limited-edition box containing 5 albums from the Congotronics Series
as well as assorted bonuses.
Konono Nº1's Congotronics was the first volume in the eponymously-titled, ongoing Congotronics series
of albums devoted to electrified traditional music from the Congo, curated and produced by Vincent Kenis
for the Crammed Discs
label. Volume 2 of the Congotronics Series
is the multi-artist Buzz'n'Rumble In The Urb'n'Jungle album (released on CD and video), volume 3 is In The 7th Moon, The Chief Turned Into A Swimming Fish And Ate The Head Of His Enemy By Magic by the Kasai Allstars
collective, and Konono Nº1's 2010 album Assume Crash Position.
, which assigns a normalized
rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has received an average
score of 87, based on 11 reviews.
The album placed 31st in webzine Pitchfork Media
's staff list, "Top 50 Albums of 2005," and in August 2009, "Paradiso" was named the 386th track in their staff list, "The Top 500 Tracks of the 2000s".
Crammed Discs
Crammed Discs is an independent record label whose output blends world music, rock, pop, and electronica. Based in Brussels, Belgium, Crammed was founded in 1980 by Marc Hollander of Aksak Maboul and has since released over 300 albums and 250 singles, working with artists from all over the world...
. It has won the band massive favour in the dance and alternative rock scenes as well as in world music circles and in the North American and European media.
Konono Nº1's Congotronics was also released on vinyl by Canadian label Ache Records, who issued three vinyl pressings of the album: the first included 546 on black and 548 on dark green; the next two were each 1,000 copies on black vinyl.
Congotronics will now also be released on vinyl as part of Crammed Discs
Crammed Discs
Crammed Discs is an independent record label whose output blends world music, rock, pop, and electronica. Based in Brussels, Belgium, Crammed was founded in 1980 by Marc Hollander of Aksak Maboul and has since released over 300 albums and 250 singles, working with artists from all over the world...
' Congotronics Vinyl Box Set, a limited-edition box containing 5 albums from the Congotronics Series
Congotronics series
The Congotronics series is a collection of albums devoted to electrified traditional music from the Congo, curated and produced by Vincent Kenis for the Crammed Discs label....
as well as assorted bonuses.
Konono Nº1's Congotronics was the first volume in the eponymously-titled, ongoing Congotronics series
Congotronics series
The Congotronics series is a collection of albums devoted to electrified traditional music from the Congo, curated and produced by Vincent Kenis for the Crammed Discs label....
of albums devoted to electrified traditional music from the Congo, curated and produced by Vincent Kenis
Vincent Kenis
Vincent Kenis is a Belgian musician and record producer. He was a member of the avant-garde group Aksak Maboul and of The Honeymoon Killers, an experimental rock band...
for the Crammed Discs
Crammed Discs
Crammed Discs is an independent record label whose output blends world music, rock, pop, and electronica. Based in Brussels, Belgium, Crammed was founded in 1980 by Marc Hollander of Aksak Maboul and has since released over 300 albums and 250 singles, working with artists from all over the world...
label. Volume 2 of the Congotronics Series
Congotronics series
The Congotronics series is a collection of albums devoted to electrified traditional music from the Congo, curated and produced by Vincent Kenis for the Crammed Discs label....
is the multi-artist Buzz'n'Rumble In The Urb'n'Jungle album (released on CD and video), volume 3 is In The 7th Moon, The Chief Turned Into A Swimming Fish And Ate The Head Of His Enemy By Magic by the Kasai Allstars
Kasai Allstars
Kasai Allstars are a 25-piece musical collective based in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo. The musicians originally come from five bands, all from the Kasai region, but originating from five different ethnic groups: the Songye, Lulua, Tetela, Luba, and Luntu...
collective, and Konono Nº1's 2010 album Assume Crash Position.
Reception
Initial critical response to Congotronics was positive. At MetacriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, which assigns a normalized
Standard score
In statistics, a standard score indicates how many standard deviations an observation or datum is above or below the mean. It is a dimensionless quantity derived by subtracting the population mean from an individual raw score and then dividing the difference by the population standard deviation...
rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has received an average
Weighted mean
The weighted mean is similar to an arithmetic mean , where instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others...
score of 87, based on 11 reviews.
The album placed 31st in webzine Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...
's staff list, "Top 50 Albums of 2005," and in August 2009, "Paradiso" was named the 386th track in their staff list, "The Top 500 Tracks of the 2000s".
Track listing
External links
- The band's Myspace page
- The band's pages on the site of their label Crammed DiscsCrammed DiscsCrammed Discs is an independent record label whose output blends world music, rock, pop, and electronica. Based in Brussels, Belgium, Crammed was founded in 1980 by Marc Hollander of Aksak Maboul and has since released over 300 albums and 250 singles, working with artists from all over the world...
- The Congotronics mini-page