JUBILÄUMSKONZERT: KASAI ALLSTARS

Credits

Name: JUBILÄUMSKONZERT: KASAI ALLSTARS

Abstract

The band presents “the hypnotically rhapsodic side of Congolese music”, “offbeat call-and-response cascades that generate an almost otherworldly beauty and suspense”, “a magnificent mix of acoustic and electronic elements”, “raw rhythms and powerful vocals” that “create a powerful energy that will whisk you away” – these are just a selection of the raving reviews received by the Kasai Allstars. With their traditional instruments like the thumb piano, xylophone and drums, alongside rock guitars, synthesisers and distortion pedals, the band creates a truly unmistakable sound that they call Congotronics. All of the musicians are from the Congolese province of Kasai and they previously played in other line-ups before forming this supergroup. And it’s not just their outfits that make them “one of the most innovative bands” in the capital Kinshasa. Their trancelike music is rooted in ritual traditions that were deemed “satanic” by European colonial rulers and Christian missionaries, and which are still demonised as “heathen” in Evangelical churches in the Congo today. Director Alain Gomis, on the other hand, was inspired by the band and their “unbelievable singer” to make his feature film FÉLICITÉ about a bar singer who manages to struggle through life in the Congo thanks to their music.