5 Records With Congolese Electronic Duo KOKOKO!

“The night falls quickly in Kinshasa for the city being so near the equator,” Thomas told Discogs. “It gets really dark and still busy around 6:30 pm. So, all the senses come to focus on sounds. You can hear street vendors shouting, distorted megaphone loops talking about SIM card credit, loud moto taxi klaxons. And it’s the time for clubs and churches and bars to switch on power generators for sound systems.

“So on the album,” he continues, “we tried to recreate that intensity, that sense of being overwhelmed. We also recorded the street and pitched Moto’s klaxons into samples and melodies. The distorted sounds and the upbeat music complement all these influences.”

“This record is a beautiful collaboration [between Congolese singer Bony Bikaye, French composer Hector Zazou, and electronic composers CY1] on a mix of moods and synthetic music with vocals from the Democratic Republic of Congo. It’s really forward-thinking and fresh from the 80’s—and still fresh now probably. Crammed Discs is a great record label from Belgium that has released a lot of interesting and adventurous records.”

“[Classic Jamaican dub producer] King Tubby is an influence on our production—our use of spring reverbs and echoes is very influenced by his experimentations. His use of space and layers, and his textures are so interesting. It’s something to get lost in or vibe to while that round bass is warming your chest.”

“[South African] DJ Mujava and in general Kwaito house is an influence too, especially those bass lines. There are Chicago house organs in there, which, in our case, we marry with Congolese rhythms. The synth, the rolling rhythms, and the house influences are all sounds we are fans of, and you can find them in some of our synth presets. The reference is there, but it’s not always direct, so it’s an ingredient that people sometimes identify without being able to tell where it comes from exactly. That’s the goal— a reference, an influence, not a reproduction. It’s always the mix of ingredients that make it original, not one thing on its own.”

“[New York No Wave 80s legends] Liquid Liquid and loopy punk-funk with bells, rolling percussion, and energy is also an influence for us, live and on records. This is something you can find in “Salaka Bien,” [the last track on BUTU], for example—overdriven sounds and echoes on vocals, drums machines marching forward. 

“I remember seeing Liquid Liquid live at a club called Optimo in Glasgow, named after their track. They’re a band you can dance to like a DJ set; they’ve got a repetitiveness that can put you in a trance.”

“This [Crammed Discs] box includes a lot of interesting sounds, collaborations, and links with the Democratic Republic of Congo. There’s Konono No°1’s distorted ikembe and folk songs with beautiful guitars [from Staff Benda Belli].”