This Konono N°1 And Batida Song Is A Massage For Your Gray Matter

“Um Nzonzing” is taken from the Congolese band and Portuguese producer’s collaborative album, to be released by Crammed Discs.

March 09, 2016

Legendary Congolese band Konono N°1 has collaborated with Portuguese producer Batida on a new LP quite simply called Konono N°1 Meets Batida. It follows the passing of founder Mingiedi Mawangu at the age of 85 last year; his son Augustin Makuntima Mawangu has led the band for the past few years. Album standout "Um Nzonzing" whips up a whirlpool of percussive elements: metallic, wooden, electronic, vocal, drum skin, and air. To listen is to lose yourself; it's a massage for your gray matter.

"The title of the song, 'Um Nzonzing,' includes a word in Portuguese, Batida's language: 'um' meaning 'a,'" Konono N°1 leader Augustin Makuntima Mawangu told The FADER over email. "And a word in our Kinshasa slang, 'nzonzing,' which refers to a musical activity that is performed outside the regular framework. This really summarizes the album in a nutshell. After our exciting adventures with the Congotronics vs Rockers live project (in which we worked with Deerhoof, Juana Molina, etc), we were eager to do a full album in collaboration with a rock or electronic music artist, and working with Batida was a great experience. This song is a great example of how we blended our respective rhythms and sounds."

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Belgian label Crammed Discs will release Konono N°1 Meets Batida on April 29 (pre-order here).

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This Konono N°1 And Batida Song Is A Massage For Your Gray Matter