SHOWLIST
July 17 - July 23, 2006
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Sunday, July 23
Maldita Vecindad, Konono No. 1, Daara J - Central Park Summerstage 3PM FREE I’m
so psyched to get a chance to witness Kanono No. 1 that I can barely
contain myself. Hailing from Kinshasa, Congo, Konono’s unique
sound was born almost thirty years ago when their leader, seventy-three
year old Mawangu Mingiedi, built a sound system to amplify his street
band. A master of the likembé, or thumb piano, Mingiedi’s
instrument had difficulty cutting through the sound of the other
singers, percussionists, and general urban street noise. He went
about amplifying his likembé and his band by building pickups
out of car alternator magnets, turning car radios as amps, and putting
the sound through discarded megaphones. His ingenuity didn’t
stop there, Migiedi built hand-made microphones and employed pots
and pans and more car parts as percussion instruments. The resulting
sound, technically polyrhythmic traditional folk music and electronic
music at the same time, is wildly distorted, energetic, trance-inducing,
and, positively unlike anything I’ve ever heard in my life.
I can hardly wait to hear it. And I’d also like to thank John
Henry for hipping me to this... one of my new favorite things. MEDIA: ALSO:
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