Kin'Gongolo Kiniata
DR CONGO
Kin'Gongolo Kiniata
🇨🇩
Kin'Gongolo Kiniata 🇨🇩
“One person’s trash,” indeed! Master upcyclers from Kinshasa, Kin'Gongolo Kiniata draw on the frenetic energy of Kinshasa’s streets to produce their own experimental Afro-punk rumba. Their seriously funky grooves are created by an impressive arsenal of jury-rigged percussion and stringed instruments ingeniously assembled from discarded plastic bottles, household items, and more, electrified, producing dance music that sounds like it could have been made with the latest technology.
The band’s name, “the sound that crushes,” comes from the sound of itinerant oil-sellers who bang the metal containers used as light sources during power outages. It’s a fitting name, given the powerful music created from their ingenious repurposing of the things folks have thrown away, alongside the darkness they crush with lyrics preaching hope and perseverance, paying tribute to itinerant workers, rebelling against the war in Congo, and encouraging the young people of Kinshasa.
A statement of the state of affairs from Kinshasa to Kitchener, the band reminds us that humanity is not only facing a serious issue with regards to our lifestyles, but that music holds a key to reimagining the possibilities of what to do about it. Since their European debut at the essential discovery festival Les Trans Musicales de Rennes in 2022, they have been crushing stages across Europe,, with a debut EP and full-length recording now available.
