This Week's Picks (#8)

Please enjoy this week's picks and don't forgot to submit your favorite tracks for our "Wednesday's Reader Picks" series! 

"Messe Messe" by Gregor Salto and Mokoomba
 
Mokoomba, the winners of the Music Crossroads InterRegional Festival (IRF) in 2008, are from Zimbabwe and proudly present the Tonga people. The name Mokoomba even stems from the respect that the Tonga have for the Zambezi river and the group sings in Tonga which is a lesser known Zimbabwean language. In this track, Mokoomba work together with the DJ Gregor Salto from Holland. Mokoomba is known for fusing indigenous Tonga instruments with more popular instruments like guitar and keyboards to make a danceable fusion as is easy to hear in this track.
(Reviewed by Alexandra) 


"Lufuala Ndonga" by Konono No1 

Staying with Africa, we move to the Congo and the track "Lufuala Ndonga" from the album Congotronics. Konono No1 has recently seen some fame due to their newest album, Assume Crash Position, but this track is a great one from their 2004 album, Congotronics. Konono No1 began in the 1980s as a group of likembe (thumb piano) players. They soon discovered that they would need amplification in order for their instruments to be heard and made their own DIY amplification. This became the essence of their sound. As you can hear in this track, their distorted amplified sound is an aesthetic that makes this group something special. 
(Reviewed by Alexandra) 


"Kokeiro" by Marksheider Kunst 

When you listen to the track you may not realize, but Marksheider Kunst hails from St. Petersburg Russia. This track is from the 2003 album Na Svyazi. Known for their their upbeat, danceable music, they were asked how a band from Russia could play such sunny music, and Marksheider responded "Exactly because we don't get enough sun, warmth and light, we have to compensate this. Drugs are not a solution in the long run - music is."1  
(Reviewed by Alexandra)