A first glimpse at Pierre Laffargue’s musical documentary (currently in production) about Congotronics vs Rockers, which follows the entire process, from the initial encounters between the musicians (Konono N°1, Kasai Allstars, Deerhoof, Juana Molina, Wildbirds and Peacedrums, Matt Mehlan from Skeletons and Hoquets) to shows around Europe and the recording of the album.

of the Congotronics vs Rockers show @Roskilde

http://pitchfork.com/features/articles/7999-roskilde-2011/3/
 
 
Roskilde 2011
by Joe Tangari, posted July 5, 2011
 
Congotronics vs. Rockers (Konono No. 1 & Kasai All Stars with Deerhoof, Wildbirds & Peacedrums, Juana Molina and Skeletons) [Odeon, 11:00 p.m.]
 
After the thunderstorm, large swaths of the festival grounds were covered in mud. It’s a particularly nasty sort, too. First you slip on it, then the suction kicks in and it’s hard to pull your foot back out. I’m assured that the mud in 2007 was much worse, though.
 
I crossed the Odeon Delta for Congotronics vs. Rockers, a massive, 19-member band featuring Juana Molina and members of Konono No. 1, Kasai All Stars, Deerhoof, Wildbirds & Peacedrums, and Skeletons. They had five guitars, two electric likembes, a giant marimba, two basses, seven percussion setups, ranging from full drum kits to a single junkyard cymbal, a keyboard, and a ton of microphones for vocals. Not all of it was always going at once, but it was something to see.
 
It’s inspiring that veteran Congolese bands have been embraced so thoroughly in Western music circles and have returned the embrace. It’s amazing to consider how much they’re challenging themselves creatively after decades of making essentially the same music in Kinshasa. The mud didn’t keep the crowd away, and there was a lot of dancing, both on stage and off. It was the kind of set that makes you feel good about things, and the wide-ranging fusion of rumba, Congolese street rhythm, indie rock, psychedelia, and assorted other genres felt natural— this was much more directly collaborative than the Congotronics vs. Rockers album, and they played songs that will be familiar to fans of the Congotronics series as well as new material that reflected all the creative input coming from different quarters. It was a fantastic set overall, an hour and a half that simply flew by and left a positive charge in the crowd.

appears in Congotronics vs Rockers’ ever-growing collection: after Baila’s tuning saw for the xylophone, here’s Mbiya’s tuning iron for the hand drums!

… used for the 1st time on this tour last Sunday, at Couleur Café festival in Brussels:

A truly great show, which Belgian news magazine Focus Knack described as follows:

” a stunning concert… each of the musicians’ personality was allowed to shine without overshadowing that of the others… the swirling rhythms were unmistakably African but, all in all, this successful clash between tradition and modernity lead to an as-yet-unheard sound, next to which the sound of, say Vampire Weekend, seemed rather pale. Strong.”

Last week, 9 members of the Congotronics vs Rockers ensemble got together for a series of rehearsals, and wrote several new songs. Here’s a brief peek into these sessions, courtesy of TV Brussel.

After the Couleur Café show tomorrow (June 26) in Brussels, the tour starts on June 30!

Congotronics vs. Rockers Live by Crammed Discs

Another video from the premiere in Brussels: originally inspired by their rework of a Kasai Allstars song for the Tradi-Mods vs Rockers album,  Deerhoof’s Super Duper Rescue Heads ended up being seriously congotronized for this show…

Imagine my surprise when I returned to Brussels and received a text message at 10:30pm saying that that not only were we playing as an opening act for Congotronics vs Rockers, but that HOQUETS would be actively participating in four of the concerts that the ensemble had planned, and that rehearsals started at 9am the following morning. 

So first off, a photo of the unlikely reality of the situation: our hoquets on the stage with the other instruments (even I think it is photoshopped !).

Shock soon waned and curiousity took over. What would the project be like and who were the musicians involved?

My investigation started with Mariam as she is the nearest on the stage. We encountered a puzzling heraldic symbol on the comforter that protects her steel drum. Three crowns with the monogram S-F. Many conjectures were made and I am not sure we reached a conclusion, the mystery remains.

I was quickly struck by how Baila tunes his xylophone, I think many of the rockers are (look at other posts)! It was nice to not be the only ones who leave wood shavings on the stage ! Normally due to the nature of our instruments, and the force with which we hit them, there is always a ‘snow of splinters’. Baila either saws off or chips away the wooden slats to change the tone. And his saw came in handy when one of my sticks broke and I needed to make a strait cut to ‘fix’ it.

Shortly after meeting Juana, we engaged in a “stage warming” ritual, where one wears gloves and jacket, and makes an assessment of what needs to be done.

Upon looking at the fire escape plan, we noted a striking resemblance to a “fortress of evil” that was presented in a very popular science fiction film, involving something called “The Force”.

I caught Vincent practicing scales on his fretless bass,

a general rehearsal where Matt and Mariam are singing then the stage with all the musicians except for “special guests”.

At the end of the evening we didn’t know how to open the door which caused for a funny photo opportunity, it soon came to our attention that we had to sneak out of the kitchen. 

The next day was “opening night”


Here is a shot behind Visi and Mbiya, solid playing throughout the concert.

Another sneak photograph, of rehearsals in action.

Here is Deerhoof’s contribution “Super Duper Rescue Head” as seen from the front.
Rehearsal was over, it was now time for the evening to begin…


We found out that Hoquets opening slot was cancelled, so we set up shop in a gallery nearby, François and Maxime get ready to rock.


Then It was time to hit the stage ! Excitement builds ! We are just seconds away from entering on to the stage.

Here is the setlist with cryptic notes that hint at what should be done  and when…


And here is a photo that was taken during the concert at le Cirque Royal.

Backstage, after the concert, Visi and Mbiya, started singing “Hey Hey Tchantchès!” and a wild encore started and we danced. Too busy to take a photo…


Finally a look at our hero Tchantchès, for whom we wrote our contribution to the project. He is a marionette.

I don’t think I can describe the joy of sharing the stage with musicians for whom I have very much respect and appreciation, look at the list of the folks involved! It is a pleasure to share again the stage with friends I have been lucky enough to work with before. And to share this experience with my bandmates.

I am looking forward to Couleur Café, Vieilles Charrues & Paléo. Very excited to see how the project progresses !

-McCloud

Here’s a first video excerpt of the premiere show at Cirque Royal, Brussels.

The song is called “Ambulayi Tshaniye”. Its basic structure was created over the internet, when the musicians were sending ideas back and forth between the US, Argentina, Sweden and the Congo.

The video was filmed and edited by French director Pierre Laffargue, who is working on a feature-length documentary around the Congotronics vs Rockers project.

At Brussels airport, checking in for the flight (or sort of…).

Waiting by the gate.

At Madrid airport: no barriers for disabled, deaf, blind, and happy/sad black/white people?

The stage for the Planeta Madrid festival at Parque Galván.

Satomi helps Baila unpack his xylophone.

Just one more bit of green tape and we’ll be able to start the soundcheck…

John checks his pedals

Walking back to the park’s entrance, Mopero and Satomi see the poster, with McCloud’s photomontage (showing what the band might look like, before all the members had even met in the flesh). Satomi’s telling Juana: “this is a nice dress. You should wear it for the concert!”. Juana answers: “OK, I will…”.

The next morning, sound engineer Etienne and Deerhoof’s Greg (who borrowed Tandjolo’s new hat) are relaxing in front of the hotel, before everyone goes for a long walk through the streets of the city.

When we get to the festival, a huge rain & thunderstom has erupted, the audience has fled, and Lonely Drifter Karen have to play their opening set in front of a few drenched people…

Meanwhile, in the dressing room, Tandjolo is cleaning his shoes…

…Juana is checking with Tshimanga whether she’s got those lyrics right (they’re in tshiluba, a language from Kasai)…

… and Konono’s Menga is trying on the costume he bought today.

When we step onstage, the rain has gone, the audience is back and happy and excited…

…and the show’s just great, much looser and wilder than at the premiere

Can’t wait to get back together again in June!

(pics by Vincent Kenis, Mariam Wallentin & Faustine Hollander)

… in the NME (the leading weekly music paper in the UK)

(the standard compression on tumblr has played strange tricks on this scan… there’s a slightly more legible version here: http://www.crammed.be/index.php?id=7#56…

or here, in the “press” section, bottom left of the page: http://www.crammed.be/index.php?id=45&art_id=179)

Looking back on the rehearsals at Botanique (Brussels), two weeks ago:

Menga, Tshimanga, Mambuyi, Kabongo, Ed, Satomi and Greg

Greg (Deerhoof) + Andreas (Wildbirds & Peacedrums), our twin drummers

Satomi & Mariam discussing an arrangement

Tandjolo and Menga and their new hats

Baila tuning his xylophone (with a saw!)

rehearsing the whistle song

(Below) other scenes which took place inside the (above) gorgeous building of the Botanique (former botanical gardens & greenhouses).

(pics courtesy of Vincent Kenis & Mariam Wallentin)

These 2 weeks of rehearsals + the first two shows have been so intense and so exhilarating that no one has found the time to update this blog… Let’s start with some random snapshots:

Rehearsing at Cirque Royal

Almost everyone is on this rehearsal pic: (anticlockwise from bottom left): François, McCloud & Maxime (Hoquets), Greg, Ed, John & Satomi (Deerhoof), Baila (Kasai Allstars), Vincent Kenis, Tshimanga (Kasai Allstars), Menga (Konono), Matt (Skeletons), Mbiya & Visi (Konono), Tandjolo & Muambuyi (Kasai Allstars), Augustin (Konono), Juana Molina, Mopero (Kasai AS) and Mariam (Wildbirds & Peacedrums)

McCloud (Hoquets), Muambuyi (Kasai Allstars) and the Disco Ball

Backstage in the Galvan park, Madrid

(l to r: John, Ed (Deerhoof), Tshimanga (Kasai Allstars), Mariam (Wildbirds & Peacedrums), Martijn (tour manager), Mopero (Kasai Allstars), and Tandjolo + Baila (Kasai Allstars) in the front.

Satomi, Mopero, John, Ed & Mariam onstage in Madrid.

Juana Molina, Menga (Konono), Tandjolo, Muambuyi and Kabongo (Kasai Allstars), Satomi (Deerhoof) and Mopero (Kasai Allstars).

Visi (Konono), Vincent Kenis, John (Deerhoof) & Tandjolo (Kasai Allstars) going wild…