After a notable appearance at FIJM, Fulu Miziki Kolektiv filled the Balattou to the brim and fulfilled their mission: to set the place on fire! The buzz was more than tangible for this most recent Kinshasa outfit to invade the Nuits d’Afrique with an armada of invented instruments and costumes.
Recovered lutherie has become a trademark for street music in Kinshasa, with groups such as Staff Benda Bilili, Kokoko! and Beta Mbonda becoming famous and fascinating non-African audiences.
Like its predecessors, Fulu Miziki Kolektiv relies essentially on percussion and strings cobbled together from recyclable garbage: plumbing, wood, cans, bits of metal and other odds and ends. Dressed in afro-futuristic disguises also cut from recycled fabrics and ornaments, these self-taught musicians have succeeded in assembling a show full of rhythms, songs, rallying cries, hypnotic electro-inspired motifs and pop hooks reminiscent of Congolese soukouss, but also in tune with the afropop hits radiating across the black continent.
This Fulu Miziki Kolektiv signature is a spectacular extension of urban street music in DR Congo, with new percussive sounds and electric strings that are quite similar to the idea of a bass or guitar – created by the famous Kinshasa luthier Socklo?
From the Ngwaka district of Kinshasa, this Kolektiv suggests a five-block vision: eco-friendly-afro-futuristic-punk. Musics played by warrior artists aware of environmental issues, simple and cohesive, highly energetic and massive. Obviously exotic…
