DIGRESSING IN THE CRATES | Kokoko! – Likolo – Transgressive Records

A truly contemporary post. About someone who’s been on our radar for quite some time and every time he seems to slip out of of sight he makes an even bigger blip right in the middle. This time with KOKOKO!, a collective born in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, best known for creating instruments by re-wiring and up-cycling materials such as metal, cans, engine parts and plastic containers found in Kinshasa’s streets and creating contemporary music with that. Live they are an energy shot straight into your veins. A must see. Débruit will be easy to spot, being the only white guy on stage. If you’re skin colour blind, he’s the one wearing the pink bonnet.

We’ve been pumping “Likolo” in all our sets lately but we don’t mind playing more of them in one session. There’s somthing for every mood and tempo on the album.

KOKOKO! isn’t Débruit’s first venture into electronic African(-themed) beats. The dance floor gem below is another track of his that has featured on our heavy rotation list.

This track can be found on his Spatio-Temporel EP released by the French Musique Large. A label we followed closely back in our 22tracks/beats and the way we discovered his music. After a stint in London he came to Brussels and we even welcomed him at our Bedroom Beats night at Bonnefooi. Not as a performing artist but as an interested listener. Earning even more of our respect. 🙂

In the meantime he kept producing fine music and exploring the African continent. As shows this track with Alsarah, a Sudanese singer, from the “Aljawal الجوال” album they released together on the mighty Soundway label.

To close this post another one of our favourites. One that made a blip when Juke made a fuss, as other tracks on the “From The Horizon” album hint to. This one proving his influences come from all directions.

Anyway, let the KOKOKO! album be a stepping stone to the rest of the man’s oeuvre, if you’re not yet familiar with it. It’s well worth the trip.