Kokoko! ★★★★
Butu
TRANSGRESSIVE. CD/DL/LP
Cacophonous nocturnal beats from Kinshasa electro-dance troupe.
Fusing the homespun electronica of fellow countrymen Konono No. 1 with ’90s Jamaican ragga’s shouty vocal, Kokoko!’s name means ‘knock-knock’ in Lingala, and their explosive 2019 debut Fongola exposed the tense energies currently governing the Democratic Republic of Congo’s capital city. At that formative stage, Brittany-born producer Xavier Thomas, AKA Débruit, corralled the sounds of DIY scrap metal instruments, while vocalist Makara Bianko barked political messages shrouded in allegory to avoid incarceration under President Félix Tshisekedi’s regime. This time out, Butu (‘the night’) introduces a little sophistication: after Butu Ezo Ya’s opening sounds of traffic noise, synth riffs weave through Bazo Banga’s glorious clatter, and later bring a house-y sashay to Mokili and Salaka Bien. The street party may have now moved indoors, but it’s hardly a classy joint: Kokoko! again deliver a banging, agitational rave-up that’s impossible to stay a wallflower to.