JOSEPH CULTICE
Emerging in the wake of the “Congotronics” movement led by Konono No 1, the Kasai collective have forged a striking kind of primal avant-rock with their trancelike rhythms and distorted electronics since their mind-blowing debut album a dozen years ago. The programming and production have grown more sophisticated over the years but the description is relative – Black Ants… still throbs with the same intricate polyrhythms played on distorted thumb pianos over gritty vocals with lyrics based on Congolese myths and proverbs. From the hypnotic opener “Kasai Munene” to the upbeat closer “Allstars All Around” with its spiralling soukous guitars, this is celebratory music-making at its most joyously instinctual.