THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Kin’Gongolo Kiniata are a vital new voice of Congolese music, upending lyrical traditions and offering a potent and thrilling new take on Kinshasa rumba, with handcrafted percussion from found street objects providing the band’s rhythmical power Their debut album Kiniata is a call for peace, social justice and dignity for the Congolese people.
Belying their country’s mainstream musical and lyrical traditions, the band don’t hesitate in telling it like it is, eschewing songs about love and torment. Instead they sing about the decades-long civil war, the scourge of homelessness in corruptly managed cities, and crucially, social justice and the desire for change.
The name Kin’Gongolo Kiniata, which means “the crushing sound,” refers to the noise that was heard when oil sellers would walk the streets during power cuts in Kinshasa in the 2000s. The sellers would carry the clanging metal containers that would provide an alternative source of light, thus relief, and now that sound provides the perfect metaphor for the group’s own sound, that is created with instruments handmade from recycled materials, plates, scrap metal, plastic bottles and more.
Touched by the philosophy and sound of peers before them, Congolese bands like Konono Nº1 and Staff Benda Bilili, the band consist of four singers. There is Leebruno, who plays a homemade metal percussion instrument; Mille Baguettes on drums; Ducap, who plays an instrument made of plastic bottles and has recorded with Konono Nº1; and Djino on a shortened two-string bass. Completing the group is Bébé Mingé on harp, one-string guitar and backup vocals. Armed with their arsenal of self-made percussion and stringed instruments, this outsider group came together in 2019, having met via Bebson de la Rue, a Congolese artist and instrument maker.
“We rehearsed for three years four times a week,” they say. “We would have liked to play everywhere in Kinshasa but we didn’t have enough support. The first trigger was meeting a member of the Moonshine Canada collective. He invited us to a boiler room-type event in the centre of Kinshasa. Then we recorded a few tracks in the studio where we met a French producer who put us in contact with our record label.” Since the band’s emergence, there has been no rush or hurry, indeed it’s five years since the journey began, with handful of singles under their belt and a solid live presence across Europe.
This debut album stands out not only for its sonic originality but also for the engagement present in its lyrics and the messages carried by the group. Through songs that address themes such as homelessness, war, and survival, Kin’Gongolo Kiniata express a deep need for recognition and social justice while celebrating the radical resilience of the Kinois spirit. The songs convey an urgent desire for change while celebrating the vital energy of Kinshasa’s people. This commitment, present in every note and every word, gives the album a deeply political and emotional dimension. By blending Kinshasa’s urban rhythms with contemporary influences, Kiniata paves a new path for Congolese music. This debut opus is a declaration of artistic intent and a testament to the power of music and art to transform reality, making the soul of Kinshasa resonate throughout the world.”
