Mingiedi, Konono n°1 is slowly attaining legendary status in Europe, but how did it start all these years ago?
Mawangu Mingiedi (band leader/likembe): "The music that forms the basis for what we do with Konono I inherited from my parents. I've been playing the likembe (musical instrument consisting of a wooden board to which staggered metal keys have been attached, usually classified as part of the lamellaphone family, red.) since I was still a child. My father also used to play the instrument, and one day, I found one of his likembes lying around and started to fiddle with it. The sound of Konono really developed by accident; I wanted to electrify my likembe and, because I didn't have the financial means to do this in a professional way, I just had to make do with parts I found left and right. The music we play is based on traditional music that used to be played on tam-tams and the sanza, a predecessor of the likembe made of a calabash with lamellas made of bamboo."
What's the story behind the Konono name?
Mawangu Mingiedi: "I didn't choose that name myself. Back in the day we performed a song that contained the word "konono" ("konono" means "the stiffness of the body" and the word is used to warn people to be gentle and courteous to their neighbours and peers, if not, no one will be there to massage their stiffening bodies when they die, red. ). In those days, we were still known as L'Orchestre Folklorique Tout Puissant de Mingiedi, but when that song became a hit, people started referring to us as "that group that plays konono". In the end only the Konono part survived."
In the original band name, L'Orchestre Folklorique Tout Puissant de Mingiedi, the "tout puissant" part refers to TP OK Jazz, the band of the legendary Franco.
Aharon Matondo (manager/translator): "Yes, exactly! When I started working with Konono, Luambo Makiadi (Franco, red.) was still playing traditional music himself. Mingiedi and Makiadi met often in those days, in part because Mingiedi also worked as Makiadi's driver from time to time. The name is just an expression of their friendship and the mutual respect between the two musician-friends."
It was Vincent Kenis who brought you guys over to Europe, but how did he discover your music originally?
Aharon Matondo: "Vincent was listening to a French radio station one day, when they suddenly played one of our songs. He was immediately blown away by our sound and absolutely wanted to find out who was behind that music. After contacting the radio station, they put him in contact with Bernard Treton (French ethnomusicologist, red.), the man who made the first recordings of Konono in Kinshasa."
Konono's music is primarily dance music, even trance music perhaps, but what are the songs you perform about?
Aharon Matondo: "The majority of the songs we perform date back from even before the colonial era, so they're really quite old. In those days music was still often used as an educational tool to teach the people something. Often, the songs deal with everyday things or relationships between people."
Apart from the likembes, you also always use two large megaphones on stage.
Aharon Matondo: "Yes, they are actually quite important in the creation of the atypical sound of Konono. If we were to use ordinary speakers, our concerts would sound utterly different. For each concert, Mingiedi tries to emulate the sound he created to the best of his abilities."
Is it difficult to explain that to western sound engineers?
Aharon Matondo: "There are some who tell us off saying: "No, you can't do that like this!" and others who make suggestions to do things differently, but until now none of those has ever worked out for us."
Mingiedi, aren't you afraid that when you're gone, Konono will also disappear?
Mawangu Mingiedi: "No, I don't think Konono will disappear. I inherited this music from my parents and I've initiated one of my sons into the group, so I'm passing my heritage on to him. In life, one has to share what one has learned with others."
Is it still easy to go on tour when one gets to your age? What keeps you going?
Mawangu Mingiedi: "It's my job! When music hits you, it won't ask you your age. If I'll ever feel fatigued, I won't hesitate to take a step back, but for the moment Konono is still my joie-de-vivre!"