Kasai Allstars: In the 7th Moon the Chief Turned Into a Swimming Fish and Ate the Head of His Enemy by Magic

A loosely comprised collective of some 25 musicians (not to mention dancers from five different ethnic groups), Kasai Allstars are a Congolese super-group. Much like their peers and labelmates Konono No.1, Kasai Allstars perform Congolese ritual trance music with amplified traditional instruments. But, where Konono No.1 generate a tidal-wave wall of electrified likembe buzzing, Kasai are more nuanced and delicately psychedelic; electric guitar arpeggios tick away quietly in the background while traditional percussion instruments create a syncopated industrial buzz. The compositions ebb and flow, slowly blossoming from single melodies into deeply layered polyrhythms as complex and surreal as the record's title. -Aaron Leitko

http://www.myspace.com/kasaiallstars