Staff Reviews

Various - Tradi-Mods vs Rockers

Review by Michael Wheeler

This brilliant collection becomes more than just a quaint and perfunctory exercise in interpretation, and instead often exists as an enriching ballad to the joys of musical imagination and inspiration.»

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26 artists from the the indie rock and electronic music scenes, have come up with their own personal take on the unique "tradi-modern" music of konono no.1, kasai allstars and other congolese bands who play electrified traditional music. featured artists include prominent us indie bands such as animal collective, deerhoof, andrew bird, megafaun, oneida, portland's au, new york's skeletons and chicago's all, unique personalities such as juana molina, jolie holland and glenn kotche (of wilco), london's mutant pop sensation micachu & the shapes, innovative electronic music producers such as shackleton, optimo and bass clef from the uk, and germany's burnt friedman and mark ernestus (of basic channel and maurizio fame), and many more. these brand-new tracks from a wild mix of artists include covers, reworks and original compositions inspired by the electrifying sounds of congotronics. most of the contributions blur the boundaries between reinventions and covers, reworks and homages. much like its source material, this music is by turns serene, invigoratingly noisy or aimed squarely at open-minded dancefloors yet always intriguing and in some way revelatory: this album pretends to be nothing other than a joyful homage to what has become a true phenomenon of contemporary music.
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