When Konono No. 1 was introduced to the West on the Congotronics series, its music blew the minds of hardcore Afropop disciples and jaded hipsters alike. It wasn’t just its impeccable sense of melody and rhythm — qualities you can find among innumerable African groups — but the impressive otherworldly tonality of its grooves. Most listeners had never heard anything like it, which is understandable when you consider that the members of Konono No. 1 make their own electrically amplified likembes (thumb pianos) from recycled and/or salvaged materials, then back them with a traditional rhythm section. The result is a combination of progressively energetic Hendrixesque melodic distortion and deeply Central African sensibilities — sort of a post-futuristic take on contemporary African music. Imagine how great it’ll sound at the spacious Great American Music Hall Saturday, April 28. DJ Jeremiah, aka Mr. Afrobeat, opens. 9 p.m., $20. MusicHallSF.com
FOLLOW US
