{"product_id":"bantou-mentale","title":"Bantou Mentale","description":"\u003cp\u003eA dark, thundering Kinshasa meets Paris soundworld. Ecstatic vocals, broken beats, subterranean bass, and full-throttle energy. This four-piece group of sonic groundbreakers have delivered a scintillating debut album.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBantou Mentale\u003c\/strong\u003e was born in Chateau Rouge and born out of Matongé. Drummer and song-writer \u003cstrong\u003eCubain Kabeya\u003c\/strong\u003e -- originally from the DRC, now resident in Paris -- has been in or around every big thrill to come out of Kinshasa over the past decade: \u003cstrong\u003eStaff Benda Bilili\u003c\/strong\u003e, \u003cstrong\u003eKonono No.1\u003c\/strong\u003e, \u003cstrong\u003eJupiter \u0026amp; Okwess\u003c\/strong\u003e, \u003cstrong\u003eMbongwana Star\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eGuitarist \u003cstrong\u003eChicco Katembo\u003c\/strong\u003e was part of the \u003cstrong\u003eStaff Benda Bilili\u003c\/strong\u003e story in the early days, before moving to Paris to live with his French mother. Singer \u003cstrong\u003eApocalypse\u003c\/strong\u003e is an ace face on the Parisian Congo scene, an alumnus of the orchestra of \u003cstrong\u003eKoffi Olomide\u003c\/strong\u003e, emperor of contemporary Congolese soukous.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLiam Farrell\u003c\/strong\u003e, aka \u003cstrong\u003eDoctor L\u003c\/strong\u003e, born Irish, raised Parisian, is a musician, composer, and producer with an impressive score sheet that includes \u003cem\u003eAssassin\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eFFF\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003ePsycho on Da Bus\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eTony Allen\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eMbongwana Star\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eBabani Koné\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eNneka\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eLes Amazones d'Afrique\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe \u003cstrong\u003eBantou Mentale\u003c\/strong\u003e sound is neither traditional, nor slave to the all-encompassing tropes of Congolese rumba, nor slick and arty and self-consciously stylish. They're bringing something modern, raw, open to the world. \u003cstrong\u003eLiam\u003c\/strong\u003e and \u003cstrong\u003eCubain\u003c\/strong\u003e have been distilling experimental mashes of electro African beats on-and-off for years, under names like \u003cem\u003eBlack Cowboys\u003c\/em\u003e or \u003cem\u003eNegro-P\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThere are songs like \"\u003cem\u003eZanzibar\u003c\/em\u003e\" and \"\u003cem\u003eSango\u003c\/em\u003e\" that lament the clandestino stuck in the desert, penniless, screwed. And songs like \"\u003cem\u003eChateau Rouge\u003c\/em\u003e\" that celebrate the wild uncertainty, the liberation, the fellowship of the migrant. \"\u003cem\u003eBoko Haram\u003c\/em\u003e\" bemoans the intellectual subservience and social servitude of many Africans, with music that's underpinned by the pulse of the forest and propelled by roughneck riffs and phasing guitars.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\"\u003cem\u003ePapa Jo\u003c\/em\u003e\" pays homage to an old departed friend from Kinshasa who threw the best parties in his ramshackle house. The delicious grime of \"\u003cem\u003eSuabala\u003c\/em\u003e\" hides a story of love, with levels of passion and guitars frolicking in the red. \"\u003cem\u003eBoloko\u003c\/em\u003e\" is slower, more ethereal, with its subversion of the sound of those angelic choirs of \"saved\" little African kids that were the pride of the missionaries.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\"\u003cem\u003eSyria\u003c\/em\u003e\" tells you that there's no future in petrol wars, with music that's strangled, painful, urgent, tragic, with plenty of glorious distortion.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Glitterbeat","offers":[{"title":"Black | LP | x2","offer_id":50464382648651,"sku":"1078073","price":24.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"CD","offer_id":50464382058827,"sku":"1078074","price":14.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/90a85f1f-d2b4-47b0-8b81-5c50b2617200_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727273797","url":"https:\/\/shop.roughtrade.com\/products\/bantou-mentale","provider":"Rough Trade","version":"1.0","type":"link"}