Bantou Mentale

This Congolese-French band boasts members previously involved with Konono No 1 and Jupiter & Okwess in collaboration with producer Doctor L, who has worked with the likes of Tony Allen. I was expecting great things when I unwrapped this CD and I was right. With their sound, Bantou Mentale aim to give their live shows ‘the weight and sensory attack of the most visually challenging live rock,’ a happy example of black music taking up sensory space unashamedly. This concept is definitely audible in their recorded material. Glitchy electronics and bubbling, dubby bass lines almost force themselves onto the listener – the groove is such that it makes your face look as if you've smelled something bad.

The opener, ‘Zanzibar’, immediately sets the tone. Eerily layered vocals, by a vocalist aptly named Apocalypse, sing about a clandestine man, stuck penniless in the desert. The five-minute track swirls with crunchy electronics over a pumping groove, embellished by whining electric guitar. Perhaps the catchiest number, ‘Boko Haram’ protests the intellectual and social oppression of many Africans – with heavy dub beats and telephone-EQ vocals keening over sampled, acoustically manipulated xylophone recordings that add a timelessness to otherwise cutting-edge stuff. This album is perfect for blasting out of your windows on a drive through Kinshasa, and it has a crucial social commentary to share.