Kembo, by KINGDOM MOLONGI

Kembo

by KINGDOM MOLONGI

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Includes unlimited streaming of Kembo via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
Download available in 24-bit/44.1kHz.

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1.	Boya Kotala 05:00	buy track
2.	Tokumisa Nzambe 03:42	buy track
3.	Hosana 02:51	buy track
4.	Esengo Eleki 05:30	buy track
5.	Nzambe Bolingo 03:53	buy track
6.	Volca outi Wapi 03:53	buy track
7.	Emanuel 02:42	buy track
8.	Maloba ya Motema Nangai 04:37	buy track
9.	Obongi 04:48	buy track
10.	Mystic 04:16	buy track

about

Kingdom Molongi - Kembo

Video from Kembo: youtu.be/TpnYYIKJnNo

Prolific Portuguese musician and visual artist Jonathan Uliel Saldanha - of HHY & The Macumbas/The Kampala Unit - might be best known for his noisy, experimental excursions, but he's long been fascinated by the possibilities offered by the human voice. He's already composed a slew of choral pieces, such as 'Khōrus Anima', 'Del' and 'Plethora', and his last, 'Santa Viscera Tua', was an ambitious project for 150 voices. On 'Kembo', he builds on these experiences significantly, examining the commonality and shared spirituality of vocal music alongside the Kingdom Ulfame Choir, a seven-piece Uganda-based group of Congolese singers. The collaboration began at Nyege Nyege's Kampala studio, where Saldanha and the choir took the time to figure out their direction, singing together in an imagined language concocted from elements of Lingala, Swahili, Kikongo and French. Considering pre-linguistic communication, liturgical music and glossolalia (better known as speaking in tongues), their improvisations evolved into trances, with Saldanha's discreet electronic augmentations used only to accent the melodies and harmonies.

This process stands out immediately on opening track 'Boya Kotala' when the group trade poignant solos over Saldanha's aerated choral drones and ominous synthesized bass. The voices are suspended in time, cautiously referencing sacred music but disregarding the expected tropes, leaving hypnotic vapors that gust through the entire suite. 'Tokumisa Nzambe' is remarkably different, adding a brittle electro-acoustic pulse to the choir's tangled phrases that are ornamented with rhythmic chants and layered melodic outbursts. "Hallelujah," they repeat on 'Hosana', reaching back to familiar praise songs and building to a jubilant crescendo of voices. And later, on 'Nzambe Bolingo', the group's impassioned recitations are threaded through chopped, percussive vocalizations and exhalations. Taking a brief breather, Kingdom Molongi's words coalesce into a calming lullaby on the hushed 'Emanuel', and their appreciation of classic soul and gospel fizzes to the surface on 'Maloba ya Motema Nangai' with virtuosic wordless phrases that speak to the roots of the music, not its contemporary application.

'Kembo' is an album that investigates not just the mutability of language itself, but time, wondering how words and themes are reshaped as they tumble through history, picking up influences from various folk traditions, idiosyncratic pop forms and diverse quasi-religious expressions. Most of all though, Kingdom Molongi manage to highlight the enduring relationship between the voice and the spirit, and the transformative power of choral music.

credits

released March 28, 2025

Written by Kingdom Molongi & Jonathan Uliel Saldanha
Produced, Recorded & Mixed by Jonathan Uliel Saldanha
Mastered by Matthias Heinstein
Vinyl Master by Declared Sound
Floral Arrangment by PO
Cover Artwork by Jonathan Uliel Saldanha

Kingdom Molongi are Nguzuma Alain Lokana, Esther Nyota Binzenze, lilenga Meme Jacques, Clariss Ngoy, Gauis Kubuya, Nathalie Edri Anguzu & Nguzuma Maurice David.

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Nyege Nyege Tapes Kampala, Uganda

Nyege Nyege Tapes is a Kampala based label exploring, producing and releasing outsider music from around the region and beyond.

We fulfill orders twice weekly, so most items will be shipped out within 3-5 days of your order being placed, with tracking provided automatically. We ship all records in whiplash mailers with extra cardboard protection.

For bookings email tapes@nyegenyege.com ... more

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