Staff Benda Bilili is the latest group of pre-apocalyptic West African rockers to be discovered by Vincent Kenis, the Belgian musician-producer behind the distorted Congotronic voodoo of Konono No. 1. Staff Benda Bilili plays an acoustic version of the mellow rumba grooves popular in the band's Congo homeland since the 1950s. And no, that's not a beautiful screaming electric guitar you hear, but rather the sound of teenaged band member Roger Landu's own invention, consisting of a length of electrical wire stretched between a small wooden bow and a tin can. The group's secret ingredient, Roger's "satongé" adds peppery fire to the dulcet harmonies of the group's four middle-aged paraplegics.

Recorded with hijacked electricity amid the nocturnal insect ambience of these disabled and homeless local heroes 'residence, the zoological gardens on the outskirts of downtown Kinshasa, Trés Trés Fort (Very Very Strong/Loud) is one testament to the power of will over adversity that truly testifies (and not only in the funky hunk of "Sex Machine" that finds its way into "Je T'Aime"). In the Buena Vista Social soukous of "Moto Moindo," juju guitar funk of "Staff Benda Bilili," and elsewhere, the group exhorts audiences in the band's Yenzi dialect to,… read more »