From Kinshasa is the debut studio album by Congolese band Mbongwana Star, released on May 19, 2015 on World Circuit.
| From Kinshasa | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Studio album by | |
| Released | May 19, 2015 |
| Length | 47:30 |
| Label | World Circuit |
| Producer |
|
Background
editThe album's title was originally planned to be From Kinshasa to the Moon: "But World Circuit, with their English not being very strong, didn’t really catch that part! But a lot of the press are taking it on now, so I phoned [World Circuit] to say that they really shouldn’t have changed the title as it conveys the idea that your preconceptions about music from certain places might not be quite right. It’s from a city where you wouldn’t imagine that you’d find all these artists. The guy on the cover is a performance artist and there are tons of people in the city making incredible punky art. Kinshasa’s very good for that, there’s a big artistic subculture and people are instinctive in the way they work."[1]
Critical reception
edit| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 88/100[2] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [3] |
| Clash | 8/10[4] |
| Drowned in Sound | 10/10[5] |
| The Guardian | [6] |
| The Irish Times | [7] |
| musicOMH |  [8] |
| NME | 9/10[9] |
| Record Collector | [10] |
| Spin | 9/10[11] |
| Uncut | 8/10[12] |
From Kinshasa received widespread critical acclaim upon its release. It holds a weighted mean of 88 out of 100 from Metacritic, based on 13 critics,[2] while on another aggregate site AnyDecentMusic?, it holds an 8.6 out of ten, also a weighted average.[13]
Alexis Petridis of The Guardian gave a five-star review of From Kinshasa, describing the album as "like arriving in a bustling, unfamiliar city, a very long way from home: a gripping mix of excitement, apprehension and sensory overload."[6] In his ten-out-of-ten review for Drowned in Sound, Tristan Bath called it "a really classic record for the ages", honoring it as a turning point for music released by African artists.[5] Spin scored the album a nine out of ten, saying that it contributes new aspects in urban music.[11]
Reviewing the album for AllMusic, Paul Simpson stated that, "Though the title is accurate, it undersells how expansive and otherworldly the group's music is; the atmospheric production and cosmic synth textures do make it seem like they're beaming their music into outer space."[3] Concluding the review for Clash Magazine, Nick Annan wrote, "This collision of worlds adds a dystopian edge to the sonic battlefield, the lilting high-life guitars chiming amidst a juggernaut of deep bass, saturated percussion and ravaged european electronics. The enforced progression from Staff Benda Bilili to Mbongwana Star might've been a loss to some but this new incarnation of Ngambali and Nzonza's muse confidently steps outside the sometimes rather cozy confines of 'world' music and into the 21st Century."[4] In the assessment of the album for Record Collector Paul Bowler wrote, "Mbongwana Star concoct an abrasive sound barrage of heavily distorted rumba grooves, here accompanied by post-punk guitar slashings. Channelled through Farrell’s electro blender on the likes of Nganshe, Masobele and the jaw-droppingly brilliant single Malukayi, it becomes a modernised, starkly original strain of dub that suggests fresh tributaries for a rapidly evolving music."[10]
From Kinshasa appeared on of End-of-Year and End-of-Decade lists for a number of publications, including NPR Music's and Rolling Stone's favorite albums of the first half of 2015.[14][15]
Track list
edit| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "From Kinshasa to the moon" | 2:24 |
| 2. | "Shégué" | 5:17 |
| 3. | "Nganshé" | 6:13 |
| 4. | "Masobélé" | 3:51 |
| 5. | "Coco Blues" | 5:39 |
| 6. | "Malukayi" | 6:00 |
| 7. | "Suzanna" | 4:32 |
| 8. | "Kimpala Pala" | 4:28 |
| 9. | "Kala" | 4:04 |
| 10. | "1 million c'est quoi?" | 5:02 |
References
edit- ^ Hulyer, Jake (8 June 2015). "From Kinshasa to the Moon: Mbongwana Star's Doctor L talks Afrobeat and appropriation". Fact. The Vinyl Factory. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
- ^ a b "Reviews for From Kinshasa by Mbongwana Star". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
- ^ a b Simpson, Paul (18 May 2015). "From Kinshasa - Mbongwana Star | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 2 February 2022.
- ^ a b Annan, Nick (16 June 2015). "Mbongwana Star - From Kinshasa". Clash. Music Republic Ltd. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
- ^ a b Bath, Tristan (3 June 2015). "Album Review: Mbongwana Star - From Kinshasa". Drowned in Sound. Silentway. Archived from the original on 5 September 2015. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
- ^ a b Petridis, Alexis (14 May 2015). "Mbongwana Star: From Kinshasa review – thrillingly wrong-footing Congolese music". The Guardian. Guardian Media Group. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
- ^ Wood, Nigel (22 May 2015). "Mbongwana Star: From Kinshasa | Album Review". The Irish Times. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
- ^ Paton, Daniel (28 May 2015). "Mbongwana Star – From Kinshasa". musicOMH. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
- ^ "Five Great Albums That May Have Passed You By This Week". NME. Inspire. 14 July 2015. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
- ^ a b Bowler, Paul. "Mbongwana Star – From Kinshasa". Record Collector. Diamond Publishing. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
- ^ a b Gubbels, Jason (14 August 2015). "SPIN World Report: Mbongwana Star's Congolese Street Music, Fabiano Do Nascimento's Afro-Brazilian Folk Shredding". Spin. SpinMedia. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
- ^ Uncut. June 2015, p.78.
- ^ "From Kinshasa by Mbongwana Star". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
- ^ "NPR Music's 25 Favorite Albums Of 2015 (So Far)". NPR Music. 29 June 2015. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
- ^ "45 Best Albums of 2015 So Far". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media. 16 June 2015. Retrieved 25 August 2015.