Mistletone

Fri 21 Oct: Bachelorette supporting Konono No. 1 @ Forum Theatre. Tickets $40 from Ticketmaster 1300 723 038. Over 18s event only.

For a band that has been playing music since the 1960s, not many people had heard of Congolese street funk outfit Konono No.1 up until a few years ago. But since being plucked from obscurity by the visionary Crammed Discs label in 2005, the members of Konono No.1 – some now in their 70s – have become fixtures on the international touring scene, their improvised, ultrapercussive Congo-tronica style captivating dance floors the world over.

Now, for the first time, Konono No.1 brings their hypnotic crossover musical stylings to Australia, introducing a sound that is almost entirely homemade – with drums, thumb pianos, microphones and even speakers being fashioned from found objects and trash. With their roots in traditional Congolese rhythm and chant but possessing an energy recognisable the world over, Konono No.1’s live shows are dizzying, exultant affairs, with dancers, singers, drummers and virtuosic thumb pianists together spinning an irrepressible junkyard groove.

Described variously as a one-woman Animal Collective and a female Syd Barrett, Bachelorette (AKA Annabel Alpers) is set to transport you with her singular brand of psychedelic computer folk pop, comprising expansive, layered loops and radiant multi-tracked harmonies.

“Deserves a listen by anyone with even the remotest interest in the possibilities of sound.” – Pitchfork