Over two dozen musical artists, including Animal Collective, Deerhoof, and Andrew Bird, provide their takes on the modern music of the Congo via the double-disc Tradi-Mods vs Rockers.
The 26 acts were approached for the collection by Crammed Discs, the label responsible for bringing the amplified African street music that would become known as Congotronics to Western audiences. Each group tackles a track by Congolese artists such as Konono Nº1 and Kasai Allstars, creating a mashup, cover song, or entirely new composition in the process.
The result is a truly modern musical culture collision that represents the best of both worlds, putting a new spin on old sounds, while creating a new sound of its own.
Listen to samples from the collection, get a free download of “Travel Broadens the Mind” by Deerhoof vs Kasai Allstars, read Pitchfork’s 8.1 review of the release, learn more about Congotronics, and buy a copy
of your own.