Aug 9 - KOKOKO!

So happy it's Friday. But not so happy that it's Nikki's last day here. I have to take her to the airport tonight, but her flight isn't until 10pm so we'll be able to have dinner. Plus I'm leaving the office at noon since I have a meeting in the city at 1 and won't come back. So I get most of the day with her, which is nice. And then I'm going home to sit alone and not talk to anyone for the first time in like 3 weeks. That will also be very nice.

For today's music we're heading to Africa. Specifically the Democratic Republic of Congo to listen to KOKOKO!, a new music collective who have just released their first album, Fongola. I have no idea what they are singing about, but I love it. It is super fun. So we'll start off with Likolo, the opening track on the album, which is one of my favorites.





So the band started making music together at block parties, fusing traditional music with electronic elements, thanks to producer Makara Bianko, and then threw in a bunch of dancers. Who are on full display in the videos. And in Azo Toke, I love the masks and costumes. This was actually the first song I heard by them and it instantly caught my attention.





But Azo Toke is still not one of my favorites. My other favorite is probably Tongos'a. So you'll get a third song today.