Mbongwana Star - Malukayi (feat. Konono No.1)

The original title for this album was "From Kinshasa to the Moon," and that sounds just about right — this commingling of Congolese street music and electronic sounds is at once earthy and totally futuristic. Anchored by two veterans of the DRC's Staff Benda Bilili (Yakala "Coco" Ngambali and Nsituvuidi "Theo" Nzonzawho) who teamed up with Paris-based Irish producer Liam Farrell, Mbongwana Star lives true to its name: "mbongwana" means "transformation" in the Lingala language. From the album's first single, the hyper-metallic "Malukayi" (featuring Konono Nº1), to the sweat-drenched Congolese rumba of "Shégué" and the dance floor thrust of "Nganshé," you hear the band's metamorphic power throttling straight into the fringes of the great beyond. —Anastasia Tsioulcas, US National Public Radio.