In the hard dance scene that has been emerging lately, Melika Ngombe Kolongo has earned a place as Nkisi. An artist with a peripheral vision, the Congo-born but London-based DJ and producer evokes the past of the African diaspora intertwined with the promised future of techno. In a way, the dystopian world she has created is strangely familiar to us. The creator of the NON collective is one of the most active voices of the moment – and did not go unnoticed by Lee Gamble who invited her to record an album on his UIQ label.
Thus was born the phenomenal “7 Directions”, almost three years ago, but still a kind of modern artifact. Polyrhythmia clashing with minimalism, darkness with neon rays, and an uncontrollable desire to ascend; Nkisi’s seven possible directions are still far from charted, but they carry an undeniable sense of urgency. Liberating music, of transportation and renewal. Kolongo thus signs a special dedication, as inspiration and guidance, to Kimbwandende Kia Fu-Kiau Bunseki, author of the book African Cosmology of the Bantu-Kongo. Alongside names like Hieroglyphic Being, Gabber Mobus Operandi or Lotic, his work brings a flow of energy in the form of sound. A raw sound ready to be polished and refined into something more, something bigger.
In this tour that already passed by the Dutch festival Rewire and the prestigious Barbican Center, Nkisi arrives at Galeria Zé dos Bois for a night of dance and evasion, a must-see. NA
