KOKOKO!’s sophomore album, BUTU, is a wild journey through the streets of Kinshasa, DRC. As the follow-up to their 2019 debut, Fongola, BUTU merges upcycled instruments with cutting-edge techno and synthwave, making it one of the most innovativew releases of the year. It’s also from a year that sees KOKOKO! join the 16th anniversary of Control Club on Saturday, October 5.
KOKOKO!’s use of upcycled instruments is central to its sound. Pots, pans, and plastic containers are pounded into complex polyrhythms, providing a raw, physical foundation. This makes BUTU feel alive, as if the music itself is breathing along with the city. At the same time, the album’s synth-heavy production pushes it into more experimental territory, creating a sound that is both futuristic and traditionally rooted.
Taking its title from the Lingala word for “the night,” the album captures the chaotic pulse of Kinshasa’s nightlife with a visceral urgency and near-obsessive fidelity. Immediately exemplifying this is Butu Ezo Ya, which opens with the urban rhythms of the city—car horns, pedestrian chatter, and ambient noise—only to chop, distort, and manipulate them into driving beats and eerie synth backdrops.
Makara Bianko’s vocals add an extra layer of intensity, although they are often mixed low, allowing the rhythms to take the spotlight. Bianko’s voice is part chant, part rallying cry. The album’s lyrics, sung in Lingala, speak to the socio-political realities of life in the DRC, a country rich in natural resources but burdened by local corruption and foreign exploitation. Tracks like Bazo Banga and Motema Mabe capture this frustration as Bianko’s vocals fuse frustration with celebration amidst a wave of relentless percussion.