Kongos - (self-titled)
2007 (no label)
Murphy’s pick: “The Way”

Kongos doesn’t look like rockers, and their music doesn’t quite sound like normal rock. Makes sense then! If you’re looking for something different than the standard, including the accordion in rock music (and not Paul Simon-type of global pop, but ROCK!) then this band is for you. Without question, the most interesting part of this band in my ears is the drive of each song. I could believe this song is comprised of drummers who happen to play noted instruments. Each song has so much attention to the groove that it sounds like another level of music has been reached that other people haven’t quite made it to. GREAT record!

Thank you to those who’ve been requesting, let’s keep it in the chart!

(012) 362 1072 (studio line)

34996 (sms)

Request online

“Kongos,” Kongos. The long-awaited full-length disc from this band of Paradise Valley brothers (Jesse, Dylan, John J. and Daniel) didn’t disappoint, mixing artful prog-rock instrumentation with pop song structures. A single from the disc, “In the Music,” is rising up the charts in Kongos’ native South Africa.

- Chris Hansen Orf, Get Out

The members of progressive rock band KONGOS have music in their blood–the four brothers’ dad is John Kongos, a singer-songwriter who had hits in both South Africa and all over Europe in the 1960s and 70s.

Now that his kids call Arizona home, KONGOS has gained local attention for the band’s eclectic sound that takes influence from a variety of world music.
You can hear the band on 97.9 KUPD-FM on Dec. 22 at 8:30 a.m., and the band plays live at Sugar Daddy’s in Scottsdale Dec. 27.

Give me a brief biography of the band.

KONGOS is a rock band of four brothers– John J, Jesse, Dylan and Daniel Kongos. Their music is driven by strong melodies, powerful arrangements, a high level of musicianship and insightful lyrics.

They grew up in London and South Africa and now write, record and perform in Phoenix, Ariz. With multi-million-seller British singer-songwriter John Kongos as their father, they have been surrounded by music, studios and different cultures all of their lives. John J and Jesse studied jazz at Arizona State University and have played in several jazz and fusion groups over the past few years (see www.LawOfSeven.com). All four have been vegetarian since birth and vegan for the last three years.

Their debut album was released Jan. 16th, 2007 on iTunes worldwide. Written, produced and engineered by themselves, it demonstrates their wide range of influences culminating in the KONGOS sound. In May 2007, they were named Best Rock Band of Phoenix by the Phoenix New Times.

How do you feel you fit in with the Arizona music scene?

We’re really into Indian, Middle Eastern and African music and are heavily influenced by Tinariwen, Miles Davis, The Beatles, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Salif Keita and Arvo Part as well as Coldplay, Pink Floyd, Joni Mitchell, Jackson Browne, Bob Marley, Stevie Wonder, etc. We feel we’re part of the emerging, adventurous side of the Arizona music scene.

Describe what your live show is like.

Our live show is musically energetic and diverse with little pause between songs. It features solos on accordion, keyboards, guitar, slide guitar and drums. Also, all four of us sing harmonies.

Explain one of your favorite songs and why it stands out.

“In the Music” captures the KONGOS sound very well, we think. It has a lot of African influences in the verses, a strong anthem-like chorus and a great accordion solo. (The songs can be heard on our myspace page: http://www.myspace.com/kongos)

What’s up next for you and the band?

We are recording some new songs and plan to play shows both in the Phoenix area and Los Angeles.

Describe your band in three words.

Omnipotent, Omnipresent, Omniscient … Oooh

“Our music is better than it sounds.” Not only does this band have the incredible sound to back this claim up but they also have a great sense of humor stemmed from true humble musicianship. The band Kongos is comprised of four brothers, Dylan (lead vocals/guitar), Danny (guitar/locals), Jesse (drummer), and Johnny (keyboards/accordion), from London and South Africa. “We’ve been brought up with music and different cultures our whole life, we were surrounded by it, especially African culture,” Jesse says of his upbringing. Johnny and Jesse played in jazz fusion groups while attending ASU, but joined with their brothers to form the band.

The band’s self proclaimed pop/rock genre does not come close to defining the complexity within their music. “I think music is too associated with fashion, instead of people listening sometimes by themselves and seeing what they actually like, they listen to what they are told to. I think if people listen to music by themselves they will find a whole new world of music that they like.” Dylan says of defining music in close-minded terms. The band encourages people to really listen to their music because you never know what you might get turned on to as a result.

Growing up under the wing of their dad, singer/songwriter John Kongos, this band had the musical support of a man with two top 5 singles under his belt. With music in their blood, it only took a small push from dad to convince the guys to pick up their first instrument. “He definitely tried to push us. From age 3 or 4 we did music, but its just like with any kid…you’re parents say you have to go to school, our parents said you have to play piano,” says Johnny of how his parents pushed them to play music.

Having a home studio (and the ears of a seasoned musician) gave the band the luxury of experimentation and meticulous self reflection that produced the truly unique debut album “Kongos.” The sound is reminiscent of 70s folk music with Beatles-inspired pop melodies. What separates this band are the overtones of electronic mixes, accordion solos, and African-inspired beats that make this band stand out amongst your typical “rock band.”

The band prides themselves on their eclectic taste in music pulling from well-known artist such as the Beatles and Joni Mitchell to the more obscure (by American music standards) Tinariwen. The band admires that Tinariwen is a nomadic group that “literally gave up there AK47s for Stratocasters.” Selected tracks from Coldplay have influenced Dylan whereas Johnny is proud of his collection of Wu-Tang and Snoop Dogg albums. The musical influences range within the band is what creates much of the music’s complexity.

In the song “The Way” an accordion solo is featured that brings the song to a completely different level. “It kinda happened by mistake,” admits Danny about the introduction of an accordion in their music. Moving against the stigma created from playing the accordion, Johnny Kongos prefers to play it over the keys. ”When you’re trying to rock out on the piano you have to just sit there but with an accordion I can just be a punk.” The band admits that they like the shock from the audience by the appearance of the accordion, but feel it is a real feature to their live show.
“Justin Timberlake is bringing sexy back, well were bringing the accordion back.” Jesse confidently interjects.

The band is quickly gaining notoriety around the scene and was voted “Best Rock Band” by the Phoenix New Times. Locally they have played at the last exit, Nita’s hideaway, club red and downtown at the modified and the paper heart. The band has also played at LA’s famous music club, the Viper Room. The band plans to tour the west coast more and eventually move to Los Angeles where they are going to try and beat the “needle in the haystack” odds of reaching
success as a band.

“When you listen to music that you don’t understand what they are talking about you are listening to the music better in some ways, you’re not being fooled or have too much emphasis put on the associative things like lyrics that you’re being told are sad or happy or whatever, cause it might not be. A lot of the music we listen to we don’t know what it’s about and don’t want to….lyrically” Johnny Kongos

Kongos’ next big gig will be a live acoustic performance on the 98 KUPD Jonathan L show, December 22nd. The bands next live show will be December 27th at Sugar Daddy’s in Scottsdale.

Check out the Kongos Profile Here

- CSM

Rockin
by: Tim Wardyn

Talk about a cultured band of brothers. John J, Jesse, Dylan and Daniel Kongos, of the band Kongos (ironic, huh?) grew up in London, South Africa and now live, write and record in Phoenix, Arizona. Not only that, but John J and Jesse played in several jazz and fusion groups while attending Arizona State University and now they’ve brought in their two younger brothers to form a solid pop self-titled debut album, with a secret weapon.

“The Trouble Is,” hints at that same secret weapon, but keeps it in the background while delivering a climactic ending to a piece of radio-friendly pop perfection.

The next gritty rocker, “The Way,” is where the accordion breaks out into an all out firestorm taking the group from “pretty good” to “this is friggin’ awesome!” The accordion adds a polka flavor (which naturally makes this Polish boy happy), but it fits surprisingly well and adds a depth to the music that I have never heard before. (Honestly, though, who would have thought that an accordion could add so much?)

The best track on the album is “Another Daydream” where lead singer Dylan Kongos laments about how “Ten thousand people disappear tonight/ Under the daydream with no end in sight.” The component that makes this track stand out is the string arrangement by John J. The song ends with a staccato string portion that should cement it’s place in the next big superhero movie.

They do explore a little bit without completely abandoning their jazz roots. The bluesy “Remember Me” showcases the odd rhythms that they incorporated into their jazz & fusion groups, while “Nothing” keeps a pulsing percussive beat with the sing-along chorus of “Don’t let me down.”

Kongos are bound to make it big. Their songs are radio-ready and they have a frickin’ kickin’ accordian! On their self-titled debut, these four brothers prove that they are ready to take the torch from their multi-million selling father, John Kongos, and make it burn even brighter.