We Speak Music

TSHEGUE Release New Video For ‘Muanapoto’

Published

6 years ago

July 9, 2018

Thrilling emerging talent TSHEGUE today release the new video for ‘Muanapoto’, lifted from their debut EP ‘Survivor’ (out now), which has already drawn the Paris-based, French-Congolese band fans amongst the likes of i-D, Noisey and Mura Masa. Following head-turning appearances at last year’s Afropunk Festival in Paris (alongside the likes of Baloji, Ho99o9 and Songhoy Blues) and this year’s The Great Escape, TSHEGUE will shortly announce details for their first ever UK shows. Watch ‘Muanapoto’ here.

Shot in Abidjan, capital city of The Ivory Coast, the striking new video harnesses the primal energy of ‘Muanapoto’’s kinetic drumming loops, beneath the no-f*cks-given attitude of French-Congolese frontwoman Faty Sy Savanet’s rhymes, to articulate a story which is actually about silence and isolation. Speaking about the film, which tracks a profoundly deaf and mute young girl negotiating her way out of a world devoid of sound, Argentinian directors Pantera say; “From the moment we first heard ‘Muanapoto’ we knew we wanted to make something that did justice to its insane rhythm and trance feeling. ‘Muanapoto’ speaks for African immigrants in Europe who upon arrival are forced to deal with the unknown, surrounded by new customs, foreign languages, different food and climate, all of which can lead to feelings of alienation. ‘Muanapoto’ also feels like a release, a letting go, and that translates to the girl in our video, who feels the need to express something and is able to do so through dance and her body.”

As befits their name – both Faty’s childhood nickname and a term for the Congolese boys who gather on the streets of her hometown, Kinshasa – the Survivor EP captures TSHEGUE folding traditional African antecedents into a commanding brew of punk and garage sensibilities, as idiosyncratic as the band’s DNA itself. Born in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s music-obsessed capital Kinshasa, Faty then relocated with her family to Paris aged 8. In her early twenties a mutual friend brought her into contact with Robert Wyatt-collaborator Bertrand Burgalat, whose cult Tricatel label has been referenced as a key influence by the likes of Air and Daft Punk. Burgalat encouraged and enabled her formative musical experiments – including a short-lived voodoo n roll band – until Faty was introduced to future TSHEGUE bandmate, French-Cuban producer Nicolas ‘Dakou’ Dacunha, whose hypnotic, breathless beats form the driving backbone of both ‘Muanapoto’ and the ‘Survivor’ EP.

https://soundcloud.com/tshegue | https://www.instagram.com/tshegue_official/ | https://www.facebook.com/Tshegue/ | https://open.spotify.com/artist/3eEAELTLLkQc0PD2S2xAhN

We Speak Electronic

Aaron Koenig Releases Ska Anthem for Geeks

Published

1 day ago

November 16, 2024

Adavie Gutierrez

Aaron makes music about meaningful topics that rocks and grooves – and sometimes it even skanks on a rock steady beat!

His new song ‘Geeks’ has been released on all major music platforms on November 15th. It is an anthem for the heroes of the digital age: computer nerds, also known as geeks. It is driven by an off-beat ska guitar, a sticky bass line and a groovy brass section. The icing on the cake is a jazzy saxophone solo.

“I have always loved Ska, I even saw the Specials, the Selecter and Madness live in their heydays”, says Aaron. “I chose the topic although I am not a geek myself, but I have a lot of sympathy for them. Geeks are often frowned upon because they can be socially awkward, but they are the ones who are building a better world. So I think they deserve an anthem.”

The music video is mostly made up of typography, minimalistic ASCII graphics and heavily pixelated images – it surely looks geeky! Watch it here:

“I just want to entertain people and make them a bit happier.”– Aaron King.

Aaron writes catchy songs that are made for people who like meaningful, uplifting topics and guitar-driven, hand-made sounds. His musical journey started young but it wasn’t until he discovered Bitcoin and became so invested in it that he used music to express his new found joy.

“It’s mostly rock music, with excursions into funk, soul and other styles I grew up with. In general, it’s guitar-driven and hand-made, often with a punkish energy and beatlesque harmonies. What all my songs have in common are meaningful lyrics about being in the here and now, about transforming disturbing emotions into wisdom, about being in the flow, things like that.” says Aaron in an interview.

“I have always been making music and writing songs, starting with a punk rock band when I was 15. However, I never saw it as a career. I played in several bands in my teenage years and my early twenties, but after my media studies in Berlin and Rio de Janeiro I focused on other things. I first worked in TV production and then founded one of the first Internet agencies in Germany. I discovered Bitcoin in 2011 and became fascinated by it. I wrote five books about it, made lots of promotional videos and educational series for Bitcoin and blockchain companies, and organised events. I even wrote some songs about Bitcoin, which became quite popular in the community, like my Reggaeton about the Bitcoin Beach in El Salvador. People always liked that my songs are catchy and provocative. It was by the end of 2023 that I decided to go full in on music. It’s what I enjoy the most, so now I want to fully follow my passion.”

Since May 2024, his songs have been streamed more than 250,000 times on Spotify and his music videos have been viewed more than 350,000 times on YouTube.

Read more about Aaron King: http://aaron-koenig.net/press/