Here, at last, is the second international release from an exhilarating Kinshasa veteran. Jupiter Bokondji is remarkable both for the sense of danger and urgency he puts into in his music, and for the way he matches an extraordinary variety of Congolese rhythms and languages against western influences in a band dominated by percussion, bass and electric guitars. He deserves to be an African celebrity, but his sporadic output has not made that easy.
It has been four years since his much-praised debut album, and four of the eleven songs here appeared on the powerful EP he released last year, which included Damon Albarn on keyboards. But the new material is equally impressive, from the edgy greeting song Hello to a furious invitation to dance, Ekombe. His growled vocals and wild laugh are at their best on Benanga, in which he uses a Congolese parable for a furious attack on corruption.
