Pitchfork

Björk is such a tease. A few weeks ago, we told you she was "hanging out" and writing with Antony, though there was no guarantee that any fruits of the collaboration would appear on her next album. Now we also have word that Björk has recorded with Konono N°1, but none of those sessions are guaranteed to see release either.

Hopefully, both pairings, in addition to plenty of others, will be featured on the record, and all will again be right with the world. But for now, we're just a little anxious about the whole thing.

Nevertheless, a representative of Crammed Discs (the Congotronics label) confirmed that Konono spent "three days in Brussels last month... overdubbing their electrified thumb-pianos on several new Björk songs." Like we said, there are no guarantees that any of us will ever hear the results of the sessions. However, the group is currently in the middle of a massive world tour, so it couldn't hurt to go to a show and ask nicely.

Please?:
                  
07-21 Washington, DC - Black Cat
07-22 Philadelphia, PA - WXPN All About the Music Festival
07-23 New York, NY - Central Park SummerStage
07-24 New York, NY - SOB's                       
07-28 Marseillan, France - Festival Convivencia
07-29 Marseille, France - Festival Mimi  
07-30 Reading, England - Womad
08-01 Monfalcone, Italy - Area Verde, Via Valentinis
08-05 Reunion, France - Festival Sakifo
08-13 Aulnoye Aymeries, France - Plein Air
08-19 La Roche-sur-Yon, France - Jardin de la Mairie
08-24 Mito, Japan - Civic Hall
08-26 Izu, Japan - Continental Cycling Center
08-27 Tokyo, Japan - Hibiya Yagai Ongakudo
08-29 Nagoya, Japan - Club Quattro
08-31 Hiroshima, Japan - Club Quattro            
09-02 Osaka, Japan - Lovely Hall
09-03 Osaka, Japan - Lovely Hall
09-05 Tokyo, Japan - Club Quattro

Speaking of Congotronics, the third volume in the series is scheduled for recording this summer. The record will be a full-length effort from the Kasai Allstars, a 15-piece band with members from four different groups from the Kasai region of the Congo, who were featured heavily on Congotronics 2. Vincent Kenis, the producer of both previous Congotronics records, is also producing this record, which is tentatively scheduled for release early next year. The group will be touring Europe and the U.S. next summer in support of the album, but Spanish world music enthusiasts can catch a glimpse of the group this October when they appear at the 2006 WOMEX (World Music Expo) convention in Sevilla.