peder mannerfelt: the swedish congo record

This adventurous album finds its roots in a very obscure 78 rpm record put together by Belgian filmmaker Armand Denis, who was one of the first Europeans to capture the incredible sounds of Central Congo. These recordings were published in 1950 as The Belgian Congo Records. When Peder Mannerfelt came across this record he was immediately intrigued by its sonic complexity. His initial idea was to use the original album as a sample source, but this concept was quickly abandoned and Mannerfelt decided to recreate the album using only synthesizers. By re-sculpting the album, and reshaping its original musicality into a wild electronic universe of his own, Mannerfelt pays tribute to the traditional folkloric meanings of the dances. The nature of this tribal music pushed Mannerfelt to further explore the unique sense of rhythm he's known for as a member of Roll the Dice and as a solo artist.