- Thursday 3 July
With their raw sound, blistering rhythms and incredible energy, Congolese band Ngwaka Son Systéme are ready to give Roskilde Festival an experience we will never forget. Like modern-day alchemists, they transform all kinds of junk and found everyday objects into real musical gold in their amazing laboratory where traditional Congolese music, dub and techno merge.
Ngwaka Son Systéme was founded in 2022 by Love Lokombe and Bom's Bomolo, formerly of KOKOKO! A band that previously took Roskilde Festival by storm and which utilises a similar junk aesthetic. In Ngwaka Son Systéme, Lokombe and Bomolo have assembled a fantastic new band to carry on their vision.
The result can be heard on their debut album Ibotu Ngenge from 2024, where the band collaborates with Colombian dub producer Diego Gomez to create an overwhelming fusion that sees danceable rhythms of Congolese rumba and soukous intertwine with dub and dancehall aesthetics and techno-infused beats. It all comes together in the gritty punk aesthetic that emerges from the band's insistence on home-built instruments and found sound objects.
The homemade instruments, along with choreographic elements and the band's energy, create a rare live experience. And at Roskilde Festival, you'll get even more chances, as the band will be playing pop-up concerts on both the Platform stage and in the camping area in addition to a regular concert.
