The term “world music” has unfashionable in the past decade, but if one person can make it cool again, it’s Damon Albarn, the mastermind behind Blur, Gorillaz and dozens of other exceptionally cool music projects. Last month, Albarn headed to the Democratic Republic of Congo with Dan the Automator, (XL Recordings head) Richard Russell, Actress and Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs to record music with Congalese musicians. The project was called DRC Music, and the album, now titled Kinshasha One Two, is intended for release on WARP Records to benefit Oxfam.

Now, you can hear the first results of the excursion to the central African nation with these three tunes posted onto Soundcloud. The tunes are significantly different from the sound found on Albarn’s 2002 album, Mali Music, which found him collaborating with musicians in Mali. This may speak to the changes in sound in style over the past decade, or could be equally attributed to the diverse nature of African music, one that is often loston Western ears.

DRC Music - Kinshasa One Two (see http://drcmusic.org ) by DRC Music

You can pre-order the ful album at the DRC Music website. And check out the full album track list and watch a video clip of the recordings after the jump.

…MORE