Wim Segers (vibraphones, synths) | Bart Vervaeck (el. guitar, pedal steel) | Matthias Debusschere (el. bass) | Falk Schrauwen (percussion, fx) | Frederik Van den Berghe (drums)

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Compro Oro has been travelling the world for over  ten years. The Ghent-based collective bases its unique sound palette on jazz and psychedelia, invariably coloured with influences from sounds from all corners of the globe.

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Previous albums have taken them to Havana ('Transatlantic', 2015), Mogadishu ('Suburban Exotica', 2019) and Istanbul ('Simurg', 2020): the scenes and sounds from those cities provided a different inspiration for their sultry and colourful songs on each new album, with the marimba and vibraphone in the lead role, guitars driving the beat and a rhythm section — bass, drums and a range of exotic and electronic percussion — that fills and stretches the definition of groove. In 2022, they experimented with more synths and electronic effects for ‘Buy The Dip’, which conceptually took aim at the world of crypto.

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Over the past year, the band has been working on a brand new project, for which the melodies and rhythms were sourced in Kinshasa. You can take that literally, because Compro Oro invited Congolese likembé player, vocalist and dancer Bouton Kalanda to join them as a guest musician. Bouton regularly performs in productions by Alain Platel and Fabrizio Cassol, but was happy to take the time to accompany the Ghent band. He adds the warmth of his (bass) likembé and intriguing vocals in Lingala to the already layered, powerful tracks of the quintet with verve. Think Konono N°1 in a stylish jazz jacket, with Compro Oro's now established sonic signature still very much present.

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The songs from this remarkable new musical direction will be released in two phases, with the 5-track EP “Lamellomania” as the first part, scheduled for release on 30 January 2026 via W.E.R.F. Records.

NEDERLANDSE EPK