(Crammed Discs)

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Three (or four) albums into the "Congotronics" series, observers might well wonder if the genre amounts to more than one group. The first release featured the hypnotic Konono No. 1, and the second was a compilation dominated by the same Kinshasa collective, which runs clinking thumb pianos (likembes) through transcendently cruddy-sounding amps. Those CDs were followed by a live album, not technically a "Congotronics" release, by none other than Konono No. 1.

Now arrives an album by Kasai Allstars, also heard on the Congotronics 2 collection. This reportedly 25-person ensemble -- 19 musicians are credited here -- is rooted in the same musics as Konono No. 1, and updates the likembes, xylophones, drums and call-and-response vocals with electric guitars.

Wordily titled In the 7th moon, the chief turned into a swimming fish and ate the head of his enemy by magic, the 70-minute set is plenty trancey, but not especially 'tronic. Indeed, subtract the guitars and some occasional distortion, and the music sounds closer to its roots than most recent Afropop.

Understandably, the disc is front-loaded with tracks most likely to appeal to fans of the previous Congotronics releases. Such dense, incantatory numbers as "Quick as White" and "Kafuulu Balu" are knockouts, combining the urgency of ancient ritual with the textural surprises that result from plugging the traditional into the modern.

Yet such other pieces as "Beyond the 7th Moon," an unelectrified instrumental, could have been recorded generations ago. That's interesting, but only moderately so; lots of African trance music is already available from ethno-musicology specialists. The Kasai Allstars are only halfway Congotronic, but that's the more interesting half.

Standout Tracks: "Quick as White," "Kafuulu Balu" MARK JENKINS