Music
Press
"...First cut and EthnoTechno name-checking single "Mash It Up" is the perfect start to events as the bass thumps and snares bounce. With its almost non-sensical lyrics, this track is pure party fodder and achieves its desired effect. "Izwat" starts off with the diwali riddim made famous by the likes of Sean Paul. It ends up being one of the most upbeat, dance friendly songs on the album with Jeni Fujita of the Refugee All Stars shining on the chorus. Droney synth programming and a strong lyrical delivery by KXL make this a perfect accompaniment to "Dub Vibration." "Fistful O Dynamite" is electro-grime with 80s-influenced breaks and fellow New Yorker EJ Sebian shows up on and brings along his soul for "Liar Song."
Things get extremely introspective, lyrically, on "Blindsided" and "Soul Trippin." In fact, most of the lyrical content on this album tend to deal with identity. While identity has been a theme that has been rehashed hundreds of times before by Asian artists - Rohan himself doing so broadly on Roots - what is new this time around is the delivery of that very same theme. Somehow things are looking up.
The throwback-to-the-old school drum n' bass of "S.P.I.T." soon gives way to another MySpace favorite, "Moment of Silence." Beat-wise, dub takes center stage here, as Noush Skaugen delivers haunting vox along with KXL's conscious lyrics about the state of affairs in the world in his inimitable, lazed flow. Our lighters are up, KXL..."
- EthnoTechno.com
"We, of the South Asian American backing, always tend to forget those among us who made it here after a stop off somewhere else. South Asians have become Americans by way of such varied places as Canada, Mexico, Kenya, Guyana, Trinidad etc. Moreover, each of these places has provided cultural addition to the diaspora that we now call the South Asian American Experience. These additions have helped us realize that we are all varied but share the same ancestry.
Krishna XL is here to remind us of the one combination of ancestry emanating from down south; hemisphere that is.
Krishna XL ..... has done here what Timba & other pretenders could only hope to accomplish: a real mix of hip-hop, rap, dub, reggae with emotion dancably coming from the South Asian and American soul .... the album hits hard and takes you from Dub to R&B to Drum n Bass without missing a beat. KXL not only tells us to get over ourselves and 'mash it up,' but also listens to his own advise quite well.
He has gone to his southern roots and given us an album that brings continents back to your dance floor. "
- AsianVibrations.com
"Electro soundscapes with globe spanning chutney-reggae aesthetic and male vocals...brimming with street speak and rasta influences. ...Guest singer Noush Skaugen brings a feminine touch to Moment of Silence - again laid out in juxtaposition to the male lead. ...there are Indian percussives woven into the rhythms hinting further at the cultural mixture from which Accelerator has arisen. The electronic sound palette is quite a stark one - sci-fi / techno buzzes and zaps along with squelchy bass - softened at points by a little guitar or sitar...This clash of genres draws on two strongly rhythmic sources - the tablas and dhols of the East and the ragga dancehall electro grooves of the West. Give this one a go if you want something to dance to and some youthful philosophies to chant."
- Morpheus Music
"The command of Izwat slices into elector break-beats, musical patters, erratic bangs and graceful harp-strings...Bollywood film scores and sitar undertones spiral out of control on Whatcha Want, while on Soul of The Nation, clear-cut guitars sneak through a hypnotic rhythm of synths. Everything on this album is abstract or unpredictable, or particularly clever. Thoroughly embedded with ideas and interesting production, and with each track being completely different...." - Eastern Eye Magazine
http://maelanmagazine.com/bigbang07pages16to22.pdf - Maelan Magazine
Discography
LPs:
"Accelerator" -- 2007 (OmLand Entertainment/Times Music)
Singles/Videos/Compliations:
"Izwat" - Vibes 4 (Times Music)
"Whatcha Want" - Indian Electronica Vol. 1 (Indian Electronica Records)
"Mash It Up" - video/single - MTV Desi
Photos
Bio
Krishna XL (aka KXL) has spent the last several years honing his skills as an artist and producer in the New York City area. After attending Columbia Law School, KXL could have gone on to follow a prestigious path of advocating - instead he derailed himself to advocate for his own unique perspective on the world.
KXL was born in the U.S. to immigrant parents of diverse West Indian origins. His mother is Afro-Caribbean from Jamaican and his father is from Guyana having Indian roots. A self-taught musician, KXL's obsession with music started from an early age. At age ten, he began playing his older brothers guitar when no one was looking and spent his teenage years developing his craft and playing in bands throughout the area at such legendary spots as CBGBs, The Bitter End, and the Palladium. In the late 1990s, he became immersed in writing and producing; in the last several years he gave his own original spin on Asian Underground music to and even scored original music for several television programs and films.
Having grown weary of the humdrum of pop radio, KXL infuses mainstream music with the music of his cultures - - the music that was played in his home when he was growing up like reggae, ska, calypso and Indian classical. His lyrics also reflect the issues surrounding him at present, such as the struggles of being bi-racial, as well as matters arising from his childhood. His father having been a top cult deprogrammer and the lead therapist in treating the survivors of the Jonestown massacre in Guyana introduced him to a world of horrific imagery and survivors on the brink, as well as the bombastic press wanting a closer peak into the twisted mind of cult leader Jim Jones. One unexpected impact of the Jonestown massacre is that people in the US finally had a point of reference to Guyana, and had a better idea of where his people were from, as he proclaims in the song S.P.I.T.
The result - - a new breed of soundclash. KXL brings you to the meeting place of dancehall raggae, blip hop and rock. Pulsing beats, punchy guitars, lo-fi sitars, dhol, tablas, and dub vibrations mash it up and swirl in and out at you.
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