K-X-P
Helsinki, Central Finland, Finland | MAJOR
Music
Press
Musically speaking, Finland’s known as the Promised Land of Metal (as a recent documentary marvelling at Metal’s mainstream status in Finland puts it), with netherworld-bound grunting raking in more Euros and column inches than other genres combined.
Beneath the resolutely black-clad surface, a rich seam of oddball experimentation has been brewing. Kraut-Metal (that word again) heroes Circle, dream-pop drifters Paavoharju, odd-folk collages of Kemialliset Ystävät, Autobahn-gobbling anthemists SIINAI: for a country as miniscule population-wise as Finland, there’s certainly no shortage of bands wishing to row deeper into misty uncharted waters, far away from the attentions of the mainstream and the pressures to conform to expectations it brings, supported by Fonal, Ektro and other open-eared, cottage industry-scale imprints.
K-X-P are a relatively new band, but the members have certainly been around the block a few times. The group’s collective CV is a testament to the richness of the genre-hopping experimentation blooming in Finland’s musical margins, take in as it does space-discoists Op:l Bastards, fuzz-rockers And the Lefthanded, fusion adventurer Jimi Tenor, motorik masters Aavikko, and the proggy jazz explorations of Pekka Pohjola.
Built out of the meatiest moments of collective jam sessions, K-X-P’s debut release for Manchester-based Melodic is sparser, murkier, bolder, stronger and stranger than the band’s self-titled debut, released in the UK last March. These three expansive tracks combine the headiest aspects of the band’s wide-reaching past musical adventures (and many other things besides) into a disorientating, dense stew that, following the occasional stylistic twitching and general idling of the debut album, inches ever closer to nailing an unpredictable electro-rock/prog/disco/punk/uncategorisable sound that belongs to K-X-P and K-X-P alone.
An electro-glam rock stomp dispatched with tons of thuggish punk attitude, ‘Easy (Infinity Waits)’ is the obvious crowd-pleaser, a deceptively simplistic combo of caveman chants, incessantly whining riffs and a primitively battering thud of a beat that suggests more bands should occasionally overlook their more refined talents in order to go full stupid when the best interests of the track at hand so require. Elsewhere, we’re miles off the beaten track as the creepy abstractions and spooked synth emissions of ‘Cymbalim’ cook up a crooked groove that brings to mind an armada of gigantic trolls flattening everything in their path as they march to another terrifying scene of pillage, with results that set sail towards the outer edges of oddness. But in a weirdly catchy way, suggesting Kaukolampi’s honed his instincts for infectiousness whilst moonlighting as the co-writer and main producer of Norwegian pop star Annie. - The Line Of Best Fit
An admirable 6 minutes unlike anything else in this week’s pile, ‘Easy’
is long on clinical electronic doom, it will have you rearranging the
placement of verbs and nouns in your sentences before say ‘Kraut’ you
can. There is also the sort of shout-out vocals which can remind a
person strongly of buttoned-up, rigid 80s pop men in the manner of Phil
Oakey. I AM EXCITED ABOUT YOU K-X-P, I COULD EVEN BE BOTHERED TO TYPE
THE POINTLESS DASHES IN YOUR NAME. - Drowned In Sound
The legacy of Krautrock extends into some unexpected areas.
Sure, it's a hopelessly vague, contentious term (no one in Germany ever
labelled it thus) but Krautrock has proved to be enduring influential.
Everyone from the darkest Industrial producer to The Horrors has been
touched by its legacy, with the genre's Motorik click powering some
unusual productions.
Hailing from Finland, K-X-P seem to pick up on the questing spirit of
groups such as Can and Neu. The collective drink from the same avant
arts well spring that fuelled their German cousins, releasing a series
of lengthy, propulsive jams.
New EP 'Easy' finds the Scandinavian crew in a pop mood. K-X-P have
honed their abstract rhythmic constructions into something much more
linear, with 'Easy' demonstrating a love of weird, wonky pop.
Short - by their standards - each song is an easy to digest nugget of
proto-electronics mixed with a real melodic touch. Still impossible to
categorise, 'Easy' was given an initial release by Smalltown Supersound
earlier this year.
Manchester based imprint Melodic have stepped in to expose the group to
British audiences, with a full UK release planned. Due out on November
14th, the band have planned a launch show later this week.
Taking place at London's CAMP venue on October 13th, K-X-P will bring
their molten live show to the capital. As a special preview, ClashMusic
have grabbed the radio edit of title cut 'Easy' as a free download.
Listen to it now... Grab it HERE. - Clash
On November 14, Melodic will release Easy, the new EP from Finnish experimental beat-rock outfit K-X-P (which includes Annie producer/co-songwriter Timo Kaukolampi as a member). It's the follow-up to last year's solid self-titled debut; stream the sorta-title track below; - Pitchfork
Some music resists characterization, such as the self-titled debut from the quixotically named K-X-P. The Finnish sorta-trio comes with good bona fides: two drummers, Anssi Nykänen and Tomi Leppanen plus Annie producer/co-songwriter Timo Kaukolampi, and all are good friends with the inimitable DJ duo Optimo, who invited them to perform at one of their last Sunday club nights at Glasgow's Sub Club earlier this year.
To an extent, you can understand K-X-P's appeal to dance floor-friendly artists; their music is incredibly rhythmic, their grooves-- paranoid dark disco and motorik-- deep. The pulsing beat that kicks off "Mehu Moments", for example, is so nerve-wracking that you can practically see a red-flashing siren while you're listening to it. And yet this record manages to sound loose and off-the-cuff, positively alive and experimental. New elements within these eight compositions seem to arise out of thin air, like the ripples of melody that erupt throughout "Mehu Moments" or the streaks of weeping keyboard sounds stretching out "Aibal Dub". Sometimes it all sounds delightfully improvisational.
Thing is, though, these songs are way too self-contained to be the result of compiled-together jam sessions. While K-X-P can get a little rote and samey-sounding at times, every song feels compact despite their running time (only the brightly-humming "Epilogue" makes it under the four-minute mark). That structural conciseness could ostensibly be attributed to Kaukolampi's pop pedigree; thing is, though, it's pretty much the only discernible trace that any member of K-X-P's worked with more conventional forms of music.
The two most conceivably "straightforward" cuts here, "18 Hours (of Love)" and "Pockets", are also the two most menacing. The former uses Gary Glitter drums and low-bellowed vocals to create what sounds like a Satanic romantic ballad, while the latter's spangled disco touches are offset by maniacal post-punk howls. Take a listen to Kaukolampi's rework of "Pockets" featuring redone vocals from Annie herself, then, and you'll wonder whether or not there's a big beating pop heartbeat (not "Heartbeat") lying under each and every song on this album, which is a shape-shifting puzzle that is as fun to pick apart as it is to simply take in and enjoy.
— Larry Fitzmaurice, August 2, 2010 - http://pitchfork.com
Discography
K-X-P: II (2013) (Melo084)
K-X-P: Easy Ep (2011) (Melo75)
K-X-P: st (2010) (STS182CD)
"K-X-P are operating in similar territory to the likes of Trans Am, Add N To (X) and Zombie Zombie, erecting fields of electronic noise under which muscular, organic rhythms pound with an almost Metal intensity." - THE WIRE
"Fertile experiments, broad and flexible enough to incorporate post-punk, glam-rock and goth-metal elements. From here, they can go anywhere." - UNCUT
"You can hear the driving percussion of motorik beats, a touch of rockabilly and the swagger of glam. What it does is transform these elements into something that kicks cultural reference points to the curb, and then hands you a ticket to the void." - STOOL PIGEON
"It's all mechanical beats and percussive squelches topped-off with soothing melodies which intertwine and build towards crescendos before gently peeling away. Immense." - NOTION
"A haunting Led Zep cry here, a tribal drumbeat there and lots and lots of brooding synths." - CLASH
"a brain-twisting affair" LODOWN
"Intense. Mind-frying as the bloopiest early acid house." -MOJO
An exemplary, ultra-modern record and a perfect mix of dance music with rock 'n' roll ferocity. -ROCK A ROLLA
It's a compelling debut of intelligent, exiting stuff. Genres be damned, this is simply great music. -FUTURE MUSIC
“A raucous drums-bass-synthesizer trio from Helsinki, K-X-P stages a thrilling collision of dance, trance, and rockabilly on the most accessible track from its intriguing debut.” –MOTHER JONES
“K-X-P's ‘Elephant Man’ locks onto a steady groove that throbs, breathes and becomes exceedingly hypnotic almost before the listener can digest it. ‘Labyrinth,’ despite its anxious effects and gloomy vocals, manages to come off as a pop song at heart, while ‘Pockets’ promptly stakes its claim as the black sheep of the album, featuring a bombastic melody, dynamic chorus and an off-the-hook vocal performance that falls somewhere in between John Lydon's growl and Gene Ween's tongue-in-cheekiness.” – EXCLAIM!
“MOJO’S TOP 10” Mojo/September 2010
"Some Suicide, some Doors, some Iggy, some NEU! - it's rolling, hypnotic, devilish" – RCRDLBL
“K-X-P's debut promises to be an exciting creature and it sure as hell delivers.” -MUSICFIX
"their music is incredibly rhythmic,
their grooves-- paranoid dark disco and motorik-- deep. The pulsing beat that kicks off "Mehu Moments", for
example, is so nerve-wracking that you can practically see a red-flashing siren while you're listening to it. And yet this
record manages to sound loose and off-the-cuff, positively alive and experimental. New elements within these eight
compositions seem to arise out of thin air, like the ripples of melody that erupt throughout "Mehu Moments" or the
streaks of weeping keyboard sounds stretching out "Aibal Dub". Sometimes it all sounds delightfully improvisational. " -- PITCHFORK
“The amount of bands currently crowbarring
Suicide, Throbbing Gristle and Can influences into their music has led to the novelty wearing off pretty quickly, but Kaukolampi and
his crew tackle these ideas with the professorial enthusiasm, brewing up an end product that is, at times, bordering on magical.” -QUIETUS
"K-X-P is a great debut album and with all the excitement that is barely contained within this album, it seems as though there will still be room for the band to grow, K-X-P is definitely a band to watch." -- BEATROUTE
"its relentless intensity can even feel oddly charming." -- ALL MUSIC
“Op:l Bastards -yhtyeestä tuttujen Timo Kaukolammen (laulu ja koneet) ja Tuomo Purasen (basso ja koskettimet), sekä rumpalien Tomi Leppäsen ja Anssi Nykäsen projekti K-X-P on varmasti parhaiten vetävää underground-musiikkia Suomesta vuosiin. “ NYT
“Mukana on toki erittäin hämmentäviä vokaalisuorituksia ja niin päällekäyvää särön läpi runtattua syntetisaattorityöskentelyä että heikompia hirvittää. Samaan aikaan tekisi mieli tanssia, tai ehkä enemmänkin vääntelehtiä tanssilattialla shamaanin tamineissa. Liikkua pulssin tahdissa.
“Ehdottomia kohokohtia ovat sinkkubiisi 18 Hours Of Love, yhtä groovaavat Mehu Moments ja Labirynth sekä vahvasti, vahvasti PIL-vaikutteinen Aibal Dub. Menee varmasti aika korkealle omassa vuoden parhaat levyt -listassani. Ostakaa.”-PASKASOHVA
“Vaikka esimerkiksi New World -raita yltyy ylvääseen Blade Runner -liitoon, K-X-P:n likainen, urbaani ja sinnikäs musiikki kuulostaa hyvin kotoisalta. Kaikessa on mukana soittamisen meininki ja perusteellisen uppoutumisen fiilis. Kaukolammen heittäytyvät lauluosuudet tuovat mukaan hippusen Suicidea, tuota Bruce Springsteenin yllättävää suosikkibändiä.” SOUNDI
Photos
Bio
K-X-P are the trio: Timo Kaukolampi (electronics, vocals and the ‘K’), Tuomo Puranen (bass, keyboards and the ‘P’), and alternating drummers (the ‘X’ – for the mystery) Anssi Nykänen and Tomi Leppanen. Born from the ashes of seminal Finnish groups Op:l Bastards and And The Lefthanded: It’s the antidote to normal bands. Its an anti-band. - Timo Kaukolampi Oftern they are asked: Are you an electronic, rock, a punk band, prog, or pop band?
We’re an abstract sculpture made of sound and flesh! -Tuomo Puranen The music proves tricky to categorise with elements of glam rock, Detroit techno, kraut rock, black metal, early electronica and much more, in their minimalist music. Making specific efforts in specific directions is for robots, automobiles and businessmen- Bands are at their best when they manage to get collectively lost, which can be an almost religious experience at times. - Puranen
The band’s musical background varies wildly, from the "disco-idiotism turned-into spiritualhide- and-seek" of Op:l Bastards, via the fusion and free jazz explorations of Pekka Pohjola and Jimi Tenor, to the Kraftwerk-ish visions of Aavikko, mixed with electronics, kraut, noise, rock and even rockabilly into a hypnotic and minimalistic motorik groove with references to bands like Spacemen 3, This Heat, 23 Skiddo, Suicide and Neu! The trio’s sound has been shaped through their hypnotically pounding live shows, which tend
to be improvisational and very loud. Given some of the conditions the band has played it, a simple formula is best: high energy level and pure honesty. Plug in and play loud.
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