Highly Instrumental
Kinski treads off the beaten path
2005-07-13
Increase Font Size
Decrease Font Size
In the ever-evolving spiral of unselfish, experimentally based music, compromises
must be made in order for your integrity and respect to remain intact. And while
most bands appear to stumble upon stylistically advanced facets of song, some
musicians’ calculated efforts spoil the toils of those whose rockin’
rollin’ hearts are pure. Regardless of how important this all is, the fact
remains that a fleeting few have forged ahead and prospered while performing entirely
instrumental works, something that while not exactly a pertinent point of interest
for Kinski (or their guitarist Chris Martin for that matter), is still a unique
edge on bands forced into a similar ilk. Synthesis recently had the pleasure
of chatting up such issues with the aforementioned kraut-rock revivalist while
the band began their most recent tour in support of their latest SubPop Records
release, Alpine Static.
Kinski’s 2003 release, Airs Above Your Station, exposed this Seattle foursome to the underground masses with driving, Sabbath-esque grooves and brutal, progressive guitar rock. Martin’s affinity for ‘70s kraut-rock and late ‘60s psychadelic pop paved a innovative path for fans of indie rock who may have been tired of dealing with the pompousness of introspective lyricism and sub standard vocal abilities. The fact remains that this seamless blend of two largely forgotten genres of music places Kinski in a class by themselves; a class where chops are minimal though marked, loftiness is palpable yet restrained and talent is obvious though never stressed. “I think we always get influenced by things that we stumble across as we buy records,” relates Martin in regards to his fondness and inspiration from German rock music. “There’s so much instrumental rock from the ‘70s German scene, but I’d say I’m more into that stuff than the rest of the band is. I think the band, as a whole, came more from a pop background. Pop in the sense of melodic ‘60s rock, so I think that’s sort of the basis we build on and that’s why a lot of our songs are sort of melodic and have some sort of pop structure.
The fact that Kinski does, in fact, write, record and perform without vocals isn’t really that big of an issue for Martin. “It seems like for a lot of our music, vocals would be sort of a tacked-on thing for us. They just don’t seem necessary for most of what we do and so we just don’t force it,” he explains. In fact, Martin relates that the biggest compliment he’s been given after a performance was that an audience member didn’t even really notice that there were no vocals until the show was almost over. Yet, Kinski’s music seems to do just that; it involves you to the point that the wall of noise you’re experiencing does more to invoke a trance-like state than a critical assumption of the band’s modus operandi, that is if you’re not violently banging your head to the group’s curiously infectious thrash.
The group’s latest effort, Alpine Static, is yet another progression for the band. Though the prospect of expanding on an instrumental level emerges as more or less a futile endeavor for most bands, Kinski’s distinctive approach to songwriting negates most well-worn ideals involving evolution. “We had a bunch of time between [Airs Above Your Station] and [Alpine Static] to work some things out. This new record felt like our first record in a way because we had two years of throwing things out and revisiting things and playing songs live before we actually recorded it. I think with any band, especially once you finish a record, you sort of feel like, ‘well what are we gonna do next?’ You feel like you don’t know how you could come up with anything a year down the road that’s [better],” explains Martin.
Surely the band must be happy with the way Alpine Static turned out. The record valiantly captures the group’s bombastic live set, something that is very important to Martin. “We’re sort of old-school in that we just want the live show to just be a big rock show that’s sort of exhilarating and exciting. I like the old-school thing where the band will do the set and then come back and do a bunch of encores, I mean encores that are covers. We just want to have shows that are exciting for us and hopefully that translates over to the audience,” stresses Martin.
Kinski’s 2003 release, Airs Above Your Station, exposed this Seattle foursome to the underground masses with driving, Sabbath-esque grooves and brutal, progressive guitar rock. Martin’s affinity for ‘70s kraut-rock and late ‘60s psychadelic pop paved a innovative path for fans of indie rock who may have been tired of dealing with the pompousness of introspective lyricism and sub standard vocal abilities. The fact remains that this seamless blend of two largely forgotten genres of music places Kinski in a class by themselves; a class where chops are minimal though marked, loftiness is palpable yet restrained and talent is obvious though never stressed. “I think we always get influenced by things that we stumble across as we buy records,” relates Martin in regards to his fondness and inspiration from German rock music. “There’s so much instrumental rock from the ‘70s German scene, but I’d say I’m more into that stuff than the rest of the band is. I think the band, as a whole, came more from a pop background. Pop in the sense of melodic ‘60s rock, so I think that’s sort of the basis we build on and that’s why a lot of our songs are sort of melodic and have some sort of pop structure.
The fact that Kinski does, in fact, write, record and perform without vocals isn’t really that big of an issue for Martin. “It seems like for a lot of our music, vocals would be sort of a tacked-on thing for us. They just don’t seem necessary for most of what we do and so we just don’t force it,” he explains. In fact, Martin relates that the biggest compliment he’s been given after a performance was that an audience member didn’t even really notice that there were no vocals until the show was almost over. Yet, Kinski’s music seems to do just that; it involves you to the point that the wall of noise you’re experiencing does more to invoke a trance-like state than a critical assumption of the band’s modus operandi, that is if you’re not violently banging your head to the group’s curiously infectious thrash.
The group’s latest effort, Alpine Static, is yet another progression for the band. Though the prospect of expanding on an instrumental level emerges as more or less a futile endeavor for most bands, Kinski’s distinctive approach to songwriting negates most well-worn ideals involving evolution. “We had a bunch of time between [Airs Above Your Station] and [Alpine Static] to work some things out. This new record felt like our first record in a way because we had two years of throwing things out and revisiting things and playing songs live before we actually recorded it. I think with any band, especially once you finish a record, you sort of feel like, ‘well what are we gonna do next?’ You feel like you don’t know how you could come up with anything a year down the road that’s [better],” explains Martin.
Surely the band must be happy with the way Alpine Static turned out. The record valiantly captures the group’s bombastic live set, something that is very important to Martin. “We’re sort of old-school in that we just want the live show to just be a big rock show that’s sort of exhilarating and exciting. I like the old-school thing where the band will do the set and then come back and do a bunch of encores, I mean encores that are covers. We just want to have shows that are exciting for us and hopefully that translates over to the audience,” stresses Martin.
Bookmark: 
Site Search
