Back when SPOT Festival 2011 was our main concern – for a weekend at least – the ALL SCANDINAVIAN crew (big word, yes) were rather taken by Finnish kraut-tronica outfit K-X-P, which we made sure to catch live after discovering them just days earlier. Last year they released their eponymous debut on Norwegian label Smalltown Supersound, an album worthy of all the praise bestowed upon it so far – which is quite a bit – and not least ours.

Who are they?
Main man and Annie producer/co-songwriter Timo Kaukolampi (Larry And The Lefthanded, Op:l Bastards), Tuomo Puranen (bass and keyboards) and rotating drummers Anssi Nykänen and Tomi Leppanen.

How’s the album?
With deep, repetitive grooves coated in dark synths ‘K-X-P’ comes across as the perfect soundtrack to both dodgy-cool basement clubs and hanging on your own (preferably at night for full effect) over the eight mainly instrumental tracks (pivotal moments ’18 Hours (Of Love)’ and ‘Pockets’ in the player the only featuring vocal). It’s not all gloom and doom, however, as Kaukolampi and his accomplices incorporates a distinct touch of melodic pop to their hypnotic, electronic mix of synthrock, kraut and noise, delivered with an elegantly organic feel not entirely unlike fellow synthrock krautians This Is Head and MF/MB/. To put it in a very simple term: Awesome!

Check it out if you like:
Kraftwerk, Suicide, Neu! and (un)healthy nighttime activities like wallowing in modern man angst…

More K-X-P:
On Facebook
On MySpace

Genre: Electronica/Synthrock
Who: K-X-P
Album: K-X-P
Label: Smalltown Supersound
Year: 2010
Country: Finland
Language: English
DOWNLOAD VIA

Recommended tracks:
Mehu Moments – 18 Hours (Of Love) – Aibal Dub – Pockets