Kogekunst

Kogekunst EP

Written by: BV on 27/12/2014 19:12:11

Kogekunst is a noise-pop duo from Aalborg, Denmark consisting of Oscar Krusell Sørensen and Simon Wetterstrøm Mariegaard. Having previously left me dumbfounded at the 2014 edition of Copenhagen Psych Fest with a performance bordering on an all-out sonic assault, I gained an uncanny interest in them and their musical exploits. Mind you, this is not music for the faint of heart as the duo often just makes use of the bare necessities to convey their music – often resulting in ambitious displays of dissonance, primal rhythms and a devil-may-care attitude to the whole process of playing music.

It is refreshing, in a sense, when Kogekunst opens their debut EP with “Since The First Time I Saw You” – coincidentally the first track I ever heard them play. The track opens with a ferocious scream, a dissonant guitar and the primal pounding of a floor-tom. The duo then proceeds with singing the largely incomprehensible lyrics – a charm in itself, as it adds a certain kind of murkiness to the general soundscape. It’s that sort of vibe where you’re not entirely sure what they’re singing, but you relate to it somehow anyway as if the collective sound of the track far undermines the necessity for audible lyrics.

It’s a tendency that dominates the EP throughout its mere three tracks – as can be heard on “Disko” which is an up-tempo noise-drone that largely emphasizes many of the same things as “Since The First Time I Saw You”, though without that inexplicable quality that makes me want to listen to it over and over again. There seems to be two quite explicit sides of the coin when it comes to Kogekunst. One side is the noise-rock assaults that are quite attention-grabbing and then there are the mellow, hypnotic drones. “Jeg Ser Sort” belongs to the latter category, placing its emphasis on a soothing 12-string guitar and the duo’s collective vocals – charmingly simple and chanting as they are. “Jeg Ser Sort” is the only track on the EP where I feel that the lyrics are actually a pivotal part of the soundscape, since the vocals have been placed so up front in the mix as they have.

My overall impression of this debut from Kogekunst is largely the same as the impression I have gathered from the few live shows I’ve seen with them. Their intention is clearly to make music on their terms, uncompromising and avant-garde as that may be. It is an approach I have the utmost respect for – even though it greatly decreases the likelihood of the band ever reaching out to a large mass of people. It is also an approach that leaves them quite difficult for me to compare to other bands, really. Nonetheless, we select few who have stumbled upon Kogekunst can rejoice, at least, as the band has now also made themselves present in our homes and not just at small venues in the dead of night. I look forward to hearing how they’ll progress from here.

7

Download: Since The First Time I Saw You, Jeg Ser Sort
For the fans of: The Jesus and Mary Chain, The Membranes, The Brian Jonestown Massacre
Listen: Facebook

Release date 20.12.2014
Self-released


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