London-based art-pop trio Kyoti see out a very successful first year by announcing their new single ‘Chimera’, due for release in November 2016. After releasing their debut single ‘Cave In’ in May, shortly followed by jazz electro fusion ‘Curved Edge, Straight Line’ in July; the art project’s most recent release delves deeper into their distinctive sound. ‘Chimera’ finds room for the intelligent lyrical influences of John Grant spliced with the minimalist textures of electro producers Kavinsky, SOHN, and James Blake. Having already assembled a substantial following, the trio has earned support from the likes of Indie Shuffle, Complex and C-Heads, as they make further headway for the top of the alternative music hierarchy.
Electronic art pop project KYOTI are set to release their debut EP ‘Orbit’ on 24th February alongside a new single ‘Battle Cry’. The release will be supported by a London launch night at The Waiting Room in Stoke Newington on the 27th February. Made up of Ed Burgon, David Mabbott and Benji Huntrods, KYOTI combine their respective influences of folk, jazz, and pop to create a sophisticated contemporary electronic sound. Blending rich synths, polyrhythmic programmed beats and storytelling lyrics, the trio succeeds in painting an imaginative landscape of texture and emotion. The EP is the product of a year’s worth of writing, experimentation and exploration of KYOTI’s artistic voice, with each track representing parts of a growing and evolving story of love, loss and the search for artistic truth. A key element of the London trio’s work is the exploration of the modern world “which can change so quickly with just one orbit of the sun.” Speaking of ‘Curved Edge Straight Line’, Complex commend the group’s “truly engaging story-telling”, commenting that the track requires “many listens to properly digest the vivid imagery”. When listening to ‘Orbit’, there is the impression that we are being ushered into a world of rich imagination, an idea which is made remarkably apparent in ‘Acceptably Sane’, with lead singer Burgon repeating “I’ll let you into my head” over playful synths and a head-bobbing beat.
Kyoti: Battle Cry
The group cites the likes of Childish Gambino, Chance the Rapper, Bob Dylan and Hozier as influences upon their ability to tell stories, by blending hip-hop style freeform rhyme with the melodic phrasing of classic singer-songwriters and contemporary pop. But their creative powers do not stop there; KYOTI is indeed best understood as an art project. Drawing inspiration from British modernist sculptors such as Barbara Hepworth and the surrealist optical illusions of M.C Escher, the group makes use of colourful, abstract imagery in the face of the mundane urban environment to create feelings of fantastical escapism. Combining electro-pop with psychedelic imagery and lyrical escapism, KYOTI bring their unique brand of art-pop to The Waiting Room on 27th February, marking the release of their masterful first EP ‘Orbit’.
Kyoti: Battle Cry Lyrics:
I wish I was a cobra
I would stay forever young
But instead I’m getting older
Won’t shed my skin for anyone
I read a lot, now this is all I’ve got
And semiotically I will be ruled by what I’m not
I can’t live a lie, even though I always try
I guess that alibi will never be my battle cry
I wish I was Rasputin
So that I may never die
Except by poison or pollution
Or by falling from the sky
I read a lot, now this is all I’ve got
And semiotically I will be ruled by what I’m not
I can’t live a lie, even though I always try
I guess that alibi will never be my battle cry
I read a lot, now this is all I’ve got
And semiotically I will be ruled by what I’m not
I can’t live a lie, even though I always try
I guess that alibi will never be my battle cry
