Underground cold wave duo The KVB are back with their most potent and immediate record yet.

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Photo: KEYI Studio

Underground coldwave duo The KVB are back with their most potent and immediate record yet. Produced and mixed by Andy Savours (Black Country New Road, My Bloody Valentine,

The Horrors) ‘Unity’ represents an exciting development in the band’s sonic journey and will be released on 26th November via Invada Records. Across the album’s ten songs, The KVB masterfully pull together all their trademark components; radiant guitars, textural synths and an ear for a moody, brooding melody all presented here with a renewed dynamism.

Alongside the announcement of their forthcoming album, The KVB are sharing the music video for their new single, ‘Unité’, which the duo explain is “a homage to our time living in Berlin, with the pounding kick drum and grinding electronics”. ‘Unité’ perfectly aligns the dark and light sensibilities of the album by lyrically referencing urbanisation, and a dystopian potential future wrapped up in a euphoric, rave-tinged groove.

Photo:George Katsanakis

The initial writing sessions for the new album ‘Unity’ took place in Spain in early 2019, where the duo found influence from “half built luxury villas, still unfinished from the crash in 2008. There was something eerie and beautiful about the desolate landscapes and concrete in the sunshine.” There has always been an element of dystopia through their sound, but now there is also more of a rapturous release.

Throughout the album lyrical themes combine double meanings and a sleight of hand is present; Le Corbousier’s brutalist ‘Unité d’habitation’ informs the title track and via the French-to-English translation ‘Unité’ becomes ‘Unity’ – a rallying cry to totality on the dancefloor. ‘Unbound’ is informed by the classic shoegaze stylings of Slowdive and Ride but also late-modern poet Keston Sutherland and the idea of recreating a special moment lost to the past.

Beginning with a blast of electronic drums, lead single ‘World on Fire’ instantly kicks in with a euphoric blend of guitars and synths beneath Nicholas Wood’s and Kat Day’s breathy-yet-powerful vocal duet. Current single ‘Unité’ is built around a pulsing synth arpeggio that wouldn’t sound out of place on Trans Europe Express, but is augmented by detached, deadpan vocals and dream-pop sonics.

Blending reverb-soaked shoegaze with minimalist electronic production, The KVB’s music reflected Nicholas Wood and Kat Day’s mastery of atmosphere even as their sound evolved over the course of the 2010s. Early releases such as 2012’s debut album, ‘Always Then’, dealt in brittle beats and sonic blasts that evoked Cabaret Voltaire and the Jesus and Mary Chain in equal measure, but the duo’s style became more streamlined and sharp-edged on later efforts such as 2018’s ‘Only Now Forever’.

Formed in 2010 by singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Nicholas Wood as a solo project, The KVB got started with a number of limited cassette and vinyl releases before vocalist/keyboardist/visual artist Kat Day joined Wood in 2011. The band have released several critically acclaimed albums and EPs over the last decade before signing to Invada Records for their last album ‘Only Now Forever’.

Having toured extensively, the band have amassed fans far and wide including the U.S., China, Russia & Japan before lockdown offered an opportunity to relocate from Berlin to Manchester to work on new music.

地下冷浪二人組 KVB 帶著他們迄今為止最強大和最直接的記錄回來了。由 Andy Savors 製作和混音(Black Country New Road、My Bloody Valentine、

The Horrors)“Unity”代表了樂隊聲音之旅中令人興奮的發展,並將於 11 月 26 日通過 Invada Records 發行。在專輯的十首歌曲中,KVB 巧妙地將他們所有的標誌性元素結合在一起;光芒四射的吉他、有質感的合成器和適合喜怒無常、憂鬱的旋律的耳朵,所有這些都以煥然一新的活力呈現在這裡。

在宣布即將發布的專輯的同時,KVB 還分享了他們新單曲“Unité”的音樂視頻,兩人解釋說這是“向我們生活在柏林的時代致敬,用敲擊的底鼓和磨礪的電子設備”。 “Unité”通過抒情地引用城市化,以及包裹在欣快、狂野色彩的凹槽中的反烏托邦潛在未來,完美地協調了專輯的明暗敏感性。

新專輯 ‘Unity’ 的初始寫作會議於 2019 年初在西班牙舉行,在那裡,二人組發現了“半建成的豪華別墅,在 2008 年的墜機事故中仍未完工。荒涼的風景和美麗的東西令人毛骨悚然”。陽光下的混凝土。”他們的聲音總是有一種反烏托邦的元素,但現在也有更多的狂喜釋放。

整張專輯的抒情主題結合了雙重含義,並有技巧; Le Corbousier 的野獸派“Unité d’habitation”為主打歌提供了信息,通過法語到英語的翻譯,“Unité”變成了“Unity”——這是舞池上對整體的號召。 “Unbound” 的靈感來自 Slowdive 和 Ride 的經典鞋履造型,還有後現代詩人 Keston Sutherland 以及重現過去遺失的特殊時刻的想法。

從一陣電子鼓聲開始,主打單曲《World on Fire》在 Nicholas Wood 和 Kat Day 氣勢磅礴但有力的人聲二重唱下,吉他和合成器的歡快混合立即開始。當前的單曲“Unité”圍繞著一種在 Trans Europe Express 上聽起來不會不合時宜的脈衝合成琶音構建而成,但通過獨立的、面無表情的人聲和夢幻流行的聲音加以增強。

KVB 的音樂將混響浸透的鞋子與極簡主義的電子製作相結合,反映了 Nicholas Wood 和 Kat Day 對氛圍的掌握,即使他們的聲音在 2010 年代不斷發展。早期發行的作品,例如 2012 年的首張專輯“Always Then”,處理了類似伏爾泰歌舞表演和耶穌與瑪麗之鍊的清脆節拍和音爆,但二人組的風格在後來的努力中變得更加流線型和鋒利,例如2018 年的“只有現在永遠”。

KVB 於 2010 年由歌手/詞曲作者/多樂器演奏家 Nicholas Wood 作為一個獨奏項目成立,在歌手/鍵盤手/視覺藝術家 Kat Day 於 2011 年加入 Wood 之前,KVB 開始發行一些限量的盒式磁帶和黑膠唱片。該樂隊已經發行了一些在與 Invada Records 簽約製作他們的最後一張專輯“Only Now Forever”之前,在過去十年中獲得了廣受好評的專輯和 EP。

在進行了廣泛的巡演後,該樂隊在美國、中國、俄羅斯和日本等地積累了廣泛的粉絲,之後封鎖提供了從柏林搬遷到曼徹斯特從事新音樂工作的機會。