Electronic duo AK/DK has been gaining quite a following in the past few years, from their excessive touring habits and national radio play. We sat down with the Brighton bunch to discuss what’s in the pipeline for them.
Describe what AK/DK are about to a reader who hasn’t heard of you before.
We’re all about fun and noise. We’re a duo – we both play drums and synths. Our live sets feature a lot of improvisation so each one can be different from the last. We thrive on the chaotic energy that can sometimes happen between the audience and a band at a live show.
So you have a new single Lagom out soon. Tell us about your new album?
The first record was pure studio improvisation, captured straight into the box with minimal edits/overdubs. This new record was initially recorded in a similar way, then we took it away and played around with vocal ideas – there are more vocals on this new set of tracks – they’re of a more pop direction, whilst maintaining the fuzzy chaos of synths and drums.
If each of you had to pick a favourite track from the album, what would it be and why?
Ed: I love Wolves at the Door – it has a weird combination of lo-fi dance music and Slayer. This track magically came together in the studio and what you hear on the record is purely what came out that day – no overdubs. It’s pretty intense!
Gee: One of my favourite tracks is called Disco(n)tent – it features Jimi Wheelwright (from the almighty band Tigercub) on crazy, fuzzed-up bass guitar. I love the gnarly, punk feel it’s got – makes me think of what it might be like if you crossed The Fall with Devo!
What are your favourite cities to play in and where would you like to play in the future?
London and Brighton are always highlights of the tour, but sometimes there’s a surprise – one of the craziest audiences we’ve had was in Ostend in Belgium. We played a festival in an old factory in the docks and the crowd were 100% dedicated to chaos! There have been crazy after-parties before in Paris and Amsterdam. We’re looking forward to seeing what Bristol has to offer. We’re also hoping to make it back up to Manchester sometime very soon – always been super fun up there.
You have some live dates coming up, with one at The Hope & Ruin on Fri 24 Feb. What can we expect from this show?
We’ll be playing tracks from the new record, as well as some AK/DK classics, peppered with a few improv sections. Support is from the brilliant new band Fröst. They play motorik electronic pop – we did a remix of their new single Crackling on the Wire. The fine people from Brighton Noise will also be spinning some of their favourite tunes and they’ll DJ till we all can’t stand up anymore!
