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Capitol K | Island Row

Exotic and metropolitan.
CD, XL/V2

Tekst: Wilko van Iperen

Publicatiedatum: 14 mei 2002

"Could you please give me your name?" the telephone operator of the airline's booking agency probably asked when KC Robinson called for confirmation of his seats for the flight to Brunei the next day. "That's Kristian, with a capital k," answered Kristian Craig Robinson, aka Capitol K. When, with every time someone writes down your name, you have to point out that it's spelled with a k - believe me, I know all too well - you've got your alias right there. Lots of people now probably do know the name of this boundary-breaking artist, Capitol K. Island Row is Robinson's second long-player, after the critically acclaimed Sounds Of The Empire. While the title of that first record makes your mind wander off to the more exotic places of where the British Empire once reached, Island Row really gets abroad.

Being inspired by a trip down memory lane to Brunei - where he grew up as a kid - Robinson fuses Asian rhythms, Western electronics, and guitars with big city angst. On Island Row, the accessible, mostly tabla-driven, songs get alternated with soundscapes, on which sinuous guitar rhythms are combined with wiry, keen, edged beats. The opening song, City, exactly reflects the feeling of wandering through the more-or-less empty - it's never completely quiet here - streets of a large city at night. Haunting post rock guitars are put here on top of low, heavy beats. It's amazing to hear how Robinson manages to have post rock sound light and rhythmic at the same time, of which Darussalam is a fine example. The single, Pillow, though is a playful melody, with its cheerful loving sound. Capitol Beat Sticky starts off as a dark-sounding beat that would've fit on The Contino Sessions by Death In Vegas but turns out to be exactly what the title insinuates: a sticky dance beat with catchy guitars. The angular God Ohm takes us into to the somewhat mellower part of the album. Songs such as Breakers and Heat sound as if it's 30 degree Celsius outside, leaving you all muggy. Sometimes though, the album gets a bit too much on the soft side in all its mellowness and breezy singing, but it's the amazing rhythmic structures and melody progressions of the songs that make this a very interesting record. The tension that arises from the restrained noise and genius beats makes it a real pleasure listening to Island Row. At the same time, it's exotic and metropolitan: great stuff.

http://www.kindamuzik.net/recensie/capitol-k/island-row/1550/
Meer Capitol K op KindaMuzik: http://www.kindamuzik.net/artiest/capitol-k