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Hailing from the West of England, Kinetik are Colin Jordan, Andrew Slegt and ShirleyAnn Davies who were formerly known as the Kraftwerk tribute band Electro-Kinetik. This 1997 release (their studio debut) was re-released in 2002 with extra tracks and a more polished production, taking advantage of the know-how that the band had gained in the intervening time.
Although they will have obvious appeal to Kraftwerk fans, it's evident that Kinetik have taken their time in developing a more distinctive sound that, thanks in part to Colin's vocals, has a certain 'Britishness' that makes Kinetik a force to be reckoned with in their own right. The vocodered vocals that crop up throughout the album are used to good effect, most noticeably on the short "Father Of Invention" (which makes an excellent intro for the darker "Sounds On Industry") while ShirleyAnn's EWI (Electronic Woodwind Instrument) is another important part of the band's sound and one that finds it's niche on the ambient closer "Haven's Lament" where her heart-rendering lead makes the term 'lament' a most appropriate one.
At the time the album was recorded (1995/96),the subject of power sources, fuels and refining was a subject close to the band's collective heart, due to the proposed burning of the allegedly carcinogenic fuel Orimulsion on the Pembrokeshire coastline in Wales, close to Jordan's home at the time. Not only did this help to inspire the album's concept, most explicitly on the almost whimsical and light hearted "Pipeline". Moreover, it also gave them the chance to make their live debut at a concert organised to promote awareness of the problem, called "The Burning Issue" and it's from this performance (and the subsequent limited edition CDR release of the same name) that the live rendition of "Pipeline" is taken and what a powerful rendition it is, showing that, even at that early stage, they were a quality live act (and have since improved still further!!). "Orimulsion" comes from the same show and is a chilling recitation, delivered via heavily treated voice of the facts concerning Orimulsion and what the results could have been if the proposed refining had gone ahead (which, happily, it never did).
Tracks such as "Industrial Technology" and "Net Working" deal with the tried and tested formula of technology and their effects on modern life. Mostly, Kinetik do not preach on the good or ill effects of the subject, preferring to remain impartial, although the semi-spoken/treated vocals of "Net Working" paint a rosey picture of the computer age."Dance Machine" is probably a little too fast for all but the most athletic of us to dance to but provides, along with "Generation" and the jet-propelled opener "Kinetik Energy" a potent dose of the racey Kinetik sound.
Kinetik are just making their way into the wider electropop world with a recognisable sounds very much their own so why not check them out and see what they have to offer.
RATING: 8
Artist Link: http://www.kinetik.fsnet.co.uk
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