Ko Shin Moon (FR) / K not K | Club Control

Ko Shin Moon was born in 2017, at a crossroads between traditional Eastern strings and electronic music machines. After spending four years in India collecting folk instruments, Axel Moon discovered that his old friend Niko Shin had started a recording studio filled with analog synths and vintage gear.

From this private haven, Ko Shin Moon create otherworldly, hybrid melodies where psychedelia meets space disco, and electric bağlama and oud riffs embrace the harmonics of the sitar.

In line with the works of Haruomi Hosono (the band name is a reference to one of his exotica albums), Ko Shi Moon draws from a vast lineage of experimentalists and music explorers such as David Byrne, Bill Laswell, Jah Wobble, Ryuichi Sakamoto, and Clara Mondshine.

Through stylistic experimentation, the band outlines a universe of contrasts. Their credo: eclecticism, cosmopolitanism and hybridity.

Released in 2017, their first, eponymous album was composed as an attempt to both confront and research traditional melodies, by mixing instrumental recordings and samples. In this musical journey, repertoires, genres and times blend and form a new language. The album marked the start of a fruitful collaboration with Paris-based record label Akuphone, with whom they share a common ambition: the renewal of listening practices through open borders.

In 2019, the National Library of France (BnF) invited Ko Shin Moon to create new pieces based on their sound archive - a musical treasure comprising recorded material from every part of the world. The only restriction was that Ko Shin Moon would rely solely on 78-rpm records, the ancient format of vinyl. Their album 78 fragments is the final output of this partnership.

On their third LP Leïla Nova released on Akuphone records in 2020, the band set aside sampling and aimed to reassert themselves as a live duo. The album’s ten tracks sketch out a pilgrimage from East to West, a cosmic synthesis of different worlds. They serve as a reminder that contemporaneity is more than ever a free exploration of musical territories, and an alternative to Western cultural hegemony.

On stage, Ko Shin Moon’s fiery music pieces unfold to create an immersive listening and dancing experience. Their live performances have thrilled audiences at multiple French avant-garde music festivals (Trans Musicales, Nuits Sonores…), and in such countries as Denmark, Finland, Croatia,Morocco, Lebanon, Israel-Palestine and Egypt…

Alongside projects such as Altin Gün, Acid Arab, Ammar 808, and record labels Bongo Joe, Glitterbeat Records and Sublime Frequencies, Ko Shin Moon puts forth the concept of “outernational” music, challenging listening practices as well as an out-dated idea of World Music.

In 2020, Ko Shin Moon launched a series entitled Miniature with their newly created record label Total Totem. Miniature is paying tribute to pop and folk cultures from Maghreb to India, gently inviting listeners to travel through space and time. Each miniature is a dialogue between traditional instruments, vocals and electronic sounds, in collaboration with singers and instrumentalists from different territories.

«Ko Shin Moon is the new Parisian band to follow closely » LE NOUVEL OBS

“Khruangbin fans will be delighted. A total mind trip !” ROLLING STONE

“The ability to take a single track throughout so many different energies and sounds is what makes Ko Shin Moon such an intriguing act (...) Prepare for more whimsical and curious journeys through cultures and generations” EARMILK

«Giorgio Moroder jamming on a Moog Modular synth with Thylacine and Acid Arab on a music pattern from Ravi Shankar : (...) this is the summary of the start of Ko Shin Moon’s career» GONZAÏ

koshinmoon.com

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K not K, the duo project previously known as Karpov not Kasparov, charms the listeners with an optimistic electronic sound scented with oriental flavours and classic jazz inserts. Through a carefully mastered composition, like a game of chess, K not K seduces the audience with danceable and melodic music.

Their performances bear the imprint of an inexhaustible creative energy, from the concept phase to the last detail of choreography and decoration.

During the 8 years of activity, K not K has performed in 38 European countries, taking the show from clubs or cultural stages, museums, art galleries, to important festivals, sharing the stage with bands such as GusGus, Underworld , Altin Gun, Poni Hoax, etc.

The band's third material, the EP Memory (2021) was broadcast by BBC 6.

www.knotk.com

www.instagram.com/k.not.k