{"title":"K-X-P","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eK-X-P is an experimental electronic\/alternative\/space rock group hailing from Helsinki, Finland. Founded in 2006, the band has been pushing boundaries and exploring new sonic territories ever since.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWith their unique blend of genres, K-X-P has carved out a distinct sound that sets them apart from their peers. Drawing inspiration from a wide range of influences, including *Aavikko*, *Jaakko Eino Kalevi*, and *Uusi Fantasia*, they create music that is both captivating and thought-provoking.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eKnown for their mesmerizing live performances, K-X-P takes audiences on a journey through pulsating beats, hypnotic melodies, and immersive visuals. Their innovative approach to music-making has earned them a dedicated fan base around the world.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"11-12","title":"11","description":"\u003cp\u003efinland's finest are back with something truly epic. where k-x-p's 2010 debut was an exercise in kraut-tronica, k-x-p ii finds the band unleashing their inner pop deviance. this is an album full of rock 'n' roll shamanism, glam-punk madness, grinding dance music, electronic motrhead techno - and a bit of krautrock too.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"No Label","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":50436573233483,"sku":"359445","price":5.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/7671e732-bd24-465c-9989-7ef069f9b86e_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1726919066"},{"product_id":"k-x-p","title":"K-X-P","description":"\u003cp\u003eK-X-P is a drums, bass and synth trio from Helsinki, Finland, born out of the fire and ashes of the seminal Op:l Bastards and The Lefthanded, both of which were led by Timo Kaukolampi. The band is comprised of Timo Kaukolampi (electronics, vocals), Tuomo Puranen (bass and keyboards) and rotating drummers Anssi Nykanen and Tomi Leppanen. The band mixes electronics, krautrock, noise, and even rockabilly into a hypnotic and minimal motorik groove inspired by Raymond Scott, Moondog and Martin Rev, and remindful of Spacemen 3, This Heat, 23 Skidoo, Suicide and NEU!.The musical background of K-X-P's members varies wildly, ranging from the disco-idiotism-turned-into-spiritual-hide-and-seek of Op:l Bastards, to the fusion and free jazz explorations of Pekka Pohjola, of which Anssi Nykanen was a member, and Jimi Tenor, in which Tuomo Puranen played, to the Kraftwerk-ish visions and East European soulscapes of Tomi Leppanen's former band,Aavikko. Timo Kaukolampi is possibly best known as Annie's main producer and co-writer; he's the individual who connected Annie with Smalltown Supersound and led to STSS releasing her 2009 album, Don't Stop.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Svart Records","offers":[{"title":"LP","offer_id":50527143657803,"sku":"2017768","price":19.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/test_d68c6dbd_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1728052038"},{"product_id":"iii-part-ii","title":"III Part II","description":"\u003cp\u003eTake the themes of: fear of war, paranoia, euphoria, dark sexuality and a cosmic new age and imagine them in the industrial backdrop of 1970s Sheffield and you have Timo Kaukolampi's vision for what the fourth K-X-P album 'III Part II' sounds and looks like.The Finnish group - the core unit of which has now long comprised of the trio: Timo Kaukolampi (electronics, vocals and the 'K'), Tuomo Puranen (bass, keyboards and the 'P'), and alternating drummers (the 'X' - for the mystery) Tomi Leppanen and Anssi Nykanen - are once again found to be breaking territory in the second part of their album III.  If Part I was the brooding, rising and tension-ensconced opening act then Part II is the climatic and explosive finale that wraps up the thirteen tracks that stretches across the two releases. It's a rare feat to be able to create a second half to something that feels both unique and of its own character as well as be something that retains coherence and conclusion but K-X-P has succeeded in doing just that.Despite the evolution of K-X-P being such a progressive and capacious one, it's something the group consider to be uncontrollable rather than concocted, \"It is not possible to control or predict.  It is random and chaotic, [considered] evolution sucks the energy from me like a leech.  \" Timo Kaukolampi says of the process.From 2014's The History of Techno EP to Part I of III being released early in 2015, the group have traversed genres with glistening grace, from ambient proto techno to juddering space rock and just about everywhere else in between. For Kaukolampi however, he views this latest sonic development as \"the most rock, punk and new wave record we have ever done. It is angry and hostile but it also has beauty in it. Like a conversation between good and evil, capturing the moment when punk rockers started to use drum machines and sequencers.\"When pressed on the individual tracks from the album, the sorts of descriptions and reference points eclipse that conventional and prosaic: \"A Dystopian vision of\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Svart Records","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":50888151499083,"sku":"2017778","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/test_b4efea33_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1732538469"},{"product_id":"iv-30","title":"IV","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis is a dialogue between man and machine, say K-X-P, continuing the lineage set out by Kraftwerk all those years ago. Yet a nostalgic pursuit of such past explorations this is not, IV is an album that is emblematic of K-X-P's ever-ceasing desire to move forward and explore new worlds, hurtling forward into new realms of minimal techno, icy synths and brooding atmospheres.K-X-P which revolves around two main collaborators - Timo Kaukolampi and Tomi Leppanen - have now been playing together for over a decade, resulting in one of Finland's most consistent yet ever-evolving alternative artists.   As with most K-X-P records, there's a strong thematic approach and concept at its core. For anyone that has seen the band will know, their live shows are a potent and unforgettable force. So this record was made from the energy and approach of one. \"We recorded this album like we do live shows, says Timo. \"No headphones, just loud monitors blasting the synths and beat boxes. Usually we make records in a studio, then after its finished we learn and rehearse the tracks and hit the road. This time we made the core of the record and started to play it live pretty much immediately after first drafts. We wanted to do things differently, to get the music in our muscle memory before recording anything. \"The raw energy of this approach is palpable on the record. The driving, propulsive rhythms charge with purpose whilst the synth work washes over sections in giant engulfing waves, and electronics and beats collide in rocketing harmony. Whilst the record is thoughtful and doesn't succumb to easy euphoria, it paces forward with intent and a sonic vigour that would hit audiences as hard as their live shows do.Whilst the opening \"Nimeton Tie\" might sound like a journey into outer space or a nosedive into the future, it actually translates as \"road with no name\". Timo says: \"It is some kind of metaphor of the journey to death. The trip a human must take from this form of living into the next one.\" Which adds a whole new dimension\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Svart Records","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":50901334131019,"sku":"2017779","price":14.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/test_2b602eec_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1732763684"},{"product_id":"iii-part-1-2","title":"III Part 1","description":"\u003cp\u003eFinnish innovators K-X-P have long identified as being an \"anti-band\" and as they move onto their third album, III, they continue to be so by defying both convention and expectation. For K-X-P every new record is another layer of skin shed; new territories are broached, areas explored and fresh influences imbued. The critically acclaimed pop-tinged electronic whirlwind that was their last release, II, has given way to something stripped and primed, leaving a dense yet sparse record of cinematic ambient techno fused with churning, progressive space rock. This follows hot on the heels of the group's proto techno banger, 2014's The History of Techno EP.K-X-P are a group who look far beyond simply musical influences and III includes a plethora of inspirations that range from the sonic to the spiritual, Kaukolampi has been practising \"deeper meditations and yogi practises\" on top of a varied musical diet, taking in \"old techno and ambient records, some extreme metal like Mayhem's latest record Esoteric Warfare - that hit me hard - also lots of religious music from all religions.\"   However one influence, when locked deep into the nocturnal grooves of the LP, makes perfect sense, \"One big influence was driving at night in Los Angeles. LA is sometimes a very lonely city. Somehow this record has this deep isolation and lonely feeling. Alone in space. Forgotten. Like an endless ten lane highway in the night with no speed limit.\"\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Svart Records","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":50901334491467,"sku":"2017777","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/test_dd115764_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1732763700"}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/collections\/test_306cb8f3_thumbnail_4096_54deceba-f4b4-4de8-89f0-e28d9fca6017.jpg?v=1726919047","url":"https:\/\/shop.roughtrade.com\/collections\/k-x-p.oembed","provider":"Rough Trade","version":"1.0","type":"link"}