Music is a funny thing.
For some it is for dancing to; for others, it’s for singing to. Some people like to sit back and relax to a bit of Simon and Garfunkel, some people like to thrash their heads around their bedrooms to System of a Down. Different things for different people.
And they don’t get more different than Klaus Kinski. This five-some of post punk rockers, were the subject of a writing assignment I had for an online magazine called Blank Pages. The evening was already marked for the surreal, as when I arrived at Manchester Piccaddily bus station, I was greeted by the sight of open air men’s urinals. Yes, you heard me, men’s urinals. I suppose it’s no different to seeing a drunk guy piss up the wall of a side street or alley. Except this was broad daylight, surrounded by hundreds of people. Who thought, ‘Do you know what we need more of? Public weeing. We clearly don’t have enough.’
Proof I'm not lying
From Piccaddily Gardens to somewhere in Manchester. My lovely friend John came to meet me, gave me a day rider so I could get there and back for free, and off I went to meet Klaus Kinski. I was met at the Tesco by Edwin, the drummer, who took me to the house they all live in. Edwin was a sweet guy, easy to talk to, reminded me of some of the lads I went to Uni with. If the rest of the band were so forthcoming I shouldn’t have a problem. Right?
Wrong. Awkward was the word. At least at first. To be fair, I did spring a dictation machine on them. Not everyone likes speaking into them, as painful as leaving a voicemail but ten times as long. Like trying to get personality out of a stone, these too cool for school musicians saw me as the Enemy. Like a treacherous music journo trying to trip them up, reveal their secrets, take their words out of context. When in fact I was just as nervous as they were. Popping the proverbial interviewer cherry you might say, I mustered up the dignity of Michael Parkinson, the good humour of Jonathon Ross, and the excessively northern accent of Melanie Sykes (which the Dictaphone, cringemakingly, seemed to bring out even more) I managed to get them to open up.
Some Welsh people
Each member had a role within the band, Edwin – the shy long haired drummer; James – the slightly mental Cobain-esq lead singer; Jake – black haired, Brian Molko-looky, Bass player; Dylan – cute, artistic type guitarist and keyboardist and Dominic, straight laced, bank employee by day, guitarist.
If you look at the artwork on their Myspace and listen to the music, you would see how weird these lads are trying to be. It seems to work for them though, they’ve just completed an EP with Ankst Records, better known for bringing out records for the Super Furry Animals, Los Campesinos! and for awhile, Cerys Matthews.
Their choice of name is also telling, Klaus Kinski, for those who don’t know, was a mental German actor from the ‘50’s and ‘60’s. Labelled with schizophrenia and plagued with suicide attempts; a strange choice for a namesake perhaps? No, listen to their music.
It’s hard to say whether I like it or not, or whether it’s good or not. I think the music defies classification in those terms. But it certainly makes an impression. It’s like the auditory equivalent to a panic attack, or the breathlessness you get on a roller coaster. For some that stems from excitement, for others fear. Like I said music is a funny thing.
To see the interview in full go to
http://www.blankmediacollective.org/blankpages/
And if you think you can brave the music go to
http://www.myspace.com/klausruddykinski
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