Digitalism e Kinky

The initial formation of Digitalism took place in a record store in Hamburg, Germany. Jens “Jence” Moelle and İsmail "Isi" Tüfekçi both being music enthusiasts crossed paths in the shop and eventually became fast friends. The owner of the record store invited them to a DJ party and the two obligingly accepted the invitation. With a little lapse in time the two were mixing and recording material on their own. Their sound was edgy and original, filtering garage punk through overloaded house beats.

In some instances it seemed as though you could mistake their sound with Justice or some of Daft Punk’s more aggressive material, but there was always something original persisting at the core of their sound. Unsurprisingly the group signed to the Paris based label Kitsuné, a company co-founded by Daft Punk collaborator Gildas Loaëc.

The group’s debut album “Idealism” was released through this label on 21 May 2007 and was also released through Toshiba EMI in Japan, Astralwerks in North America, and through etcetc and Virgin Records in Australia and New Zealand. “Idealism” did remarkably well in the critical circuits and currently holds a 76 on the critical aggregator site “Metacritic”. The album consists of a total of 15 tracks and 7 additional downloadable bonus tracks. 5 songs on the album such as their reworking of the Cure’s “Fire in Cairo” had previously been released on some of Digitalism’s past EPs. The album also excelled commercially thanks credited to several add placements such as the promos for the video games “Midnight Club: Los Angeles” and “Need for Speed: ProStreet”. “Idealism” entered the US Top Heatseekers at No. 29 and at No.6 on the US Top Electronic Albums.

Digitalism put out the EPs “Pogo” and “Blitz” before releasing their highly anticipated 2011 sophomore release “I Love You Dude”. Though the album did not do quite as well critically or commercially it did feature a high profile collaboration with the Strokes’ singer Julian Casablancas on the track “Forest Gump”. The album also did reasonably well in Australia, charting at No. 9 on the Australian Dance Albums Chart.

The band’s influences ranges from French House sensations Daft Punk to German electronic pioneers Kraftwerk. Film scores are another big inspirational force for the group. Their studio and live set up relies heavily on the MacBook Pro, Korg’s microKorg, KP3, MS-20, ESX-1 and EMX-1 and Roland V-drums and MC-202.

Kinky first came together in 2000, featuring Gilberto Cerezo (vocals/guitar), Ulises Lozano (keyboardist/programmer), Carlos Chairez (guitar), Omar Gongaro (drums) and Cesar Pliego (bassist). The band then set to work developing their live sound, preparing for the annual battle of the bands at the Latin Alternative Music Conference in New York City, US. Kinky impressed, garnering the attention of British producer Chris Allison, who had previously worked with Coldplay, Fila Brazillia and the Wedding Present amongst many others. Allison offered to produce and release their debut album on his label, Sonic 360.

The end product was their self-titled debut, released in 2002, meeting with critical acclaim. The album’s success was bolstered by their music being featured in a commercial for an advertisement for the Nissan Altima, spreading their sound to new audiences. Kinky then joined an incredible lineup for the ‘Unlimited Sunshine Tour’ in the US, supporting Cake, De La Soul, The Flaming Lips and Modest Mouse, as well as an appearance at Coachella festival.

Their second album, “Atlas,” came out in 2003, moving towards recreating their rockier live sound, limiting their use of electronics. helping to capture their energetic performances which had gained notoriety and positive acclaim. For their third record, they travelled to an isolated cabin in the mountains of Southern California, US, allowing them time to focus on their sound. Guest features included Men at Work’s Colin Hay and Intocable accordionist Ricardo Muñoz. For their fourth record, Kinky teamed up with Money Mark of Beastie Boys fame to co-produce the album, “Barracuda” in 2008. Their fifth album, “Sueño de la Maquina” brought in John King of the Dust Brothers for the production and mixing process, released in 2012.