The Kate Boy Collective

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The sheer scope of vision involved in creating and executing concept art requires an incubation process that in today’s music industry, is almost impossible to accomplish. While concept albums are churned out at a feverish pace (even John Mayer dabbles in the space; which should annoy you), a group or a solo artist that symbolizes an idea (a clear artistic vision), isn’t very common in an industry that continues to value marketability over artistic merit. But every now and again, a ‘scene’ emerges in a part of the world, like grunge in Seattle or techno in Detroit, that offers the proper environment for art to develop without the controlling arms of industry, or worse, a Svengali manager in the mold of Kim Fowley. Right now, actually for the past few years, Sweden and Australia seem to be hotbeds for giving birth to synth-based electronic masters that have taken the states by storm. The Knife might have opened the floodgates in 2006 with Deep Cuts and Silent Shout, but today’s scene seems to be electrified with a diverse range of artists that include NONONO and Lykke Li (both from Sweden), Flume (from Australia), and Crystal Castles (also from Australia). So when I heard about the magnetic blend of Swedish and Australian musicians into one electro-pop ‘concept band,’ titled androgynously as KATE BOY, I knew I had to explore their sound during the incubation phase.

Having been notified the group would be coming to Los Angeles to play an under-the-radar gig at the Echoplex over the weekend, I thought I’d check them out during the genesis of their live act (which is still developing). In 2012, KATE BOY caused a bit of stir in the indie scene with singles “Northern Lights” and “In Your Eyes,” which are included in their EP Northern Lights. Not on the EP, but worth mentioning, is the tribal drum-driven ’80s-sounding, a-little-bit Peter Gabriel (on the more bouncy-side of 1982’s Security), “The Way We Are,” which happens to be my favorite track from KATE BOY. The pummeling robotic synth-bass and electric drums on the track hooked me from the start, but once I deciphered the message, “The Way We Are” stood out as KATE BOY’S breakthrough cut. “There’s been too much poison in the system / festering toxins I am in round / got to get this out of my head / out in the air” melodically whispers vocalist Kate Akhurst, who lyrically builds upon the emancipation theme of their music  over a hodgepodge of electro-pop perfection brought to life during the climatic group drumming piece (killer live, seriously), when all four members attack the drums into a climax that sends the track soaring right into the stratosphere.

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Sonically, KATE BOY has a long-list of influences from the ’70s and ’80s that have been covered at length, and frankly, it bores me to discuss what a group might sort of sound like from a subjective point of view. I simply won’t dig into comparisons that dilute the grand vision of the Aussie-Swede quartet, and if that’s what you’re looking for, the internet is loaded with misplaced references and trite comparisons to Peter Gabriel, The Knife, and Kate Bush (only one of which I felt the need to include/Peter Gabriel).

KATE BOY vocalist Kate Akhurst, originally from Australia, joins Stockholm’s Hampus Nordgren Hemlin, Markus Dextegen, and Oskar Sikow Engström to form a collective the draws on African grooves, intergalactic synths, and a spooky art-pop aesthetic that seems tailored for laser light-shows and the cinematic grandeur of The Knife’s Silent Shout tour in the mid-2000’s (KATE BOY isn’t quite there yet). They write all their music as a collective unit (production and all); driven by the concept that KATE BOY is a united consciousness, not unlike the Borg from Star Trek, who function as a single soundsystem anchored by a tribal percussive base (they all join in the drum circle), and fueled by a simultaneously hooky and experimental arrangements that borrows from who gives shit: it’s electrifying music that releases endorphins with a Janet Jackson Rhythm Nation-looking stage show that isn’t quite The Knife, yet, but with the proper rhythmic light display (and decor), they could shock audiences with neon-laced performances that are both darkly operatic and saccharine disco.

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Seeing them live (their music videos and press photos won’t make this obvious), I quickly noticed KATE BOY’s lead vocalist, Kate Akhurst, looks a lot like an earnest (and much younger) Kylie Minogue; pleasantly stripped down, without the sexed-up glitter fair that belongs in discotheques across the shores of Ibiza. Her looks alone could be the subject matter for a music video or a cover story in Vogue, which would move more units, but destroy the grand design the group is striving for as they evolve into something more than a ‘band,’ and towards an emancipating force in an Orwellian society; breaking out of the chains of a commercialized and branded ecosystem we’re all guilty of contributing to. Like Peter Gabriel in “Solsbury Hill,” who spoke of walking “out of the machinery,” KATE BOY seems driven to do it their way (outside of the ‘machine’), and under the tutelage of IAMSOUND Records, they may just have a shot at keeping it pure.

During their gig, all four members, including a bass player who holds down a wicked groove on what looks to be a Rickenbacker 4001, sport matching black baseball caps, urban camouflage outfits, and parachute jackets; all of which adds to the concept that KATE BOY is a single unit (an idea they build upon in each of their three music videos) “reaching up to the neon sky” as one.

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With only a few songs to pick from off their EP, KATE BOY took the opportunity to play a new cut entitled “Human Engine,” which rocked my senses with a pounding tribal drum intro that ripped through a fashionable L.A. crowd that packed the Echoplex (singer Kate Akhurst spent her early-20s in L.A, so she had friends in the crowd). Through her soaring vocals, Akhurst seemed to be telling the audience, in lyrical form, to “change it / change it,” and once again building on KATE BOY’S vision for breaking down the doors of perception (cheap Doors reference, I know), and reaching beyond the limits of what society places on us. It’s also worth mentioning just how connected KATE BOY is with their audience. Seriously, they sort of remind me of an old Lester Bangs story about seeing The Clash live in the late-70s, and how after every gig, they would hang out with the audience (which KATE BOY did, of course, with Instagram as proof). During the show, Akhurst would make it a point to make eye-contact with the audience and bring them into the KATE BOY ‘collective.’ Like The Clash before them, way before them, KATE BOY (in the studio and on-stage), are an ultimately egalitarian entity – unfettered by industry and still, at least for now, something honest that people can embrace.

Northern Lights is available now, but make it a point to see them live. Here is the schedule of upcoming gigs, with stops in San Francisco, Portland, Vancouver, and Seattle.

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