Kite - VII [LP]

DAIS Records

£40.50

Format: LP
Catalogue No.: DAIS228LP
Barcode: 683950557734
Release Date: 09 Aug 2024
Genre: Coldwave/Synth

Since surfacing into the Scandinavian synth-pop scene 16 years ago, Nicklas Stenemo and Christian Hutchinson Berg aka KITE have steadily grown from local icons to a global phenomenon, yet until now they’ve never released a full-length studio album.
VII breaks the ice, collecting 14 of the duo’s deepest and most dynamic anthems into a stormy saga of immersive, apocalyptic emotion. Sourced from a series of six 7-inch singles released over the past half-decade, the collection persuasively showcases KITE’s distinctly cinematic strain of Swedish darkwave in all its glory and desolation. Stenemo and Berg had both logged time in other bands before joining forces in the mid-aughts, although their unique chemistry became apparent immediately. After forming in Malmö, Sweden, they soon relocated to Stockholm, further refining their fusion of brooding synths, booming rhythm, and vocal theatrics over a string of celebrated, numbered EPs (named I through VI).

Despite their rising profile, KITE then and now have largely refrained from publicity, allowing their music to speak for itself – which it clearly has, as KITE’s live performances have become the stuff of legend, prompting frequent festival invitations, international tours, and limited engagements on prestigious stages (recently at the Royal Swedish Opera, and Dalhalla, the former limestone quarry turned open air amphitheatre, to name a few).

VII offers a compendium of KITE’s potent recent discography, including collaborations with Blanck Mass, Anna von Hausswolff, and Henric de la Cour. From yearning dystopian pop ("Hand Out The Drugs," "Bowie ‘95"), to widescreen existential balladry ("Tranas Stenslanda," "Glassy Eyes"), andsleek New Romantica ("Remember Me," "Teenage Bliss"), KITE’s wavelength is one of soaring heights and abysmal depths, anguish and ecstasy, pouring one’s burning, battered heart into the here and now.
Their years of visceral commitment and artistic integrity have been hard fought and hard won; it bleeds between the words and melodies in one holy moment after another:"I switch my ways / To seize the day / To face my life / Not fade to gray."

TRACKLIST:
SIDE A:
1. Remember Me
2. Changing
3. Hand Out The Drugs
SIDE C:
1. Glassy Eyes
2. Bocelli
3. Bowie '95
4. Panic Music
SIDE B:
1. Tranås/Stenslanda
2. Don't take the light away
3. Teenage Bliss
4. Demons & Shame
SIDE D:
1. Losing (feat. Anna Von Hausswolff & Henric de la Cour)
3. Hopelessly Unholy
4. Hum Hum