The riffage down Below. (Photo: Kinski)

[by Scott Thill]

For those about to rock with guitars, I salute you. Whether you use lyrics or not, pedals or not, theremins or not -- it doesn't matter to me. Don't get me wrong: I'm an electronic fiend, raised on rock and hip-hop. But the six-string steamroller that is Kinski is a fine deviation from the pop norm, equal parts cinematic soundtracking and acrobatic noise. Their newest effort Down Below It's Chaos clears away the experimentation of their previous release Alpine Static in favor of anthemic head-knockers, with and without lyrics this time around. I rapped with axe master Chris Martin about Chaos, collaboration and the messy capture of sonic culture.

Morphizm: The tracks on this effort grabbed harder than your last. Did you have a plan going in?
Chris Martin: We had less of a plan on this record than ever. I just had a batch of songs that were all over the place. Certain members of the band were apprehensive about the diversity of the material, but it fit together. We kept the arrangements loose and had time in the studio to try different things. The producer, Randall Dunn, played a bigger role this time.

Morphizm: Speaking of different, way more vocals this time around. Why the change?
Chris Martin:  Vocals just seemed to fit on some songs more than in the past.  Most of our records have a song or two with vocals but this time the songs just obviously seemed to need them. 

Morphizm: What's the nature of the "chaos" you are describing? Is the album geared toward some sort of awareness?
Chris Martin: I think the political aspect that you're hearing on the vocals is pretty subtle. Sort of in the personal-is-political vein. The chaos that the album title and song “Dayroom at Narita Intl.” speaks of is more personal in nature.  But I wanted the lyrics to be able to be taken on different levels.

Morphizm: "Crybaby Blowout" is pure riff rock, but tracks like "Passwords and Alcohol" and "Dayroom at Narita Intl" remind me of the revolutionary burn of Daydream Nation.
Chris Martin: We are getting a lot more Sonic Youth references this time around. I think it's because those last two songs you mentioned have vocals. But I think “Dayroom” sounds more like Teenage Fanclub than anything else. “Crybaby Blowout” is a hold-over from Alpine Static. The song we were most excited about going into the record was “Plan, Steal, Drive” because of its chaotic ending and unusual arrangement. That was difficult to record; it took more takes than we've ever done before, but it was fun to layer guitars and mess with synths. It was exciting when we heard the final result.

Morphizm: How about the others?
Chris Martin: “Argentina Turner” was interesting to record because we did it to a click track, which we don't often do. And that changed it around instrumentally.  I like how it has that '70s cop-show vibe. I think it's the most unusual track that we've ever done. The song “Boy, Was I Mad!” almost didn't make the record. We didn't even plan on recording it. We were referencing a demo disc for a different song, and accidentally played it.  We were all thinking, “That song sounds pretty good. Why'd we throw it out?” So we re-learned it in the studio, and recorded it quickly.

Morphizm: Then there is my favorite "Silent Biker Type." Just moody brilliance.
Chris Martin:  I wrote that song at 4AM one morning. It came together quickly. It seemed too simple to bring into the band,  but everyone got the mood of it immediately, and it just came together.

Morphizm: Have you considered licensing it? It's cinematic. Have you thought of soundtracking?
Chris Martin: We're into licensing stuff. Sub Pop sends it out to people who do that sort of thing, so hopefully something will come from it. We'd love to score films as well.

Morphizm: I read you did some live soundtracking for "Berlin: Symphony of a City."
Chris Martin: That was a lot of work, but fun. People seemed to like the performances. We're working with the RobbinsChilds dance group in NYC in December for a week-long run of one of their pieces. We'll be doing live accompaniment to their work. Their stuff is awesome.

Morphizm: What are your thoughts on instro-rock?
Chris Martin: I think lyrics sometimes do get in the way. But I also think the Mogwai-esque thing is played out. Right now, I'm just into writing good rock songs and if lyrics fit, then I throw them in. We take it on a song-by-song basis.

Morphizm: Finally, what are your thoughts on our current political and environmental clusterfucks?
Chris Martin: I hesitate to comment on politics because I'm not well-versed enough to give a strong opinion in print. But obviously a lot of things are screwed up, and we need political leadership than can truly address the problems that are out there.But I just want to make records. I think we allude to the state of the world, but I want our lyrics to be obscure enough that people can interpret them however they want.

September 11, 2007