artists
Konnichiwa
Konnichiwa is Kaela Noel and D.V. Caputo. Together they make thoughtful, melodic, electronic pop music that one might compare to the feverish sonic landscapes of YMO with an understanding of 4AD dreaminess -combined with a touch of Sparks-esque theatrics. The duo has a gift for writing heartfelt songs that expand upon the musical foundations laid by early synthpop groups, and contemporize them without losing the initial quality of earnest legitimacy.
Kaela was born on a commune in San Francisco before moving to New York. Her mother followed a guru and she grew up learning to chant in Sanskrit. D.V. is a fourth generation Manhattanite from Chinatown/Little Italy and was also a child actor. The two met as students at LaGuardia Arts high school in New York in a Saturday afternoon drawing class. Their friendship began with a steady exchange of mix tapes and CDs. They briefly fell out of touch when Kaela had a year-long stint attending Mills College in Oakland. Terry Riley's guest professorship at the school offered her the opportunity to become acquainted the notions of minimalism, which had a profound effect. During this time, D.V. stayed in the city trying just about every art school in New York on for size and staying up until dawn most nights playing with synths and learning about home recording. Kaela returned to New York with mixed feelings about the program at Mills, and in 2007, after running into D.V. a handful of times the two started making music together.
Konnichiwa had started more or less on a whim, but quickly turned serious. Kaela writes the lyrics and melodies and sings, and D.V. does the instrumentation, production, and programming.
http://hellokonnichiwa.com/
http://www.myspace.com/konnichiwatheband
Robert A.A. Lowe
Well known for his playing bass in the beloved 90 Day Men and for his numerous releases under the Lichens moniker, Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe is a prolific force in the independent music community. Not one to be pigeonholed, Lowe's musical offerings bend genres and forge new sonic territory.
lichensarealive.com/
Golden Birthday
The afternoon of April 24th, 2006 was a turning point in the life of
Ryan Sullivan. While celebrating his roommate's 24th birthday or
"golden birthday", he experienced a sudden moment of clarity where
he finally felt that the months or "possibly years of stagnation and
confusion" were gone and that he was "reborn and reinvigorated."
This is when Sullivan decided to start Golden Birthday as avenue for
four-track cassette experimentation. Based out of the tortilla factory turned
artist studio "Wizard Island" where he lives on Chicago's west
side, Sullivan creates wistful pop from a direction uniquely his own.
http://www.myspace.com/goldenbirthday
http://infiniteleagues.com/
Night Gallery
Night Gallery is an ongoing project between Aaron David Ross (also of the italo-horror duo Gatekeeper) and Adam Griffin (a touring member of Golden Birthday). The two make cinematic, gothically-tinged synth-popwith just a touch of shimmering spacey-ness. Ross and Griffin met at a backyard screening of The Neverending Story in Chicago during the Summer of 2006 while both were in college. The film would prove to be an appropriate backdrop for the their first conversation, given the twoÕs penchant for narrative and cinematic songwriting (not to mention a mutual interest in decades passed). Griffin still resides in the Southside Chicago neighborhood of Pilsen, while Ross has recently relocated with Gatekeeper to Brooklyn. The eight tracks on their debut album Constant Struggle skate the line between pop ballads you want to sit down and listen to by yourself and mid-party dance floor jammers.
http://www.myspace.com/nitegallery
White Car
White Car is an industrial space funk outfit based in Chicago, IL. The duo is comprised of Elon Katz, who writes, records and produces the music and Orion Martin who plays live electronic percussion. The music utilizes classic heavy hitting EBM rhythms and early digital synthesis while integrating ideas of pop sensibility, post-punk funk and minimal synth music.
http://white-car.net/
http://www.myspace.com/elonkatz
