LOST IN KIEV
Post-rockers examine artificial intelligence in cinematic new album.
“WE CAN’T MAKE MUSIC JUST TO MAKE MUSIC – WE LIKE TO FIND THE STORY AND TELL THAT STORY ACROSS A FULL ALBUM.”
Formed more than a decade ago, Parisian post-rockers Lost In Kiev will be familiar to anybody who’s kept an eye on the European post-rock scene. For their new album, Persona, they’ve taken an evolutionary leap forward, reconfiguring their instrumentals to fit their cinematic, multimedia concept, and signing to Pelagic Records, home of post-rock giants Mono and God Is An Astronaut.
“Motions [our debut record] was released on the Dunk! label, and this is how everything started. So thanks to the Dunk! label for believing in us – I think it’s important to say that,” explains bassist and synth player Jean Christophe Condette.“We were always close to the Pelagic family and bands, as we toured with Labirinto, we toured with Pg.Lost, and were fans of The Ocean for a long time.”
Persona is a science-fiction concept album, conceived early in the writing process. As the band convened to begin jamming new material, the suggestion came up to focus on the theme of artificial intelligence, as Condette recalls: “For Persona, we wanted to reach the next step [in conceptual writing]. We started thinking about this idea of the artificial intelligence theme when we wanted to do a cover of the main theme of the TV show Mr. Robot, because we all like this universe, we all like sci-fi, cyberpunk and stuff like that… What is important to know is that at the origins of every Lost
In Kiev album, we have an [overarching] idea.” Guitarist Dimitri Denat shrugs, agreeing, “We can’t make music just to make music – we like to find the story and tell that story across a full album.”
Behind the scenes, the band are more confident than ever, and not only because they now have the backing of a larger label – “We are working with a more professional structure in every way,” explains Condette – they are also a more stable line-up of four members. Denat is the sole dedicated guitar player, which is different to the past. “Live there were [five] musicians, but to compose Motions there were three guitar players, where someone composed one song, one another, etc, but there were five on stage, and maybe seven to compose the whole [album].” This has changed how the instrumentals are put together, with a tighter group of collaborators resulting in easier decision-making and more freedom for the members to experiment. “We were inspired by [the theme] to find new sounds; I had to find something less classical than distortion, delay, stuff like that, so it’s interesting to shape new sounds [when responding to a concept].”
As for what they love about music, both Denat and Condette don’t find it difficult to pinpoint. “I think there are many ways for the mind to get lost somewhere. Some people want to watch movies, some listen to music, some read literature. To me, the way I like to listen and do music is to get lost,” begins Condette, with Denat adding,
“I’ve been playing music since I was a kid, and there are no words to describe it. Music is more than words if you want to express yourself – you can tell something you couldn’t say in words.” aL