Shakedown is almost upon us and the recent Showcase at the Concorde 2 gave us a taster of Brighton’s brightest breakthrough talent. From superstars to rising stars, Shakedown is packed full to the brim with shining talent – and one very bright and shiny four piece are electro-pop groove makers Kovak.
Think disco lights, hipster cool, electro grooves and music so infectious you can’t help but dance. Kovak have just finished shooting the video for single ‘Killer Boots’ and if Annelies’ wardrobe is anything to go by, it’s going to be a stylish fusion of glamour and good music.
Kovak are vocalist and lively lass Annelies Van De Velde, with Martin White on synths, Darren Bray on drums and guitarist and vocalist Karl Bray. The fantastic four have been putting the finishing touches on their second album this summer, returning to the haunted 15th century house on the Isle of Wight to record with legendary dance producer Andy Gray, who has previously worked with Paul Oakenfold, Gary Numan and more. Hopefully we’ll be hearing some of the big tunes they’ve been making when they hit the main stage at Shakedown next week!
Spending time in the studio means they’ve had to put their successful electro-dance night ‘Club Kovak’ on hold recently but they promise that we can expect it to return very soon. Previous DJ guests have included The Orb and fellow Brightonians The Go! Team to name but a few.
We sat down with Kovak ahead of their homecoming Shakedown set to chat about ghosts, Gresham Blake, ‘Analogue Pop’ and what we can expect from their set at Summer’s Closing Party!
Brighton is a veritable live wire of electro talent – what’s the spark that got Kovak together?
Annelies: Brotherly love, madness and a shared passion for running on the spot. I think everyone in the band is a little bit crazy so we get on well.
Karl: My brother (Drummer) Dazza and I started playing together when we were kids and the band developed from there. Our sound gradually transformed into what it is now. Meeting our producer Andy Gray really helped hone the sound on our first album and now with recording the 2nd album we all feel we’ve really found the Kovak sound. It’s more simplified and we bounce off each other, sometimes with a few bruises, other times with feather pillows.
You recorded your debut album in a haunted manor on the Isle of Wight – did you have any supernatural influences while recording?!
Annelies: I don’t think the smells coming out of Dazza’s bum were ‘natural’.
Karl: Yes I did! First album I heard creepy hob nail boot footsteps in the dead of night…no one was about that night. When we were there in April starting the 2nd album I heard three terrific crashes above my head like someone slamming a heavy object on the floor. No one was in the room above that night.
‘Heroes and High Heels’ was produced on vintage synths, staying faithful to the original electronic sound and making it stand out from the soft synth production methods many use today. Is analogue your preferred choice?
Annelies: This is definitely a Karl question.
Karl: It’s not all analogue though the synths we use are. They have such a great organic sound to them that you can’t replicate. Dazza has used Andy Grays Linn drum machine on a lot of tracks this time which has really simplified the sound. I would say there are a lot of bands about using vintage stuff and there always will be, look out for AKDK, Transformer and of course bands like LCD Soundsystem and Hot Chip. Most of the softer sounds are being used on more commercial tracks – We’re somewhere in between….Analogue Pop????
Your popular night Club Kovak saw The Orb and the Go! Team among its many guest artists – what’s been your most memorable night and when can we expect it to return?
Annelies: For me personally it was Audio with Alex Paterson last year. Loads of people, great ‘Brighton’ vibe and lots of dancing after the show too.
Karl: The night with The Go! Team was great, I prefer the smaller intimate venues when we do it. Ian and Sammy Dook have some crazy music in their collection. Hoping to book a Christmas Club Vak!
Annelies, you’ve just finished shooting the very stylish video for ‘Killer Boots’ – did you manage to smuggle any Versace or All Saints from the wardrobe?!
Annelies: Ha! I pretty much bought up half the All Saints shop for the shoot so I have a great wardrobe now of sequins meets rock chick – right up my street. But as far as Versace goes.. I wish. The Versace dress I wear in the video is custom-made and worth around $10,000. However, I get on with the stylist Renee Beach too well to try and nick it off her. I did end up with some killer heels though… (hmm there could be a song in there.) I wore Vivienne Westwood and Gresham Blake too, amazing stuff. And we had this huge mountain of Irregular Choice shoes. It’s left me with a real passion for fashion – great for the band, bad for my bank!
Not long to go til we see you on the Main Stage at Shakedown! What do you have in store for all those dancing feet, and which artist is your ‘don’t miss’?!
Annelies: For the dancing feet we have dancing music. We always do, it’s what we do. And my ‘don’t miss’ would be 2 Many DJs, great fun. I snuck backstage with them one year at Glastonbury.
Karl: We’ll be playing some new album tracks along with energetic classics! ‘Watt’s The SP’ are worth checking out.
The album ‘Heroes and High Heels’ is available now – make sure you check out ‘Killer Boots’ – we can’t wait to see the video!
www.kovak.co.uk
myspace.com/kovakuk
facebook.com/KOVAK
