Trust us when we say that countless otherwise sage people have sacrificed years of their lives trying to accurately summarize the music of Kayo Dot. Singer, composer and chief conceptualist Toby Driver once allied himself with doom metal’s experimental wing. But over the course of three extraordinary studio albums made with ever-shifting lineups, Kayo Dot has become a protean entity that draws equally upon goth rock, free jazz, prog, contemporary classical music and much, much more. - Time Out NY
Coyote, Kayo Dot's fourth studio album (out April 6th on Hydra Head), is a single, narrative-driven, long-form composition written with story and text provided by a close, terminally-ill friend of the band, Yuko Sueta, in the final stage of her life. Coyote was once again engineered by Randall Dunn (Sunn 0)), Earth, Six Organs of Admittance) in Seattle, Washington, forging a new genre of "goth fusion" which combines elements of early Cure, Faith And The Muse, and Bauhaus with Herbie Hancock's psychedelic album, Sextant, and Scott Walker's recent album, The Drift. The lyrics and story were constructed with deliberate melodrama to pay homage as well to the intended gothic vibe, expressing the protagonist's loneliness and longing to be in a better place, and her journey through her own personal looking-glass through a hallucinatory world of fear and wonder.
The musical objective this time around was to create a piece of music that uses the sonic aesthetic of this specific era of gothic art-rock integrated with a more modern-classical approach to form and architecture. To achieve this, Kayo Dot has put together a new instrumentation, which features trumpet (provided by former Candiria trumpet player Tim Byrnes) and alto saxophone at the lead, backed up by violin, keyboards, piano, organ, bass guitar, percussion, and a pronounced lack of guitar across the album. is album also marks the return of former Kayo Dot member, Terran Olson, whose contributions were heard on the band's 2003 debut, Choirs of the Eye, as well as with Kayo Dot's alter-ego, Maudlin of the Well. The music is also more rhythmically-driven than any previous Kayo Dot work, and being a performance-oriented composition, it was recorded mostly live (similar to 2006's Dowsing Anemone With Copper Tongue). Coyote also brings back some of the aggression absent from 2008's Blue Lambency Downward.
Tracklist for Coyote
I. Calonyction Girl
II. Whisper Ineffable
III. Abyss Hinge 1: Sleeping Birds Sighing In Roscolux
IV. Abyss Hinge 2: The Shrinking Armature
V. Cartogram Out Of Phase
Kayo Dot Live!
Toby Driver Curates The Stone in New York City
(The Stone is located at the corner of Avenue C and 2nd Street in New York City)
2/3 Wednesday (8 pm): Terran Olson – “Nevsky Prospekt”
Terran Olson (piano), David Bodie (drums), Toby Driver (guitar). Multi-instrumentalist known for his work with Kayo Dot, maudlin of the Well, and Autumn Tears premieres a new ensemble and long-form composition based on the story by Nikolai Gogol.
2/6 Saturday (8 pm): Kayo Dot plays Choirs of the Eye
Toby Driver (guitar, vocals) Mia Matsumiya (violin, keyboards) Terran Olson (keyboards, woodwinds) Daniel Means (guitar, woodwinds, bass) David Bodie (percussion) and special guest Greg Massi (guitar). Kayo Dot plays the entirety of their 2003 Tzadik debut, which has made many "Best Albums of the Decade" Lists, with special guest former KD guitarist Greg Massi joining for this performance only!
2/6 Saturday (10 pm): Kayo Dot plays Coyote
Toby Driver (bass, vocals) Mia Matsumiya (violin, guitar) Terran Olson (keyboards, tenor sax) Daniel Means (alto sax) David Bodie (percussion) and special guest Tim Byrnes (trumpet). Kayo Dot plays the entirety of their forthcoming Hydra Head release.
2/7 Sunday (8 pm): Tartar Lamb II
Toby Driver (bass guitar and vocals), Mia Matsumiya (violin and electric violin), Jeremiah Cymerman (clarinet), Dan Means (alto sax) plus guests. Modern-classical electroacoustic doom lattices and wall-melting balladry. Questionable tonality. Gradual development, immediate descent into hell.
2/9 Tuesday (8 pm): Jason Byron
Jason Byron (voice). Former lyricist of Kayo Dot and maudlin of the Well Jason Byron, an Initiate of ______, offers a brief talk on modern ceremonial Magick, and will perform a personal ritual, with musical accompaniment. A once in a lifetime experience not to be missed!
2/14 Sunday (8 pm): JOHN ZORN IMPROV NIGHT - A Stone Benefit
John Zorn (sax) Toby Driver (bass) Steeve Hurdle (guitar) and many special guests. (Steeve Hurdle of Gorguts fame)
2/21 Sunday (8 pm): Toby Driver and guests - electric guitar duos
For more information, visit:
www.kayodot.net
www.hydrahead.com
