KIDSØ, a Munich duo and live act, makes music that you want to hear and feel at the same time. It is perhaps best described as danceable melancholy. Or, as Moritz Graßinger (analog synths, piano, percussions) and Martin Schneider (drums, e-percussions, video installation) put it, “electronic music for people who otherwise don’t listen to electronic music that often.” Both hit the mark in some way. And, in some ways, not at all, or only insufficiently. Because what the two of them produce as KIDSØ can hardly be squeezed into style pigeonholes or pinned down by euphonious adjectives. It is, without a doubt, electronic music at its core. But not the finger-in-the-air-let-us-rub-against-each-other-in-the-Berghain electronic, but rather what Jon Hopkins produces when he has eaten the right mushrooms. KIDSØ, on the other hand, records this sound primarily analog and organic.
Following the success of their previous EP Apart (2018) and singles such as Father, Childhood, and Hologram, their debut album Fir will be released in March 2022 on the new Embassy Of Music sub-label esc/ctrl. KIDSØ recorded and produced their album in their own studio in their hometown of Munich, and it was mastered by Robin Schmidt, who has worked for HVOB, Fritz Kalkbrenner, and Mumford and Sons, to name a few.
The title of the album Fir is based on the song of the same name. Martin Schneider’s choice is ideal because:
“the song shows that we don’t just make music for the living room, but also have this drive that works in the club or at a concert. Fir as both a song and as an album carries both parts.”
Moritz Graßinger then explains:
“We both get bored when techno or electro always falls back on the same sounds and strings them together in a new way. That’s why we’re looking for sounds, but also vocal samples for our songs that you haven’t heard a thousand times before.”
The eight tracks on Fir demonstrate that they have the necessary flair. Finja, for example, begins quietly and elegiacally and then becomes increasingly danceable; Breathing achieves the quiet intensity of an Olafur Arnalds with few but necessary means; and Woodbird, the album’s closer, turns up the heat once more, in a warmly grooving, detailed track with a playful piano melody and beautiful guitars at the end.
According to Moritz Graßinger, the fact that there is finally an album after numerous rousing live shows by the two of them is ironically also due to Pandemic
“We’ve wanted to put out an album for a long time, but at times had difficulties finishing the songs. Maybe also because we often kept pushing them in different directions in the live setting.”
Anyone who has seen KIDSØ live understands what this means.
We always wanted to maintain this energy that a concert like this triggers. We’re not so much rave-goers – although our music would also work there by now. – Martin Schneider
So you should be anticipating the day when you will be able to see KIDSØ live. Not only because of the energy they bring to the stage but also because their live shows are incredible not only musically but also visually. When you watch the Finja video, you can already tell. KIDSØ often show videos and photos in hard, fast cuts or artfully collaged, with surreal moments, for example when deserts, forests, and mountains suddenly form into gigantic-looking tubes, skyscrapers sink into the earth or entire cities defy gravity. Martin, who is in charge of the aesthetic aspect, explains: “The visual experience is an unconditional part of our art.” When combined with the eight new songs, this will result in fascinating concert experiences that have been sorely lacking for far too long.