KILKIL is a synth punk band from Réunion, a French island located in the Indian Ocean. With its population numbered less than 900 000 inhabitants, the local music scene must have been shocked to see these guys sucked up various cross-genre inspirations and bending them brilliantly out of shape for their freakin’ releases. You can discover KILKIL through their newest record “Speed”, just released on 10” blue vinyl via the Maudit Tangue Label. This is fun. Listen for yourself.
Pascale (bass / lead vocals), Johny (drums) & Charlou (sax / synth) favour short and direct tunes, instrumental or with French and English texts. Their sound is based on a fretless bass on heavy distortion and math-punk noisy rhythms, coloured by saxophone tunes and synth notes. This builds their unique tropical math-wave-gipsy-postpunk-electro-noise-rock style! Happily enough, they shortened it to a «synth free punk» label, which you can stick on their straight-up, highly danceable and often nonsense tunes. A kind of «rock arrangé», as Reunion people are used to do so with their rum… As soon as March 2013, KILKIL started to play gigs in different pubs and venues (Palaxa, Kabardock) on the island and opened concerts for bands on tour in Reunion: 100 Raisons (France), Marvin (France) in 2013, Cortina Whiplash, Black Math (South Africa) and PaVé (France) in 2014, Make Overs (South Africa) in 2015. Between 1-13th August 2014, KILKIL toured South Africa, including a gig at the biggest SA festival: Oppikoppi (9th August) and gigs in rock venues in Jo’Burg and Pretoria with local bands (Cortina Whiplash, Slashdogs, The Moths, Brafcharge…) In September 2014, KILKIL played at the Manapany festival in Reunion island. In January 2016, they went back to South Africa, invited by The Make-Overs, with whom they shared 7 gigs (in Cape Town, Stellenbosch, Johannesburg and Pretoria), and were granted some interviews for radio shows (Bush Radio, Grind Radio, …) After releasing a first live-demo EP ‘‘Kilpat’rock’’, KILKIL recorded a studio EP ‘‘For You’’ out in July 2014. Now’s the time for the new 6-tracks EP, ‘‘Speed’’, released on 10’ transparent blue vinyl, with a great artwork by the famous French drawer Hippolyte.
Le Quotidien [Reunion Island] (by Vincent Pion – 29/09/2014)
‘‘Kilkil played a truly «punk is not dead» set which curiously gains volume when it takes
the time to slow down the tempo and to use electronic loops that give it body’’ (about
Manapany Festival)
THE GRIND RADIO [South Africa] (by Coly Verdelli – 01/2016)
‘‘Kilkil started playing and my ears perked up and listened intently as they had never
heard such a killer amalgamation before. The band brought together elements of punk
with sweet bass lines and intense drumming, some saxophone and some synth keys, all
of which made for a rather interesting and totally unique sound. I snapped out of the
synthy punk gaze and took a look around; I chuckled to myself as I saw the people in the
audience have a similar look upon their faces, one of ‘oh-my-god-what-is-this-French-
Punk-Goodness!?’’’
TEXX AND THE CITY [South Africa] (by Catherine Grenfell – 08/2014)
‘‘Saturday morning started with watching KilKil from Reunion Island, a solidly good punk
rock band with a super strong lady representing on bass!’’ (about Oppikoppi Festival)
The ConMag .co .za [South Africa] (08/2014)
“5 shows you can’t afford to miss at Oppikoppi Oddyssey : ../.. on Saturday afternoon
(1pm) Reunion punk outfit KilKil take to the Bruilhof Stage. KilKil sound like a full-on
assault and are well worth checking out.’’
