I'd heard a lot of great things about AK/DK but never seen them live so I was really looking forward to this ‘free party’ they were holding at the Green Door Store to celebrate the imminent release of their debut album 'SYNTHS + DRUMS + NOISE + SPACE' on LittleMissEcho Records. I arrived just as support band Hypnotized were starting their set. These guys are an up-and-coming three piece band who have just released their ‘Telesto’ EP on Love Thy Neighbour. As you might expect from the name they play hypnotic, spaced-out grooves on synths, samplers, heavily effected guitar and vocals layered over big electronic beats. The guys look the part too, with one member sporting the surreal combo of a silver mask and conical hat while another is joined onstage by a dancing coke can. The whole package is made complete tonight by the addition of the Innerstrings Psychedelic Lightshow who brought their authentic rig of retro lighting effects to the venue, perfectly complimenting Hypnotized's original brand of psychedelia.

I'm tempted to be a bit of a granddad and complain about the sound, the bass and the beats were huge and over-driven which I found overwhelmed the mix making it hard to pick out which parts the guys were contributing to the delay-drenched wall of sound. They tended to blend one track into the next without really stopping for applause and to the uninitiated it was a little bewildering at times. This wasn't a pristine, polished, slick show but I don’t think it was meant to be. It was a guttural, intense, fully immersive sound experience: you could feel the music in your chest and lose yourself in the liquid lights and projections.

After a brief break to grab some air outside and clear my head before another journey into the musical unknown I headed back in to the venue when disaster struck. I should have known better, with this being a free show and AK/DK being a notoriously great live act, the venue had quickly become crammed full and I was forced to watch the show from the uncomfortable position of the doorway. There was an endless corridor of people shoving their way in and out of the room but I was unable to get any further in to gain a view of what was happening on the stage. As you may well know AK/DK are primarily both drummers, making it even harder to get a good view. Ed Chivers and Graham Sowerby augment their polyrhythms with old skool synths, effects pedals and hand built samplers to create upbeat dancefloor-ready electronica.

Despite my inability to get a good view of proceedings I found their music infectious and fun and I found myself bopping along with everyone else enjoying the additional set of projections AK/DK had added to the Inner Strings array. The guys put on a great show, climbing up on drum stools when necessary to really engage with the crowd and ploughing into the audience, mic in hand, to whip them into a frenzy. The whole show seemed to go by far too quickly and I could hardly believe it had been 45 minutes when their set ended. I'm certainly looking forward to checking out their album and getting more familiar with their songs on the strength of what I glimpsed tonight through the heads of a lot of sweaty strangers. I'll make sure I get myself some space at the front next time.
Adam Kidd

Website: akdk.co.uk
Bandcamp: akdk.bandcamp.com
Feacebook: facebook.com/akdkband