Kayo Dot | |
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Background information | |
Origin | Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. |
Genres | Avant-garde metal, progressive metal, post-rock, chamber |
Years active | 2003–present |
Labels | The Flenser, Ice Level, Hydra Head, Robotic Empire, Tzadik, Holy Roar |
Members | Toby Driver Greg Massi Jason Byron |
Past members | Kim Abrams Daniel Means Mia Matsumiya Terran Olson David Bodie Sam Gutterman Nicholas Kyte Tim Byrnes Patrick Wolff Johannes Doepping Russell Greenberg Ryan McGuire Forbes Graham John Carchia D.J. Murray Tom Malone |
Website | kayodot |
Kayo Dot is an American avant-garde metal band. Formed in 2003 by Toby Driver after the break-up of Maudlin of the Well, they released their debut album Choirs of the Eye on John Zorn's Tzadik Records that same year. Since then, Kayo Dot's lineup has drastically changed over the years. [1] Toby Driver is the only founding member of the band still remaining, save for frequent lyrical contributions from former motW member Jason Byron. Up until 2011, the lineup was constantly shifting, and Kayo Dot's sound consistently changed over the years, featuring a wide variety of instrumentation including guitar, drums, bass, violin, saxophone, vibraphone, synthesizers, clarinets and flutes. Underground metal audiences warmly received the group upon its early existence, with the 2003 album Choirs of the Eye and the 2006 album Dowsing Anemone with Copper Tongue both becoming underground hits in the progressive metal scene.
Over the years, in addition to the rotating lineup and constantly changing sounds, Kayo Dot has been signed to a number of different record labels, Tzadik, Robotic Empire, Hydra Head, Driver's self-release imprint, Ice Level Music, The Flenser, and Prophecy Productions.
As of 2021, Kayo Dot has released ten studio albums, one EP and one split: Choirs of the Eye in 2003, Dowsing Anemone with Copper Tongue as well as Kayo Dot/Bloody Panda split in 2006, Blue Lambency Downward , Coyote in 2010, an EP titled Stained Glass in 2011, Gamma Knife in 2012 and a double-album Hubardo in 2013. Coffins on Io , the group's seventh album, was released in 2014 via The Flenser. Their eighth studio album, Plastic House on Base of Sky , was released in 2016, followed up by their ninth, Blasphemy in 2019, and latest album, Moss Grew on the Swords and Plowshares Alike , via Prophecy Productions on October 29, 2021. It reached the German Top 100 Album Charts for the first time in the week after its release. [2]
Kayo Dot was formed after the disbanding of Maudlin of the Well, a mildly acclaimed progressive heavy metal band in late 2002. Several members of Maudlin went on to form Kayo Dot, with multi-instrumentalist Toby Driver leading the group. In early 2003, Toby Driver (vocals, guitar, electronics), Greg Massi (guitar, vocals), Nicholas Kyte (bass, vocals), Sam Gutterman (drums, vocals) and Terran Olson (keyboards, flute, clarinet, saxophone) carried on and took the metal sound of Maudlin in a more classical direction. Rather than using the same band format as Maudlin of the Well, early performances saw Kayo Dot playing as an orchestra of sorts, with many members playing different instruments on stage. [3] John Zorn's famous avant-garde label Tzadik signed the act in 2003, and Choirs of the Eye was released in late 2003. [3] The album was very well-received, and many regard it as one of the best metal albums of the 2000s. [4] Toby Driver would later go on to say that Choirs of the Eye developed because "Kayo Dot is just a natural extension of the places MOTW was heading". After reading online forums in which fans of Opeth and MOTW bickered over compositional styles, Driver decided to make a "through-composed metal album ... one without riffs or arbitrarily repeating parts." [5] This shift in style became the trademark post-metal or avant-garde metal sound the band is currently known for. Kayo Dot played the album in its entirety in 2010 at The Stone in New York City and again in August 2015. [6]
In March 2005, longtime collaborator and former MOTW member Sam Gutterman left the group to pursue other musical ventures. Tom Malone signed on to replace Gutterman in 2005. Kayo Dot then signed to Robotic Empire Records and released its second album, Dowsing Anemone with Copper Tongue in January 2006. [7] The album was released to good reviews, receiving a 7.7 from Pitchfork , [8] and garnering the band more recognition in the indie metal circle. The album also received a rave review from Sputnikmusic, in which it received a 4.5/5 and was named as one of the best albums of 2006. [9] The band then embarked on a lengthy fall tour before taking a short hiatus, during which two guitarists, the bassist and the trumpet player-left the band for "personal reasons." Despite concerns that there was bad blood between members, Greg Massi said on his blog that he left the group on "good terms" and that "he was going to try and figure out other aspects of my musical life and take some time to figure out where I want to be going." Massi went solo under the moniker Baliset and embarked on a tour shortly afterward. He did, however, guest perform with the group to perform its seminal album Choirs of the Eye at The Stone in New York City in 2010. [6]
In late 2006, Kayo Dot left Robotic Empire and signed with Hydra Head Records. [10] Despite retaining only two members (Driver and long time collaborator Mia Matsumiya), the band started work on a new album in late 2007.
After signing to Hydra Head, Kayo Dot began working on their third album, Blue Lambency Downward , which was released in May 2008. [11] Driver and Matsumiya used several session musicians on this recording, including Skerik on saxophone and vibraphone, Hans Teuber on clarinet, and Charlie Zeleny on drums. Additionally, Randall Dunn was enlisted as producer and recording engineer. This album marked the first time Driver allowed one of his recordings to be produced by someone other than himself. [12] After the album's release, Driver relocated from Boston to New York City for the purpose of touring the album. A new lineup was assembled, including Patrick Wolff on woodwinds, Daniel Means on woodwinds and guitar, David Bodie on drums and original (and former Maudlin of the Well) member Terran Olson on woodwinds and keyboards.
Despite a successful tour, the album was not received as well as previous releases. Allmusic and Drowned in Sound gave it mostly positive reviews, [13] but it was panned by Pitchfork, who gave it a score of 3.3 out of 10. Among other complaints, the Pitchfork review stated that Blue Lambency Downward had few memorable moments. [14]
After the poor critical reception and fan response to Blue Lambency Downward, Driver began working on a new long-form composition with Yuko Sueta, a NYC-based writer, filmmaker, and video artist. A first draft of this piece was premiered at The Stone in September 2008 by The Kayo Dot Auxiliary Unit, which consisted of David Bodie and Daniel Means of Kayo Dot, Yuko Sueta, and Tim Byrnes on trumpet. Shortly after, Sueta became incapacitated by breast cancer. [15] Driver then re-drafted and adapted the piece, which was recorded in Seattle during June–July 2009 with Randall Dunn at the production helm. A tour with Secret Chiefs 3 followed, after which the album was released as 2010's Coyote on Hydra Head. Sueta died while the record was in post-production, which compelled the band to dedicate their performance to her. [15] The album featured a rotating lineup of Driver on bass and vocals, Terran Olson on keyboards, David Bodie on drums, Mia Matsumiya on violin, Tim Byrnes on trumpet, and Daniel Means on woodwinds. Despite receiving mixed reviews, some sources (including PopMatters) praised Coyote for its concept. [15]
Immediately after Coyote, Kayo Dot released an EP entitled Stained Glass in November 2010. [16] It featured a guest guitar solo by Trey Spruance of Secret Chiefs 3 and Mr. Bungle fame. Stained Glass was partially recorded at Zing Studios in Westfield, Massachusetts, by Jim Fogarty, and partially by Toby Driver at his home studio. Consisting of one self-titled track, the twenty-minute EP was released on CD by Hydra Head Records and on LP by Antithetic Records in early 2011. Stained Glass features lyrics by Jason Byron, but only some of the ones written were actually sung on the album. The remaining lyrics appear in the liner notes, some of which were later used in Jason Byron's book, "The Sword of Satan" which was included with the LP release of Hubardo in 2013. [17] Like Coyote, Stained Glass was released to mixed reviews. The critical and commercial failure of these albums, resulted in Kayo Dot and Hydra Head mutually parting ways.
Kayo Dot was left without financial support from a label and decided to stay independent, so the band recorded the album Gamma Knife live at a concert in Brooklyn, New York on October 5, 2011. [18] The album was different in that it was recorded with a budget of zero dollars via six channels of microphones into a laptop helmed by a friend of the band, composer Jeremiah Cymerman. [19] The concert featured several moments of audience participation. It received moderately good reception and was seen as a return to the group's metal roots. It was self-released on their own imprint Ice Level Music, digitally on January 4, 2012, on Bandcamp and later by another record company, Antithetic Records on CD and LP. The lineup remained the same, except Kim Abrams played drums on the album. [20] Gamma Knife was received critically better than the past few albums, as SputnikMusic gave it a 3.5/5 and said "for the first time in years, Kayo Dot feels musically relevant." [21]
In 2013, Driver announced a pre-order for Kayo Dot's new concept double-album, which contained approximately 100 minutes of music. Instead of using Kickstarter like many other crowd-funded musical projects, he announced that the album would be financed with money earned from pre-orders. It would be named Hubardo (which means "lamp" in Enochian), and its release would mark the group's ten year anniversary. [22] Driver announced that the album was recorded in the spring of 2013 in Seattle by longtime collaborator Randall Dunn. It was digitally released on September 10, 2013, to widespread acclaim, and received good reviews from multiple sources [23] Through crowd-funding, Kayo Dot self-released a triple LP that sold out immediately, containing a 40-page book/poem by former Maudlin of the Well guest vocalist Jason Byron entitled "The Sword of Satan." Byron also wrote the album's lyrics. The album featured a line up similar to previous albums, with the exception of Byron's guest vocals on the first half of "The Black Stone." This was Byron's first recorded appearance since Maudlin of the Well's Bath and Leaving Your Body Map . It is widely considered a return to the group's metal roots, and was selected as the 4th best album of 2013 by SputnikMusic. Sputnik noted that Hubardo "recalls the black metal chamber music of Choirs of the Eye." [24]
Despite the involvement of Terran Olson and Mia Matsumiya, neither participated in the ensuing tour, except as occasional guest musicians. The U.S. tour for Hubardo commenced in early 2014, and included dates at SXSW. [25] Many dates were sold out.
On July 10, 2014, the band announced a new album called Coffins on Io to be released October 16 via The Flenser. Driver said of the record, "Basically the vibe that we're going for here is inspired by 80s retro-future noir—Blade Runner...I wanted to make a good record to put on while you drive across the desert at night under a toxic, post-apocalyptic atmosphere...There's a weird underlying theme of murder, shame and death." [26] The album was released on October 15, 2014.
Violinist Matsumiya's Instagram screenshots documenting the online abuse she has received were the subject of an October 2015 BBC video. [27]
The band's eighth studio album, Plastic House on Base of Sky , was released on June 24, 2016. The album has been noted to feature an increased influence from electronic music. [28]
In September 2018, Kayo Dot signed with the German record label Prophecy Productions, also announcing work had begun on a new album. [29] One year later, in September 2019, Blasphemy was released to positive reviews. Two music videos were created for "Blasphemy: A Prophecy" and "Turbine, Hook & Haul". Both were filmed and edited by Toby Driver. [30] The band's tenth album, Moss Grew on the Swords and Plowshares Alike , was released by Prophecy Productions on October 29, 2021. It received superlative reviews and reached the German Top 100 Album Charts for the first time in the week after its release, November 5, 2021. [2] A video was created for the first single, "Void in Virgo (The Nature of Sacrifice)," by musician, writer, and filmmaker Nick Jack Hudson.
In February 2023, a 20th anniversary tour of Choirs of the Eye took place in select cities around Europe with the entire Maudlin of the Well line-up. [31]
Unlike Maudlin of the Well, Kayo Dot's sound is a mixture of black metal, atmospheric metal, and chamber music. The label on their debut reads, "Kayo Dot powerfully integrates elements of modern classical composition with layers of guitars and vocals more common to rock and metal." The group's sound continually changes from album to album, and this unpredictability has become one of their trademarks.
Early Kayo Dot recordings are notable for their classical leanings and composition, as well as their eclectic instrumentation. Loud walls of guitars and quiet interludes are equally common, which has led to their music being labeled post-metal, post-rock, progressive rock and avant-garde. All of their music is thoroughly composed, with no improvisation. Kayo Dot is known for employing the complex instrumentation of progressive rock, with song lengths and structures reminiscent of classical.
Toby Driver has said that his influences in Kayo Dot include artists such as The Cure, Scott Walker, Emperor, Ulver, John Zorn, Gorguts, Björk, and Susumu Hirasawa. He has denied the presence of jazz in Kayo Dot music. [32] [33]
Release date | Title |
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2003 | Choirs of the Eye |
2006 | Dowsing Anemone with Copper Tongue |
2008 | Blue Lambency Downward |
2010 | Coyote |
2012 | Gamma Knife |
2013 | Hubardo |
2014 | Coffins on Io |
2016 | Plastic House on Base of Sky |
2019 | Blasphemy |
2021 | Moss Grew on the Swords and Plowshares Alike |
Toby Driver is a multi-instrumentalist, composer, songwriter, producer, label owner, and artist, best known for his work as the leader of the experimental bands Kayo Dot and Maudlin of the Well.
Mia Matsumiya is an American violinist who is a former member of Kayo Dot, Gregor Samsa, and Tartar Lamb. She has also performed on albums with Daughters and Ghastly City Sleep. In 2015, her Instagram account chronicling the sexual and other harassment that had been directed toward her on social media during the past ten years received international attention.
Maudlin of the Well is an avant-garde metal band from Boston, Massachusetts. Their music contains elements from many different genres including jazz, progressive rock, psychedelic rock, post rock, art rock, progressive metal, doom metal, death metal, and gothic metal, as well as chamber music, ambient music and electronic music. After a five-year hiatus, the band re-united to record their latest album, Part the Second, which was funded by fan donations and released online May 14, 2009 for free.
Gregor Samsa is an American band from Virginia, United States, formed in 2000 and fronted by Champ Bennett. It takes its name from the main character of Franz Kafka's novella The Metamorphosis.
Choirs of the Eye is the debut studio album by American avant-garde metal band Kayo Dot, released on Tzadik Records in 2003. It was released shortly after the breakup of maudlin of the Well, with the band consisting of several members from the former band as well as guest performers who are friends of band members. The album is titled after a lyric from the maudlin of the Well song "Blight of River-Systems", on My Fruit Psychobells...A Seed Combustible. SputnikMusic voted it as one of the best metal albums of the 2000s. The group performed the entire album in 2010 to two sold out nights in Brooklyn, New York.
Dowsing Anemone with Copper Tongue is the second studio album by American avant-garde metal band Kayo Dot, released on Robotic Empire in 2006. The album received high praise from Pitchfork, Lambgoat, and Sputnikmusic, the last of whom named it the #2 album of 2006.
Bath is the second studio album recorded by the American avant-garde metal band maudlin of the Well. It was released on August 31, 2001 by Dark Symphonies, alongside its companion album Leaving Your Body Map. It was the last album released before their breakup.
Blue Lambency Downward is the third studio album by American avant-garde metal band Kayo Dot, released on Hydra Head Records in May 2008. After much of the group left to pursue outside projects, the only members who remained were frontman Toby Driver and violinist and long-time collaborator Mia Matsumiya. The two began recording the album in early 2007 using a revolving door of contributing musicians. The album is heavily influenced by chamber and orchestral music and jazz, and features an abundance of woodwinds. It is widely considered to be Kayo Dot's least heavy album to date.
Leaving Your Body Map is maudlin of the Well's third album, and was released alongside its companion album Bath on the Dark Symphonies record label in 2001, shortly before their break-up.
My Fruit Psychobells...A Seed Combustible is maudlin of the Well's first album, released in 1999.
Part the Second is maudlin of the Well's fourth and most recent album. It was funded by donations from fans, and released for free on the internet in three formats, including a FLAC-encoded 24-bit version. The fans who donated prior to the album's release are credited as executive producers. Donations of any amount continue to be accepted via the band's official website.
Coyote is the fourth studio album by American avant-garde metal band Kayo Dot, released April 20, 2010 on Hydra Head Records. The album is a single narrative-driven, long-form composition in five movements. The story and text were provided by a close, terminally-ill friend of the band, Yuko Sueta, in the final stage of her life. The music was written by Toby Driver in a so-called "goth fusion" style, combining influences from the Cure, Bauhaus and Faith and the Muse with further influences from Herbie Hancock's psychedelic jazz album Sextant and Scott Walker's experimental album The Drift. Sueta's story and lyrics were constructed with deliberate melodrama as part of the intended gothic aesthetic, 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.
Tartar Lamb is an experimental avant-garde band, consisting of Toby Driver and Mia Matsumiya, both leading members of the experimental band Kayo Dot. The band originally was formed in 2006 as a means for Toby Driver to experiment with his ideas for a guitar-violin duo. The duo released their first album, Sixty Metonymies, in 2007. The band was augmented by trumpet and percussion by Tim Byrnes and Andrew Greenwald, respectively. In 2011, the band returned with their sophomore effort, Polyimage of Known Exits, under the name Tartar Lamb II. This album was funded entirely by fans via a Kickstarter project.
Gamma Knife is the fifth studio album by American avant-garde metal band Kayo Dot. The album was self-released through frontman Toby Driver's Ice Level Music via Bandcamp on January 4, 2012, following the group's departure from Hydra Head Records. It was later released by another record company, Antithetic Records on CD and LP. The lineup remained the same, except Kim Abrams played drums on the album. Gamma Knife was received critically better than the past few albums, as SputnikMusic gave it a 3.5/5 and said "for the first time in years, Kayo Dot feels musically relevant."
Vaura is an American experimental band from Brooklyn, New York, United States, formed in 2009 by singer, guitarist and primary songwriter Joshua Strachan and featuring Kevin Hufnagel on lead guitar, Toby Driver on bass.
Hubardo is the sixth studio album by American avant-garde metal band Kayo Dot. It is a concept double album self-released and funded through pre-orders on frontman Toby Driver's Ice Level Records in 2013. It is the follow-up to Gamma Knife, which was released in 2012. It is Kayo Dot's longest album and its first double album, and contains aspects of black metal, post-rock, jazz fusion, and chamber music. It was picked as the 4th best album of 2013 on indie music website SputnikMusic.
Coffins on Io is the seventh studio album by American avant-garde metal band Kayo Dot, released in the UK on August 14, 2014 and in the US on October 13 through experimental metal label The Flenser. It is a follow-up to 2013's Hubardo. It's the first album from Kayo Dot to not be self-released since 2012's Gamma Knife. Coffins on Io marks a notable change in sound. It combines influences of Type O Negative, The Sisters of Mercy, Peter Gabriel, dark wave and other 80s electronic musicians. It combines aspects of electronic music, jazz fusion, post-punk, gothic rock and new wave. It was produced by Toby Driver.
Plastic House on Base of Sky is the eighth studio album by American avant-garde metal band Kayo Dot. It was released on June 24, 2016 via The Flenser.
Blasphemy is the ninth studio album by American avant-garde metal band Kayo Dot. It was released on September 6, 2019 via Prophecy Productions.
Moss Grew on the Swords and Plowshares Alike is the tenth studio album by American avant-garde metal band Kayo Dot. It was released on October 29, 2021 via Prophecy Productions. It reached number 100 in the German Top 100 album charts for the first time during the week after its release, November 5, 2021. It is the first album since 2006's Dowsing Anemone With Copper Tongue to feature founding member Greg Massi.