Chikinki...
Chik your head: What do you get when you mix Britpop, electronica, rock 'n' roll, alt.folk, bodypoppin' beatbox grooves, glam, metal, sex and squelch? I dunno either, but these five guys from Bristol may be it. Chikinki dare to blend real rock with plastic pop, using guitars and synths (they have two keyboard players), and dropping in a mix of genres that would make even Beck feel a bit dizzy. A sprinkle of Squarepusher, a dash of Miles Davis, a pinch of Primal Scream, a something-or-other of Beta Band ... nothing is too out-there or out-of- fashion for these boys to plunder. But though they walk a technological tightrope between noisy innovation and cacophonous chaos, Chikinki have so far managed to not fall flat on their inter- faces. Instead, they landed on their feet - at Island Records. "People who mix guitars and electronics tend to use the electronics to polish up their sound, which is the complete opposite of the way we do it," says keyboard player Trevor Wensley.
Milkshake: After releasing a self- financed EP, Telephone Heroes, and an album, Experiment with Mother, the quintet have recorded their first Island album, Lick Your Ticket. This is not a command to run your tongue over the Irish Times entertainment supplement (ugh), but, apparently, a code for dropping acid. This album of genre- busting beats and mashed-up party anthems is sure to tickle your medulla. Hate TV, the first single, is "about a girl who doesn't get on with technology", says singer Rupert Browne, who grew up in London during the Britpop era, so knows his way around the Good Mixer in Camden. Browne was also heavily into drum 'n' bass and techno, but he's over it now. His bandmate, keyboard player Boris Exton, unsuccessfully auditioned to be the next Milky Bar Kid. "I met the first Milky Bar Kid and he was very old," recalls Boris. "I became jaded after that."
Kinki afro: The Milky Bars may not be on Chikinki, but they've got plenty more to offer an already-packed Bristol scene. "It's got nothing to do with the Bristol sound, it's a step on from that," says drummer Steve Bond. "That was very much bands who had something in common, but this is about bands getting excited because they are all doing something different." Chikinki's early live shows were certainly different from yer regular meat 'n' potatoes rock gigs. The band wore mad costumes and moustaches, coming on like crazed, robotic krautrock glam tarts, and the shows often descended into a shambolic short-circuit.
Chik list: Add (N) to X, Beach Boys, The Make Up, Air, Roxy Music, Electralane, Weather Report, Nina Simone, Pink Grease, The Sonics, Barbarella, Fargo, Withnail & I, Buffalo 66, Midnight Cowboy, The Big Lebowski, Grand Theft Auto, Pro Evolution Soccer.
