The Discrepant record label are putting on a unique and what promises to be an unforgettable evening of entertainment at Cafe Oto on Friday 20 July which features an exclusive visit by Kink Gong all the way from Dali, China who will be supported on the evening by Ergo Phizmiz and Iain Chambers.
Kink Gong
Kink Gong is the moniker of Laurent Jeanneau, a Frenchman living in China whose work carries on in the footsteps of the many great field recorders from Smithsonian’s Ethnic Folkways to Chant Du Monde. He has a thirst for recording what many refer to as weird sounds but is music to his ears, his dedication and perseverance has seen him conducting fieldwork in some of the remotest parts of the world for the past two decades from Tanzania to Cambodia. Whilst others are praising the cultural highways Kink Gong is seeking out the small pathways you can only access on foot. His work is a race against time in a world of rapidly disappearing and changing cultures.
He has released over 100 CDs via his own label, Kink Gong recordings, as well as being the go-to man for US label Sublime Frequencies, Laurent’s also started releasing his own electro-acoustic transformations of unique tribal performances via a few labels, namely Atavistic, PPT/Stembogen and Discrepant. His last album released on Discrepant ‘XINJIANG‘ conccots a melting pot of ethnic related weirdness packed with mind blowing virtuoso recordings:
David Harris recently directed a documentary on Laurent’s work called ‘Small Path Music’ the trailer for which is below, it takes us travelling in the field with Laurent Jeanneau through Northem Laos and Yunnan.
Support on the evening comes from Ergo Phizmiz and Iain Chambers:
Ergo Phizmiz is a diverse and multifaceted artist, working across eccentric pop music, collage, radio-art, installations, and performance. His work has featured numerous places including the Tate Modern and the Royal Festival Hall.
Iain Chambers started playing guitar in his late teens, but he didn’t hear John Fahey’s music until much later after being introduced to it by friend. Discovering Fahey opened the door to the range of influences running through the so called Takoma school, from Charlie Patton to Bartok.
listening to Iain play, one is quickly lured into a world without reference, of wonder, charm and mesmerising beauty. Someone who has such generous expression and who can alter the senses by striking just one note, deserves your absolute attention