Artist
This 6-piece migrated to Chicago from Columbia, MO a few years back. Kontpab is one of my favorite albums of the year; an eclectic, dense album of interlocking unconventional tribal rhythm and humanoid/robot hybrid electronic experimentation. Not what you'd expect from K Records, a label that tends to focus on northwest music. But I can't imagine anywhere that Mahjongg would really fit in. Their previous releases for the now-defunct Cold Crush label were sometimes compared to Gang of Four, but such clarity is no longer possible, and I'd say that's a good thing. Their live show involves two drum sets, a percussion station, guitar, bass, several electronic workstations, a vocoder, and a smoke machine. Last I saw them earlier this year, they played a song inspired by a Cambodian folk tune, which was apparently just recorded at Calvin Johnson's Dub Narcotic Studio, and I can't wait to hear.
