AK/DK + THICK RICHARD + MASSIVE LUXURY OVERDOSE – ALPHABET, BRIGHTON 1.11.24
AK/DK, the dynamic synth and drum duo, have carved a unique niche in the music landscape with their exhilarating blend of blistering rhythms and searing bass lines. Formed by Ed Chivers and Gee Sowerby, AK/DK burst onto the scene with a sound that marries the raw energy of punk with the pulsating beats of electronic music, echoing the influences of iconic groups like LCD Soundsystem, The Units, and The Prodigy. Their live experience is nothing short of electrifying. Audiences all across the UK, Europe and South America have been engrossed in the powerful and expansive live-looping post-punk-disco shows.
Their journey began with a passion for improvisation and a love for analogue synths, leading to a series of releases that have garnered critical acclaim and a dedicated fanbase. Fans of Devo and Kraftwerk will find much to admire in AK/DK’s music, which is a testament to the power of DIY creativity, characterised by its spontaneous, high-octane energy and intricate, layered compositions.
AK/DK’s debut album ‘Synths + Drums + Noise + Space’, released in 2014, was a bold statement of intent. It showcased their ability to fuse chaotic, frenetic energy with melodic sensibilities, earning them widespread praise. Their follow-up albums, ‘Patterns/Harmonics’ and ‘Shared Particles’, continued to push boundaries, with tracks that became staples on BBC6 Music and earned them the title of ‘Album of The Day’. The exclusive Dinked edition of ‘Shared Particles’, sold out before its release and achieved a top ten position on the Indie Store Vinyl chart; a testament to the band’s enduring appeal and an indication of the anticipation surrounding their new work.
AK/DK’s brand new fourth album,‘Strange Loops’, dropped on 25th October and represents a new chapter in their evolution. This latest release sees the band collaborating with guest vocalists for the first time, adding a new dimension to their already rich soundscape. Inspired by iconic albums like Talking Heads’ ‘Remain In Light’, Bowie’s ‘Low’ and Kate Bush’s ‘Hounds Of Love’, ‘Strange Loops’ is a conceptual masterpiece, split into two distinct halves. The A side delivers infectious, high-energy tracks, while the B side explores more experimental and ambient territories. This new record is designed to both surprise and delight, reinforcing AK/DK’s reputation as innovative trailblazers in the alternative music scene.
In support of the new ‘Strange Loops’ album, AK/DK announced several concert dates throughout the country, which includes this evening’s sold out gig at Alphabet which is located a stone’s throw from Brighton’s main clock tower. So much was local demand that event organisers Melting Vinyl were forced to add a second date which actually took place last night.
Tonight however was kicked off by the talents of Massive Luxury Overdose who are a Brighton based Coldwave/EBM/Goth duo consisting of Lilya (vocals and laptop) and Caitlin (vocals and Squier bass guitar). They acquired the band name from the title of Swedish Europoppers ‘Army Of Lovers’ 1991 album of the same name. MLO have been gigging since 2019 and have thus far dropped a quartet of EP’s: ‘Work’ (August 2020), ‘Prey’ (November 2021), ‘Climax’ (July 2022) and ‘Electra Complex’ (March 2024). They are currently working towards releasing their debut album in 2025.
This evening’s 28 minute seven tune set commenced at 7:48pm and ran until 8:16pm. The duo are squeezed in stage right (our left) due to the two AK/DK’s drumkits and electronics already in situ on the raised stage. As you would expect, the lighting fits in with an outfit of this nature and it flits between relatively dark and then split second brightness, which is effective as the dry ice machine is set to overdrive, although it makes taking photos a challenge.
They kick off with the EBM sounding ‘Hate’ which is found on their ‘Climax’ EP and this mirrors how they record their material in the studio with Lilya on shared vocals and in charge of beats and synths (this evening via her laptop) and Caitlin who also shares vocals as well as putting her Squier bass guitar through its paces. Whilst we are on the subject of Caitlin and her bass, at times during tonight’s set, she plays the instrument with the use of a violin bow, as well as rubbing a thin white plastic block against the strings and the sound that this makes is cleverly adjusted by a small unit on a stand in front of her which makes the bass sound otherworldly.
Selection two is ‘Theme From MLO’ which is found on their current ‘Electra Complex’ EP. This benefits from Caitlin’s hauntingly spoken lyrics “Diamonds and gold; Diamonds; and gold; gold; gold; gold; coast to coast; Key Largo; private jet; cocaine sex…”. The darkwave sounds continues with ‘Shards’ from their ‘Climax’ EP with its repeated opening “I want to hurt you; I want to hurt you” lines atop the echoey style keys and slow chugging beat. Their oldest track comes next, their being 2020’s ‘Goddess’ from their ‘WORK’ EP which very much reminds me of Cabaret Voltaire ‘Sensoria’ era with its often used electronic backing and for this Lilya sings in German and thus it’s not far off Xmal Deutschland and sounds more mystical when sung in this language as opposed to English, the first line translate as “I am carved from alabaster and steel” which does actually sound rather cool.
The longer their set goes on for, the more punters make their way upstairs from the busy bar downstairs in order to check out MLO. ‘Crush’ from the latest ‘Electra Complex’ EP comes next with its decent faster banging Bauhaus ‘Kick In The Eye’ style backbeat, with almost disconnected vocal delivery with the memorable “dance with me; let me worship your body; crush; crush..” lines. The duo’s penultimate selection was the decent EMB ‘Huntress’, which was their only selection from 2021’s ‘Prey’ EP. Caitlin played her bass with a violin bow and Lilya uttered seductive lyrics including “Do you want to go to bed with me”. Imagine the music of Front 242 or Portion Control with female vocals and you have it. They left us with ‘Drive’ from their ‘Climax’ EP which again has the beats akin to Front 242 and is littered with sharp electronic bleeps across a banging EDM beat. The alluring sexual vocals also draw you in “hot and wet” being the most memorable lyrics.
This is my second encounter with this Brighton based unit and for my liking they don’t play enough live gigs as on both occasions they have left me wanting more! I suspect when their album drops, hopefully early next year, that it will be sitting in my record collection! Check out their releases on the Bandcamp page HERE.
Massive Luxury Overdose:
Lilya Vanderbilt– vocals, beats, synths, laptop
Caitlin Horne – vocals, bass
Massive Luxury Overdose setlist:
‘Hate’ (from 2022 ‘Climax’ EP)
‘Theme From MLO’ (from 2024 ‘Electra Complex’ EP)
‘Shards’ (from 2022 ‘Climax’ EP)
‘Goddess’ (from 2020 ‘WORK’ EP)
‘Crush’ (from 2024 ‘Electra Complex’ EP)
‘Huntress’ (from 2021 ‘Prey’ EP)
‘Drive’ (from 2022 ‘Climax’ EP)
www.instagram.com/massivelvxuryoverdose
Prior to the arrival of AK/DK to the stage, we were in the hands of acerbic Mancunian “poet, performer, shyster, writer” (his words not mine) Thick Richard who appeared on AK/DK’s ‘Strange Loops’ lead single ‘Nobody Shouts’, which saw the light of day back on 26th July. The 15 minute (and then some) diatribe of shouty sweaty poetry which many (but not all) found humorous. He touched on a number of subjects commencing with politics and then that Trump bloke. The bespectacled, trench coat wearing performer barely drew a breath as he unloaded his material akin to John Cooper Clarke. He read some extracts from a 1970’s book of erotic poetry (as you do), which were set in a historical context. King Charles was then covered as well as a new poem about Nazis and after a while he somehow ended up with ode’s to ageing ravers. He was rewarded with hearty applause at the end, but I hadn’t come out to listen to a comedy routine and was wondering whether he should have been on the bill, but I guess as he appears on the AK/DK album, then it warrants his appearance. He does actually return to the stage mid AK/DK set, dressed as Elvis and the trio perform ‘Nobody Shouts’.
thickrichard-productions.tumblr.com
AK/DK take to the stage immediately after Thick Richard and we are transfixed for the next 72 minutes as the local duo award us with 10 tunes, three of which are from the brand new ‘Strange Loops’ platter. They however kick off with a trio of cuts from their previous long-player, these being ‘Kosmiche #1’, ‘Feeds’ and ‘Shared Particles’. As always Gee is stage right (our left) and Ed is stage left (our right). There’s a whole host of electronic equipment available to hand, which sees Ed playing a Roland SH101 synth from the 80’s running through fuzz and delay pedals, and Gee playing an old Casiotone organ, also through fuzz and delay pedals. Ed has an old style hand held taxi style mic and Gee has the normal mic setup. These lads always look like they are really enjoying themselves and their enthusiasm floods off the stage and whizzes around the full capacity audience, as many decide it’s time to have a bop!
Every AK/DK gig I’ve seen down the years has been rammed full of energy and this evening is no exception. The duo work so well in sync that they operate almost as one person. Three tracks down, a towel break and a slight temporary technical hitch later which Ed immediately sorts and they are off again with the terrific ‘Lorem Ipsum’ which is found on 2011’s ‘Dispatch #1’ cassette. The two drums and retro synth sounds build to a crescendo and I can’t imagine an AK/DK set without this being played!
They now bring us right up to date with a trio of tracks from the new LP, starting with ‘Munch Machine’, which when I first read it a few months ago, I thought said Munich Machine and was a homage to the disco project of the same name who were based in Munich, Germany, and led by Giorgio Moroder and with participation by producers Pete Bellotte, Stefan Wissnet, Günther Moll and others. This track was simply mesmeric, as indeed a large majority of AK/DK live choices are. The aforementioned ‘Nobody Shouts’ is up next and signals the return of Thick Richard dressed as Elvis. This was bettered by the following number, ‘Wholes’, which itself was bettered by the magnificent ‘Maxwell’s Waves’ which is celebrating its tenth anniversary as it’s from 2014’s ‘Synths + Drums + Noise + Space’ album.
We are then thrown into their penultimate selection, in the form of ‘Battersea’ which is found on 2013’s ‘Dispatch #3’ cassette. This truly is a fan favourite as is their closing number the Sigue Sigue Spuntnik-esque beat styled ‘Morphology’ from 2017’s ‘Patterns/Harmonics’ album, which I reckon just sneaks in as my fave AK/DK tune. At 10:12pm that was our lot and we were much sweatier than we were 72 minutes ago at the start. In fact the walls were trickling with moisture! Job done then lads! Nice one….AGAIN! I purchased the green vinyl edition of the new album as a reward to an absolutely fabulous night out!
AK/DK:
Ed – vocals, drums, synths, electronics
Gee – vocals, drums, synths, electronics
AK/DK setlist:
‘Kosmiche #1’ (from 2020 ‘Shared Particles’ album)
‘Feeds’ (from 2020 ‘Shared Particles’ album)
‘Shared Particles’ (from 2020 ‘Shared Particles’ album)
‘Lorem Ipsum’ (from 2011 ‘Dispatch #1’ cassette)
‘Munch Machine’ (from 2024 ‘Strange Loops’ album)
‘Nobody Shouts’ with Thick Richard (from 2024 ‘Strange Loops’ album)
‘Wholes’ (from 2024 ‘Strange Loops’ album)
‘Maxwell’s Waves’ (from 2014 ‘Synths + Drums + Noise + Space’ album)
‘Battersea’ (from 2013 ‘Dispatch #3’ cassette)
‘Morphology’ (from 2017 ‘Patterns/Harmonics’ album)
