Now then Brighton gig goers, how about checking out a unique outfit who produce sounds like you’ve never heard before? Let’s face it, if the legendary John Peel was still with us, he would certainly check out an interesting trio who were born in France, Belgium and Burkina Faso (fka Upper Volta from 1958–1984) and are now Brussels based and are collectively called Avalanche Kaito.
Frenchman Benjamin Chaval first met Burkinabe vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Kaito Winse back in 2018 as a result of Kato’s girlfriend’s love of the unusual sounds then being produced by Chaval and a colleague at that time. The guys got together and rehearsed in a studio for 5 solid days and during that time honed the Avalanche Kaito sound whilst in Brussels. The capital has areas where various collectives meet and get together and it was at one of these that after the covid lockdowns Belgian Nico Gitto came on the scene. The initial duo had recorded a self-titled album, which you can take a listen to HERE.
Avalanche Kaito offer listeners the combined sounds and vibes of the trio’s heritage. Thus you get the West African connection via Kaito who offers up urban ‘griot’ (which is the role of a historian, storyteller, praise singer, poet, and/or musician back in his homeland); mixed in with exhilarating Brussels noise post-punk. This mixture at times can feature contrasting sounds from the fields of tribal, free jazz, prog, and industrial-electronica as well. This is reflected in the June 2022 released album, which benefits from the experience of each sonic blast and each layer becoming a more absorbing revelation. Each of the eight numbers assault your ears with a mysterious matrix that echoes disparate (but strangely compatible) sonic strands: deep griot traditions, Fugazi, Can, 70s era Zappa, Black Midi, the full throttle rush of Nyege Nyege Tapes. Emerging from an original dimension in sound, the polygenesis Avalanche Kaito redefine what it is to talk with the ancients whilst leaping forth into a futuristic chaos of noise on their debut album journey.
This is all very intriguing stuff isn’t it and thankfully the band are about to embark on their second UK tour, starting on 30th August here in Brighton at The Prince Albert courtesy of local promoters Acid Box. They will also be performing at ‘End Of The Road’, ‘Supersonic’, and ‘Smugglers’ festivals, as well as other concert dates in Bristol, Birkenhead, Ipswich and Falmouth and at London’s Moth Club.
Avalanche Kaito tour dates – simply click on each to find tickets.
Wed 30 Aug – The Prince Albert, Brighton
Thu 31 Aug – St Stephen’s Church, Ipswich
Fri 1 Sept – Smugglers Festival, Deal (The End stage, 8pm)
Sat 2 Sept – End Of The Road Festival, Shaftesbury (Garden stage, 3pm)
Sun 3 Sept – Supersonic Festival, Birmingham (7SVN stage, 9:30pm)
Mon 4 Sept – Future Yard, Birkenhead
Tue 5 Sept – The Lanes, Bristol
Wed 6 Sept – Moth Club, London (free show)
Thur 7 Sept – Cornish Bank, Falmouth
Avalanche Kaito are:
Kaito Winse – vocals, tama (talking drum), peul flutes, arc à bouche (wood bow)
Nico Gitto – electric guitar, vocals
Benjamin Chaval – drums, electronics, pure data (an open-source apparatus for creating interactive computer music and multimedia works)
What others have said about Avalanche Kaito:
“…setting magnetic Burkinabe griot Kaito Winse in post-everything grindscapes produced by the Belgian duo of drummer/producer Benjamin Chaval and guitarist Nico Gitto, Avalanche Kaito is a fully functional hardcore transmission, channelling solid state spirits in abrasive, glitching tongues. Winse yelps and declaims refixed elder scrolls, Chaval and Gitto initiate the launch phase on broken mech-punk rockets, and the whole affair gives the impression of exigent new rituals being improvised at the edge of panic.” The Wire
“Winse’s voice soars over Chaval’s thrashing drums, an energising blend that has ample capacity to get darker and more distorted.” The Guardian
“….remarkable for the way it pushes into unexpected territories … There are clear reference points for every track, both traditional and experimental in nature. Yet its particular blend is, at bare minimum, a road less travelled. The world may be getting smaller all the time, but as illustrated here, the sonic possibilities that come along with that are only growing.” The Quietus
“A truly incredible record.” Monolith Cocktail
“Nothing short of astonishing.” ***** Morning Star
“They are as their name suggests, an act who strike unexpectedly. And they are sensational…an enervating wall of noise given a focus by the incredible presence of singer, the Burkina Faso griot, Kaito Winse. The best kind of buzz.” Louder Than War
“Like all the best punk, Avalanche Kaito’s music is confrontational and abrasive, but also playful and with a great sense of fun … this debut album certainly has proper party-mode chops. It just happens that the party in question is in a warped, alternate-reality Afropean noise dungeon.” **** Songlines (Top of the World album)
“An excellent, if difficult, album that rewards the listener who is prepared to give it time and feed energy back into it.” **** Music-News
www.instagram.com/avalanchekaito
