KONK PACK brings together three major figures in contemporary music. For about now fifteen years this group has amazed audiences at festivals and concerts all over the world with the sheer energy of its rapid-fire interplay, earning numerous critical accolades.
Since 1997, Konk Pack have toured regularly throughout Europe, completed three major tours of the US, and have been described by The Wire magazine's Lee Henderson as "one of the most exciting improv groups in the world." The group have released four compact discs on the German label GROB, and performed at major music festivals from Vancouver to Belgrade. The music they've made individually are reason enough to take note of this trio, but the music they make together leaves audiences amazed and inspired.
TIM HODGKINSON
Increasingly lauded as a contemporary composer, with works featured at international contemporary music festivals, and a set of pieces for ensemble out on the Mode label, Hodgkinson has also a powerful commitment to intense and highly energised performance practice. In over thirty years' work he has placed himself in a series of definitive projects, whether as cofounder of the seminal Henry Cow group, as saxophonist with influential avant metal band God, or as bass clarinet soloist in the spectral compositions of Iancu Dumitrescu. His lap steel guitar playing remains completely uncategorisable, bringing subdued and not so subdued echoes of rock musics and other ethnicities.
THOMAS LEHN
Schooled both as a concert pianist playing contemporary repertoire and as a recording technician, Thomas Lehn deploys a huge musicality through his unique chosen outlet the analogue synthesiser. This instrument allows him extremely close and immediate contact with all aspects of sound modification - a vast gamut of living electronic sound produced with unmatched speed and fluency. Thomas Lehn simply represents a coming-of-age of electronic sound production in the domain of concert performance that sets a standard for the entire medium. He is therefore unsurprisingly an essential member of many of the most active and significant projects in this highly international and dynamic scene.
ROGER TURNER
Over decades Roger Turner has brought the renowned volcanic power and finely honed precision of his drum work to ensembles that have often forged real connections with musicians both sides of the Atlantic. In addition he has worked extensively in the microscopic laboratory of the acoustic duo situation where he acquired a highly developed sense of detail and of dynamic control. One of that select group of world-class players who have collectively redefined the language of contemporary percussion. In Turner's hands minute inflections of tension can shape the group's musical direction and galvanise a new level of audience experience.
Recent Concert Reviews:
http://www.tokafi.com/news/konk-pack-smiling-towards-ecstasy/
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2012/dec/19/konk-pack-review
PRESS quotes:
"I've caught Konk Pack live a half dozen times through the years and have been knocked out on each & every occasion. What makes this trio special is that their music is so focused and intense, that you often feel exhilarated by listening. You can't do anything else or have any distractions while listening since you will be swept away." Bruce Gallanter | Onsen | August 2010
"Konk Pack boasts a line-up that springs from diverse quarters, combining to make a gloriously intuitive barrage of sounds, both soft and savage. They've been together for 13 years, facilitating empathy without banishing unpredictability. To witness both of these gigs was to marvel at a band revealing completely different aspects of their ongoing vocabulary." Martin Longley | All About Jazz | April 2010
"The free improvisation of the trio Konk Pack is like a blast of science — a kind of controlled chaos in the hands of experts. Being musically proficient is not enough for Konk Pack; the players feed off the collective energy and have an uncanny ability to collectively shape their abstract constructions with a keen understanding of the power of varied dynamics." Ernie Paik | The Pulse | Chattanooga | April 2010
"I can't think of an improvising group more explosive than this European trio - percussionist Roger Turner, guitarist Tim Hodgkinson, and synth maestro Thomas Lehn bite down hard on whatever they play, confronting even delicate passages with taut intensity...I've seen so much free improv that some of it feels as predictable as 'Chopsticks', but these guys keep me pinned to the wall, happily anticipating the next shock." Peter Margasak | Chicago Reader | October 18th, 2007