| Kinetik
Biography
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 Kinetik were formed in 1994, evolving from the
remains of Elektro-Kinetik, a band who had made a name for themselves
through some well received sets at the Blackpool Kraftwerk Conventions
in 1993 and 1994 where they played a selection of the Dusseldorfer's
best loved tracks and attracted much praise from the attendees and
electronic music press.
Colin Jordan was born in London but moved to Pembrokeshire, Wales in 1984 to escape the big city bustle. Electronic Music had already made a big impression on him via the discovery of J.M. Jarre's 'Oxygene' in 1977 and soon discovered other influential artistes such T. Dream and Klaus Schulze. After purchasing a Korg MS10 synthesizer in 1980, Colin quickly built up an arsenal of (mainly analogue) gear and formed his first band 'Axxent Opaque' in the early 1980's. In 1985 Colin met up with Shirleyann Davies, a Pembrokeshire based woodwind teacher at a local music club in Tenby, West Wales. Shirleyann at the time was a successful woodwind soloist often playing on both radio and Welsh T.V. The two surprisingly found they shared an admiration for Kraftwerk and electronic music (Shirleyann had also purchased a Korg MS10 in the early 80's !). Spurred on by this, the pair began to collaborate on their own brand of music which eventually led through Paul Wilkinson, a mutual friend to an invitation to perform a set of Kraftwerk material at the conventions in Blackpool. Elektro-Kinetik was thus formed and was joined initially by David England (a much acclaimed artist who still contributes to Kinetik's CD artwork and computer graphics) as a guest on electronic percussion for the 1993 convention. In 1994, Simon Darvell, a music technology student stepped into David's shoes playing percussion and electric guitar ( ! ) for the following year's convention which pioneered the band's technique of synchronising computer generated images to their live music.After the conventions, the decision was then taken to move the band in a new direction, dropping the Kraftwerk covers and concentrating instead on original material. To emphasise this new course, the 'Elektro' part of the name as dropped and so Kinetik was born. Inspiration for the band's new music was to be found just a few miles away from the band's studio in the form of three giant oil refineries and a power station which was being proposed for conversion to burn Orimulsion - an allegedly carcinogenic bitumen fuel. Such was the anger and dismay of local residents (who were yet to suffer the Sea Empress oil disaster in 1996) that an Orimulsion Action Coalition was set up to oppose the Orimulsion burning. An event organised to highlight this issue was the 'Burning Issue' concert held at the Queen's Hall, Narberth, West Wales in November 1995. Kinetik was one of the local bands invited to contribute to this event. The band felt that the concert with its industrial overtones would be an ideal opportunity for playing their own new material for the first time. Kinetik additionally composed some pieces especially for this concert to emphasise the cause and awareness of the 'Burning Issue' event.For the concert, the band were joined by a new permanent third member - Bath based musician and synth-pop exponent Andrew Slegt. Andrew had also been interested in Kraftwerk and the Electronic Music scene for many years having played in various Bath bands and being involved in various music projects. He managed to build up his own collection of electronic and synth equipment over the years. Andrew had introduced himself to Colin and Shirleyann in 1992 after a Kraftwerk concert in Norwich and had been appreciative of the Elektro-Kinetik performances at the Blackpool conventions. Andrew now regularly commutes the 200 odd miles to West Cornwall to take part in recording sessions and band rehearsals ! The 'Burning Issue' concert was felt to be a success by the band, so much so that a live 'Burning Issue' CD, a fundraising CD limited to only 50 copies for friends and interested parties was issued. It was felt by Colin 'to capture the Kinetik energy ' of the set and succeeded in bringing the band's new sound to life via jet propelled rhythms, voice snippets and concerted synthesizer motifs.After the concert, Kinetik retired to their studio to continue writing and recording material for a debut studio CD. It was at this time that they became involved with the British Synthesizer company NOVATION after demonstrating some of the hardware and software they had designed themselves for live and studio use. This led to some of Kinetik's designs and software being incorporated into the new 'SuperNova' range of instruments which were launched by NOVATION in early 1998.The band's studio labours came to fruition with the 'Kinetik Energy' 5 track demo cassette (also issued as a strictly limited edition CD EP) which premiered some of the material destined for the band's debut studio CD and ignited further interest for the band. 1996 proved to be a frustrating year for Kinetik. Despite the band being invited to play at several live events, unfortunately due to circumstances beyond the band's control, these events fell-through and it was not possible for Kinetik to play any of their new sounds to an audience. However, an opportunity did arise after Kinetik contributed a feature and remixed version of a studio track called 'Generation' for the specialist Electronic Music magazine 'Sequences'. This directly led to the band being asked to perform at the fourth EMMA Festival of Electronic Music in 1997. On May 31st 1997 Kinetik played to an enthusiastic audience at the EMMA Festival held at the Assembly rooms, Derby. It was also at this big event that the band chose to finally release their debut studio album 'Refined' which had been completed in the Spring. Both live performance and new CD were well received and in turn, led to a greater interest in the Kinetik sound both near and far afield. Three live tracks from the 1997 EMMA performance were later included in the 1999 'Re-Generations' 2 CD set.In 1998, Kinetik decided to include a return visit to Derby as one of their dates on a "Micro Tour". To help promote the Derby concert, Kinetik were interviewed at length by BBC Radio Derby during Ashley Franklin's "Soundscapes" radio programme. For the programme, Kinetik recorded a special exclusive jingle. This can be heard along with selected extracts from the interview on 'Re-Generations'. During 1999, Kinetik invested in new digital recording equipment in time for preparing new musical material for the 'Re-Generations' 2 CD release which was launched in October. The double album contained live recordings and remixes of 'Refined' material on disc 1, while disc 2 showcased completely new material, pointing the way forward to the band's future musical directions. Kinetik kicked off the new millennium with a long-overdue concert in Andrew's home city of Bath. Entitled 'Electronica 2000', the concert premiered several new musical pieces destined for the band's next studio project and featured Kinetik's new streamlined, modularised stage setup along with their new computerised graphics projection system. Also launched at the concert was a special limited edition 'I.S.D.N.' EP release featuring material from the forthcoming album and exclusive remixes. The EP was exceptionally well received and demand has since led to repeat pressing which has included a bonus mix created by the Dance Music producer 'OctEight'. In the latter half of 2000, Colin and Shirleyann relocated Kinetik Studios from Wales to Cornwall where much inspiration was to be found from the nearby Goonhilly Downs satellite communications relay centre and the area's historic links with the radio pioneer Marconi. To commemorate the centenary of Marconi's first pioneering trans-Atlantic radio transmission in 1901, Kinetik released a CD single entitled 'Marconi' on the centenary date of 12th December 2001. This featured a 'Radio Edit' of the title track and a bonus piece entitled 'Into The Ether' which were exclusive to this CD, while the full length album version of the title track and a short linking piece entitled 'Tuning In' were lifted from the forthcoming 'Modem Times' album. Advance copies of the "Marconi" CD were distributed to various radio stations and was greeted with an enthusiastic response, in turn leading to airplay and an invitation for the band to attend the Centenary celebrations at the newly opened Marconi Exhibition centre at Poldhu where the band were interviewed and featured on local Cornish radio. The first few months of 2002 were spent on re-mastering Kinetik's debut studio album 'Refined', Colin taking the opportunity to master the album closer to the band's original intentions for the 1997 release. As well as remastering selected tracks, an alternative mix of the track 'Generation' was included alongside two previously unreleased contemporary studio recordings taken from the band's archives. As a special bonus, the track 'Pipeline (Live)' was also included, taken from the long-deleted 'Burning Issue' CD album. Soon afterwards, Kinetik hit the stage once more, playing in London for the first time. Performing a well-received 40 minute set as the opening act of the 2002 Elektrofest festival, Kinetik premiered yet more material destined for the forthcoming album. Since performing at the festival, Kinetik have received further invitations to play further live dates in London and a small tour abroad is even currently being considered ! Meanwhile, the band themselves continue with the writing and recording of new material for their next album, 'Modem Times', perfecting their audio and visual live experience and continuing to develop the expanding range of hardware and software with NOVATION. Kinetik Concert History
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