Korobu - K for Key LP (180gr pink vinyl)

When Korobu stepped on the scene of the lively Italian underground community with their debut ‘Fading | Building’ their odd mix of kraut-rock rhythms, exotic flourishes and post-punk minimalism captured many, welcoming them as one of the most interesting new bands. Their second album ‘K for Key’ easily carries the band to new heights, shifting the focus from studio created wizardry to emotional musicianship, an intriguing mutation of alien pop, art-rock and electronic experimentation and dark-wave.

Aptly based in the infamous skank bloc Bologna, Korobu comprises of Gianlorenzo De Sanctis, Christian Battiferro, Alessandro Rinaldi and new member Pablo Quirici. By using a minimalist, rhythmically-focussed palette their approach on ‘K for Key’ was as straightforward as possible, less layers, more heart, anchored on the oblique interplay of each member. At the heart of Korobu’s music lies a playfulness that permeates most of the songs, creating a unique contrast with sci-fi and math-rock influences, leading to a path that steers away from genre restriction and expanding the dimensions of sonic possibility in the process. The new album presents nine tracks that shine with a renewed prismatic quality, from the mutant new wave of ‘Love Love Love’, the beautiful vocal interplay of ‘Sex Toys’, the dubbed-out extraterrestrial ‘Here’, the 70s Lodger era Bowiesque ‘Park’, the fuzzed march of ‘Cavalcade’, the ritualistic steady beat of ‘It’s My Cake’. What is never lost amidst the genre-shifting record is the ability to deliver a tune, a testament to Korobu’s incredible knack for songwriting.

‘K for Key’ is an album of ecstatic-pop, a primal burst of angular wave that sits neatly amongst the lineage of great outsider art-rock paved by greats like Silver Apples, Roxy Music, Liars, The Pop Group and Lizzy Mercier Descloux. Korobu dives in head first, creating an interstellar voyage that crosses many galaxies.