a label that i came across some time last year, and filed away in my brain to investigate later, is active suspension from paris france. i’m not sure what initially got my attention, but once i’d found my way to their cute website packed with information, i was pretty hooked. reading through their artist bios, looking at their album covers - i was into it before i even heard any of the music.

i was already familiar with the konki duet through their very very cool cover of the visage 80s classic “fade to grey” that appeared on copy, right many moons ago. “the konki duet is three girls from tokyo, st petersburg and paris. they like to play bitter-sweet ritournelles with electric, electronic and acoustic instruments. they also like to eat chocolate, drink champagne, watch tv and they enjoy sex with friends.” whats a ritournelle? i’m not entirely sure but i think they are pretty. i am much enjoying the latest album mountain moulon on summer evenings. from the active suspension website:

An imperfect yet ideal equilibrium between the sweet honey of Kumi, the strokes of gloominess and dysphony of Zoe´, and the hot classical excitations of Tamara. But not only. Also: the violence of love stories never entered into, of chocolate that melts too fast, the dadaism of a freakingly aggressive high tone hanging on the cotton wool fabric of a whistled melody; Bach’s or Scriabin’s piano counterpoints, the weird audio textures of mind numbing electronics, the irrational intertwinings of Robert Wyatt, the vocal interminglings of the Beach boys and of some old medieval recitative.

Listen to The Konki Duet at the Active Suspension store
The Konki Duet on MySpace