AK/DK

The Haunt, Brighton | June 6

Given the modern day penchant for tribute bands popping up in venues across the land, it’d be easy to presume that AK/DK are here to deliver a heads down and fully-committed impersonation of one of Australia’s premium rock bands.

But this Brighton-based duo don’t worship three chord power rock; AK/DK instead are a battering ram of infectious electronic sounds and driving rhythms, inventing a noise that is far removed from primal, riff heavy rock ‘n’ roll.

Their recently released debut album Synths + Drums + Noise + Space serves as a simple indicator of what to expect from AK/DK on both record and in the live environment. Each element of the title is a vital component in what makes AK/DK function as a multi-faceted, highly calibrated unit.

Tonight is the first date of a UK tour alongside Fujiya & Miyagi, and though this is a performance in front of familiar faces, it should also be one that stands them in good stead for forthcoming dates.

Glaring synths and snatches of sounds that could have been siphoned off of some little known SNES game arrive and pulsate over a motorik rhythm that progressively unfurls, recalling Can at their most locked-in moments. On songs such as Maxwell’s Waves they form – sonically and visually – a dual-brained, eight-limbed machine, punching out delay-soaked and rhythmically shifting melodic noise, inhabiting a middle ground between Factory Floor-style techno and a stripped-to-the-bones LCD Soundsystem that have discarded all sense of structure.

AK/DK make dance music for those who don’t like dance music.

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Words: Nathan Westley