Kinematic

Bio:

Kinematic have been making music for a while and it's something they love doing. They've created a mix of sonic treats, ranging from thoughtful folk music to distortion laced rock, with a whole bunch of pop songs that fall somewhere in between.

Kinematic are unsigned and independent. They’ve managed to self-produce a string of single, album and video releases and the band are justifiably proud of that. They do everything … writing, recording, producing, releasing, promoting … which means they have the freedom to do whatever they want, and to do it their own way.

The band was formed by songwriters from two quite different backgrounds. But even before Kinematic got off the ground they'd had common experience with endless gigging, recording and building live followings. They had also laughed their way past various shonky managers and dodgy record deals to put their own songs on the radio and play support to some major international acts. In short, it was loads of fun. Then it was time for something new and different. Enter Kinematic, where it’s all about the songs.

The songs? Download their tunes - much of it is free on the Kinematic try-before-you-buy scheme. The albums Time & Place (2005) , The 38th Parallel (2007) and Kites (2009) are great places to start.

If you want to know even more about Kinematic there's plenty of extra information, as well as all the music, on their official website: www.kinematic.info

Reviews of Kites:

Bernard Zuel, Sydney Morning Herald, Sydney, Australia
12 December 2009
"You Am I are easily the most influential Australian band of the past 20 years; consequently, you can find many bands who sound like Tim Rogers and co, But until Kinematic (who don't sound like them much), I have rarely found bands with a similar attitude, that willingness to sweep up myriad styles and commit them to writing pop songs for a rock band not ashamed to have pop songs.

On their third album, Kinematic's songwriters, Michael Owen and Gordon Clarke, still have roots in acoustic-folkish rock and clearly, thankfully, haven't shrugged off the touch of intimacy but there is some really satisfying breadth here. For example, Xrays & Traffic is like American new wave (particularly The Cars), with thin synths and guitars twinned under a strong tune, while Already Here is moody, pulsing, more like Talk Talk or Decoder Ring.

Completely different are 5 O'Clock High, which has the ruffled shirts of London 1967, and Jefferson High, which is more like a Sonic Youth spin on a 1966 garage rock band. And then, just for fun, you can dream away in the woozy Pretty, Ugly. Kinematic do it well."


Tony McMahon, Inpress Magazine, Melbourne, Australia.
9 December 2009
"Kites is the 3rd full length album from local indie pop should-be stars Kinematic. Achieving the rare feat of being both instantly danceable and intricately layered, this exquisite record grabs you from the opening synth/drum/piano combination of opener Already Here and takes you on an eclectic thrill-ride that both reminds you of the records you once loved and propels you meaningfully into a future where they become ... not irrelevant ... let's just say nowhere near as good in comparison. Fourteen adorable tracks later, the world is a happier, more interesting, more kinematic place, and it's difficult to believe you've been listening to a pop record, really. Even so, the parameters of what this encompasses may have to be redrawn due to music like this.

Singer/guitarist/songwriter Michael Owen sounds like Northcote's answer to Elliot Smith (except, you know, nowhere near as depressing). Technically not the greatest singer the world has ever known, he nonetheless uses what he has with aplomb and a kind of brave energy that will draw the right person in more strongly than any dulcet toned warbler you care to name. Mark Olszewski drums and loops and makes beautiful noise with precision and wild imagination, and with the cacophony of other instrumentation - mandolin, harmonica, ebow, Korg, Rhodes and a Tibetan singing bowl, whatever the hell that may be - rings out with an authority and poise belying its chaotic nature.

In short, this is a record every music fan should own. If it doesn't sound like exactly your thing, give it a try anyway. On paper, it's not the kind of music that usually moves this reviewer quite this dramatically, either. But there is something about the truth and energy these guys exude that cuts through artisitc assumptions, prejudices, even long held and guarded tastes unlike any other sound I have ever heard."

Reviews of 'The 38th Parallel':

“…Their 2nd Album The 38th Parallel, is a beautifully constructed, impossible not to adore, wonderfully eccentric record, unlike anything you've ever heard before: simultaneously radio friendly and challenging, catchy and resonant. Which must be an extraordinarily difficult thing to achieve.”
Tony McMahon, Inpress Magazine, April 2007

Reviews 'Time & Place':

"This is a really good record, packed with fine, melancholic pieces of pop."
Jeff Jenkins, InPress Magazine, September 2005

"...a classic indie rock album"
John Kruczek, Indie Spin Zone, March 2006

"... their songs reflect a street-level worldliness that is stories away from Coldplay. Like Muse without the bombast, Kinematic show a breadth of style and complexity that is seldom achieved while attempting to write actual songs. With 'Time and Place', Kinematic have produced an assured and mature debut ..."
Luke McKay, Beat Magazine, October 2005

Live Review

"Kinematic were extraordinary. One of the top three bands I have seen at the Indie Initiative. A four piece with great three part harmonies. Acoustic guitar and acoustic bass, electric guitar and drums. Brilliant songs that swept me down to the front. Touches of Teenage Fan Club and other bands I couldn't name, but they added their own touches. You must see or hear this band."
Neil Wedd, InPress Magazine

Get your download of Kinematic's debut album, Time & Place, from Somersault Music.

Buy Kinematic's second album, The 38th Parallel, from iTunes.

Carnivale Video:

Member Since:

March 01, 2006

Members:

Gordon Clarke - Acoustic & Electric Guitars, Backing Vocals

Michael Clarke - Bass, Trumpet, Backing Vocals

Michael Owen - Vocals, Acoustic & Electric Guitars, Keys, Harmonica

Mark Olszewski - Drums, Percussion, Loops, Noise, Backing Vocals

Influences:

Almost too many to mention but random thought generation results in:

Musically: Elliott Smith, Sparklehorse, The Shins, Wilco, Death Cab For Cutie, Elbow, Grandaddy, The Cure, PJ Harvey, Augie March, Bob Dylan, Badly Drawn Boy, Blitzen Trapper, Radiohead, The Clash, Gillian Welch, The Go-Betweens, Interpol, The Velvet Underground, Iron & Wine, Ivy, Blur, The Beatles, Sonic Youth, The Pixies, The Breeders, Richard Hawley, The Police, Johnny Cash, Paul Kelly, The National, The Postal Service, Calexico, Nick Drake, Broken Social Scene, Pink Floyd, Will Oldham/Bonnie Prince Billy, Robert Johnson, The Verve, The Strokes, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Sigur Ros, Weezer, Nirvana, Led Zeppelin, Flaming Lips, Muse, U2, UNKLE, Foo Fighters, Iron Maiden, The Avett Brothers, Belle and Sebastian, New Order, Crowded House, Devastations, The Stone Roses, The Plums, REM, Sarah Blasko, Smog, Sufjan Stevens, Pulp, Townes Van Zandt, You am I, Dirty Three, Kings of Leon, Longpigs, Coldplay, Okkervil River, The Kinks, Goldfrapp, The Bees, Ween, ACDC, Spinal Tap.... and check our 'friends' for more possibilities ...

Motivationally: any independent original band anywhere on the globe, particularly those in our hometown.

Sounds Like:

sound noise music song melody rhythm consonance dissonance static.