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Red Largo: Transmitting
(Self Released)
Vinyl / Download / Streaming
Available Now
Fredrik Kinbom and Sonja Kessner have teamed once again and joined with collaborators Chris Farr and Andreas Dormann for Transmitting. A stark set of experimental soundscapes and improvisational numbers that ‘ebb and flow’ into their cerebral and intricate consciousnesses.
Things have a habit of coming full circle. In the case of Red Largo, you could say that their debut album Transmitting it has come full oval. Normally, projects are described as spin-offs, but for Fredrik Kinbom and Sonja Kessner’s Kinbom & Kessner, their latest endeavour you could call a spin-up.
But first, a little bit of context. As a duo Kinbom & Kessner released their third album Anthropos in 2022; this was subsequently adapted for the theatre as Anthorpos Ex (Machina) and it is from this adaptation that Red Largo emerges. Comprising Swedish lap steel guitarist Fredrik Kinbom; German theatre actor, director and vocalist Sonja Kessner (though her vocal talents are replaced by her talent on the flute); Chris Farr on drums and Andreas Dormann on bass flute, bass clarinet, and electronics, they initially came together whilst the music for the play was in its genesis.
From those sessions came the realisation that rather than just being a musical accompaniment to a piece of theatre, there was something special brewing. From conception, through improvisation, to crystallisation, Red Largo emerged with a fully fledged album in its wake.
At three tracks in length and 37 minutes in duration Transmitting is, at times, familiar to those with knowledge of the Kinbom & Kessner canon. Exodus (Transmission 2) is an instrumentally expanded reworking of the opening track of Anthropos. It may not be as taut as its sibling, but it has the air of a big cat lounging. It may not be stalking you but it is best to be wary all the same.
Opening track Ex Machina opens with Farr’s heartbeat drumming, which develops into controlled fibrillation whilst Dormann’s woodwind work is processed through electronics, and Kinbom’s ebowed lap steel together create a unique and haunting sound.
The X, Transmitting’s third and final song, at 18 minutes and 23 seconds, takes up the whole of Side 2 (physically speaking of the LP here). Freely improvised in the studio, it is the only song not to take direct inspiration from Anthropos, although it does share the same DNA. Reminiscent of drone music, it starts slowly and gradually taking shape into the behemoth we didn’t expect to come from a project which can trace its lineage from the German songwriting tradition of Liedermacher.
You do not need to be a fan of Kinbom & Kessner to like this album. You need not know who Kinbom, Kessner, Farr, or Dormann are to enjoy this album. If you’ve never seen Anthropos Ex (Machina), fear not. As long as you are the kind of person who enjoys experimental, thought-provoking, interesting music then you will find this an essential listen, and perhaps one you will still be listening to at the end of the year. I know I will be.
Find Red Largo on Facebook, Instagram and via their Bandcamp
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All words by Adam Brady. Adam is a DJ on Louder Than War Radio who’s page is here. Find him on X (Twitter) here
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