Simon Price is a master of creating music that is at once infinite and immediate. As a member of British heavyweights The Heads, he has journeyed with the band through two decades of brain-bending heavy psych, releasing 20 full-lengths in various editions, recording several Peel Sessions, and cultivating a following that surpasses most definitions of “cult.” As kandodo, Price offers a more introspective take on the empyrean. On k2o, kandodo’s second full-length, Price presents listeners with languid expanses of guitar and keyboard that are deceptively detailed and immaculately constructed.
k2o is liquid psych: fully immersive and steadily drifting towards the horizon. “slowah” eases us into Price’s world as layered guitars and keyboards slowly build and fellow Head Wayne Maskell joins in on percussion. Field recordings pepper the album, from the tranquil sounds of the Italian shoreline on “waves” to the Graceland tour guide on Price’s tribute to the King, “grace and.”
The massive “swim into the sun,” clocks in at 22 minutes and occupies the album’s entire b-side. Like a heavy “Hallogallo,” a steady motorik beat and single chord forms a rhythmic infrastructure for Price’s unrestrained soloing and tidal washes of guitar. Extra drums kick in after 15 minutes, courtesy of Wayne again, riding the wave home.The basic track was recorded to cassette on Price’s walkman, and slowly added to and built up over the course of two years. It is one of Price’s most ambitious and triumphant creations yet.
k2o was recorded in Bristol, London, Memphis, and on the Italian shoreline over the course of three years using his dependable Fender Mustang, microkorg, and as much fuzz as he could gather. Price has ventured deeper down the rabbit hole of his own rich imagination, and we are all the better for it.