“We decided to do a double EP because there was no way we could put out two EPs within two months of each other,” Heck said. “When Bryan joined, we could’ve re-recorded the old stuff and rehashed it, but we decided to leave it how it was. We figured it would get kind of stale if we went back and recorded it again, so we focused on recording new stuff.”
“Standby” is a document of a band in the process of defining its sound. There are some good songs on the release and some interesting ideas, but the real draw of this package is “On.” The six-song EP, engineered and produced by Brian Whitten at Center City Studio, is bursting with intricate and engaging multipart instrumental rock songs that draw from indie rock, jazz, electronica and progressive rock.
“Our older stuff had a lot of ideas on the burner, but we’ve changed a lot,” Larkowski said. “Now we work on taking an idea and trying to stretch it as many ways as we possibly can.
“Bryan plays some keyboards and incorporates his knowledge of electronic music into the band,” he added. “Chip and I will actually share a guitar line, and before it was more indie math-rock. It was very structured. Now, it’s more like ’60s psychedelic with a bottom groove that sticks through in some parts.”
The new material is definitely a giant step sonically and creatively.
“We recorded that stuff on “Standby” on a mini-disc player,” Nagafuchi said. “Those are all practice recordings.”
“So, on the new recordings, there’s actually clarity for all the instruments,” Larkowski said. “You can actually hear all the voices come out.”
Kuan celebrates its new double EP set with a pair of local CD-release shows. The group performs at Blind Bob’s in Dayton on Friday, Oct. 9, with special guests The Story Changes and By Way of Sunstorm, and on Saturday, Oct. 10, at Sunrise Cafe in Yellow Springs. The following week Kuan leaves for its first extended tour, a two-week outing with shows in New York, Philadelphia, Boston and Washington, D.C.
Contact contributing arts and music writer Don Thrasher at donaldthrasher8@aol.com.
How to go
Who: Kuan, with The Story Changes, By Way of Sunstorm and Garbage Kills Bear
Where: Blind Bob's, 430 E. Fifth St., Dayton
When: 9 p.m. Friday, Oct. 9
Cost: $5
More event info: (937) 938-6405 or www.blindbobs.com
Who: Kuan
Where: Sunrise Café, 259 Xenia Ave., Yellow Springs
When: 10 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 10
Cost: Free
More event info: (937) 767-7211 or www.sunrisecafe-ys.com/home.html
Artist info: www.myspace.com/kuankuankuan
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