What happens when the musical worlds of Australian Music icon Steve Kilbey & classically trained ARIA Award winner Gareth Koch collide?
The answer lies in their new single Broken Toys – a refined and confident title brimming with sensitivity, experience and fresh ideas.
It’s not easy to describe a fascinating and unexpected collaboration such as this one. Steve Kilbey is perhaps best known as frontman of veteran rock band The Church. Gareth Koch on the other hand is a Viennese-trained classical guitarist/composer.
(photo credit: Tony Mott)
The Kilbey/Koch musical arrangements are acoustic and highly sophisticated. ‘Classical’ is one way of describing the sound. But it is much more than that. Kilbey is a self-confessed classicist, so the pairing is actually spot on. Kilbey & Koch have roughly 1000 years of music history bubbling away in their consciousness, and coupled with this knowledge is a keen awareness of contemporary sensibilities.
Sparkling effervescent textures, percussion by veteran stickman Barton Price (of Models fame), dobros, classical and 12-string guitars and even a 1966 ‘Beatle Bass’ all combine to create a unique and original soundscape.
Their eclectic partnership draws inspiration from medieval music to post-modern psychedelia, with every imaginable influence in between. These experienced musicians have created a strong and immediately recognisable musical identity, a new sound and aesthetic that comes with a fluid movement across genres. The result is a unique blend of classical & pop sensibilities with lyrics poised for repeated listening.
Expertly mixed by Russell Pilling at Damien Gerard Studios Sydney and superbly mastered by Grammy Award winning King Willy Sound, Broken Toys is a feast for the ears.
To download, stream or connect:
