The Star Phoenix, June 11, 2015
by Stephanie McKay

"The Krells are anything but synthetic: the band uses technology but doesn't forego spontaneity"

          Victoria trio The Krells is named after an alien civilization from the sci-fi film Forbidden Planet. Initially, the music
seems to fit the science fiction mould. All the sounds come from one synth and two laptops (with custom software), but
the sound is rooted in human notions. The music isn't rigid or soulless, instead allowing for spontaneity. Synth player
 Dan Godlovitch compares the compositions to jazz. "We're playing jazz but with really 21st century instruments," he said.
"The laptop is basically the folk instrument of the 21st century. It's relatively cheap, you can get one anywhere and there's
always tools for making music." The Krells came together a few years ago when Godlovitch was doing his PhD at the
University of Victoria. He was studying mathematics but became increasingly disillusioned.

   "I started running off to the music department because I found out randomly they had this crazy old, giant synthesizer
 from the 1970s," he said. Godlovitch would play the Buchla synth whenever he got a chance. He developed a friendship
  with Kirk McNally, a studio tech at the university. Meanwhile, musician and professor John Celona wanted someone who
could play the unique instrument for a group that mixed live electronics with his algorithmic composition software.
Godlovitch and Celona's musical collaboration clicked quickly. After their first show, the Krells invited McNally to
join the group as a "live studio wizard."

       The Krells make music at the point where composed and improvised pieces meet. Godlovitch, who also makes solo
   experimental dance music and performs in a group called Laggards, makes sound not by plucking strings or playing keys,
  but by patching cables and turning knobs. Though he always wanted to make music, it wasn't something Godlovitch tried
to pursue as a career - he worksin digital instrument development. It's easy to understand why this all makes for an
interesting sound, but laptop shows have a (sometimes unfair) reputation for lacking in the live environment.
Though Godlovitch admits theirs is no punk show, it's more than three guys with their faces down in technology.
"Every time we play live, it's got a lot more action than I think it will. It's nice to have that because I've been to
enough performances where it's a feast for the ears and not the eyes," he said.

The Krells live at 'Paved Arts'

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      Ominocity announces "the 11 must-see acts of Saskachewan Summer Music Festivals"

         
The Krells: Strata Festival, Saskatoon – June 12 – 14

"Strata Festival is one of those events that tends to fly under the radar of most, but it's not for a lack of talent.
These people are on the end of the spectrum where classical meets avant garde and beyond – one year they had a robot piano play.
So we think it's worth checking them out this year, and The Krells, a diverse electro-collective, might be the best place to start."
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                                                     "The Krells brew up electronic stew" 
                                           by Adrian Chamberlain / Times Colonist, Apr 17, 2013

         Armed with a '70s Buchla synthesizer resembling a vintage phone-operator's console, The Krells
- named after a fictitious alien civilization - are poised to invade Victoria. This is electronic music, folks. And it's pretty darned wild. A visit to the Krells' website (thekrells.com) gives a hint of the electronic stew on offer Friday night at Open Space. Music samples include Vudu, beginning with ominous drum-like sounds and bubbling over into chime-like sparkles and shimmers. Or how about Zepeda, suggestive of an old manual typewriter being operated in a bleeping, blipping parallel universe? Then there's Block Thelonius, which sounds like piano strings being strummed while spaceships ping-pong through an echoing concert hall.

The Krells, whose official debut show is at Open Space, are John Celona (operating TimbreSpace electronica software), Kirk McNally (Max/MSP audio processing and spatialization) and Daniel Godlovitch (manning the Buchla synth). The Victoria trio is a diverse musical collective. Celona, a long-time University of Victoria music professor, is renowned in electronic-music circles (he won first prize in the 1985 Bourges International Electroacoustic Music Competition). He actually knew Don Buchla, inventor of the Buchla synthesizer ("an absolute genius") when Celona studied music at San Francisco State University in the 1960s. As a young saxophonist playing clubs in San Francisco, Celona gigged with the likes of Carlos Santana and Sun Ra. McNally is a UVic faculty member and recording engineer who's worked with Bryan Adams and R.E.M. And Godlovitch is a research associate with UVic's music technology lab who also performs dance music in such clubs as Lucky  and Hush under the moniker Okpk.                                        

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