Kayo Dot / Maudlin of the Well

I considered bringing this up but I thought I was the only one to give a shit. I was hoping they'd leave behind the whole 80s thing this time and they certainly haven't if the new track's anything to go by but I quite like it anyway.

i maybe 70% give a shit

Kind of cringing at my posts upthread about Coffins on Io since in hindsight it's definitely my least favourite KD album.

https://soundcloud.com/flenserrecords/kayo-dot-magnetism

this sounds...ok

It's grown on me a bit tbh. There's an instrumental lineup floating around that suggests this will be a lot more detailed than the last one... on the other tracks it seems. Trying not to have expectations either way though

hey I really like it now

http://noisey.vice.com/blog/kayo-dot-plastic-house-on-base-of-sky-stream

this is p cool

Not really feeling this one too much sadly. On paper I would really dig a Kayo Dot album inspired by Japanese avant-pop but that stuff is usually quite eccentric and playful; Driver's musical sensibilities are too gloomy to pull it off that convincingly.

what was the consensus then

The consensus seems to be that this is one of the best things KD have ever done, which to me is madness since it's easily the worst. If I heard PHOBOS blind I probably would have dismissed it as 80s fetishist hipster crap... it's probably better than that though. Probably.

Youre too hard on that stuff tbh

Yeah, maybe... I'm really not a fan of those sorts of sounds though, as I can't help but make clear. But, sometimes it's taken me a few years and another couple of releases to put a KD album into context before I get into it more so there's a chance I'll warm to this down the line.

just got this e-mail:

We're heading out today for a 3-week run in the US (and Toronto), in support of our new album, PLASTIC HOUSE ON BASE OF SKY ( via http://nowflensing.com/ )! Check the dates here or at http://www.kayodot.net/ to see if there's one near you!

10/21 @ Gorham Brothers Music
Syracuse, NY

10/22 @ The Baby G -
Toronto, ON, Canada

10/23 @ Cobra Lounge -
Chicago, IL

10/24 @ Vaudeville Mews -
Des Moines, IA

10/25 @ Fubar - St Louis, MO

10/27 @ The Lost Well -
Austin, TX

10/29 @ Mammal Gallery -
Atlanta, GA

10/30 @ Upsidedown Plaza -
Birmingham, AL

10/31 @ The Milestone Club -
Charlotte, NC

11/1 @ Neptune's -
Raleigh, NC

11/2 @ Strange Matter -
Richmond, VA

11/3 @ Orion Sound Studios -
Baltimore, MD

11/4 @ Trans-Pecos -
NYC (Ridgewood), NY

11/5 @ Kung Fu Necktie
Philadelphia, PA

Thanks for reading, and hope to see you!

Toby Driver/Kayo Dot

From Toby Driver:

Just wanted to send a quick note out about a couple big dealie shows and releases happening these next two months. Thanks for your eyes and ears–

Coming in a few weeks (April 21), The Flenser will be releasing my long-awaited solo ballads album, MADONNAWHORE. The album also features members of Kayo Dot on various songs. Simultaneously, The Flenser will be releasing a repress of Kayo Dot's 2013 triple-vinyl LP, HUBARDO (on both 3xLP and CD). You can preorder both now, via http://nowflensing.com in the Americas or http://www.deathwishinc.eu/products/587443-toby-driver-madonnawhore for Europeans.

Concerts:

March 16: I'll be performing some of these ballads at SXSW in Austin, Texas, and will be hanging out there for the week. Check out (and add) my Facebook page for further details: http://facebook.com/tobydriverofficial

March 21: I'll be presenting the songs from MADONNAWHORE, plus an entire set of completely new, never-before-heard ballads, accompanied by a band that includes violins, grand piano, organ, and percussion, at the beautiful theatre of Roulette Intermedium in downtown Brooklyn, NY. This is very likely the only time this music will ever be presented this way, so don't miss it. Check out the event page and preorder your tickets: http://roulette.org/event/toby-driver-madonnawhore-with-string-noise/

March 23-31: Kayo Dot will be joining the awesome PALLBEARER and MARISSA NADLER for a short tour. We're the opening band (we play at 8pm), so come early! Dates are listed below, and visit http://kayodot.net for any updates as they happen. I'm also excited to announce that David Bodie, who recorded with us on our 2010 album, COYOTE, and toured with the band from 2009-2011, will be handling drum duties for this tour. In addition, I'm very happy to announce the addition of a new, second guitarist, Matthew Serra, for this tour. Some of the shows will feature two guitarists (Ron and Matt) and some will have just one. Kayo Dot hasn't had a guitar-guitar-bass-drums configuration onstage in a long time, so this will be a real heavy treat.

THU 23 MARCH
The End, Nashville, TN

SAT 25 MARCH
Music Hall of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY

SUN 26 MARCH (Marissa Nadler and Kayo Dot - no Pallbearer on this show)
WFMU Monty Hall, Jersey City, NJ

TUE 28 MARCH
Grog Shop, Cleveland Heights, OH

WED 29 MARCH
Pyramid Scheme, Grand Rapids, MI

THU 30 MARCH
The 5th Quarter Lounge, Indianapolis, IN

FRI 31 MARCH
Thalia Hall, Chicago, IL

of course that's what his album of solo ballads is called

probably the worst lyricist in the avant-garde scene, maybe the worst ever

From May of '08, here's the KD review I mentioned way upthread, for the long-gone Paper Thin Walls, where we spotlit new tracks --the ones cleared for posting were not always the best on the album, but this selection was pretty good.

Kayo Dot: “Symmetrical Arizona”
from Blue Lambency Downward (Hydra Head)
Out Now rating: 7.0

Kayo Dot, led by the versatile singer/multi-instrumentalists Toby Driver and Mia Matsumiya (who is especially evocative on violin), have a way of trailing guitars, bass, drums, sax, vibes, clarinet, gamelan, keyboards, et cetera, through traces of metal, avant jazz, and Late 20th Century-based Western takes on Eastern music, sometimes sketching out vast dayscapes of seemingly emptied beauty, along the way. Yet there’s also a furtive, sometimes tingling sense of possibilities, too, for Those Who Know: hooded figures, bowed but still standing on the verge of getting it on, one more time. So their albums are tantalizing enough, though promising passages through the vastness can knock up against too many dramatic pauses, too many creeping beats. Still, Blue Lambency Downward eventually lives up (and down) to its title, with a concluding arc of tracks, saving the best for last. “The Awkward Wind Wheel” keeps wobbling until it’s pulled through an avalanche by bass and drums, right through trees of smoke and ganglia (strings and woodwinds), on through the parting spikes of “The Useless Ladder,” into “Symmetrical Arizona,” where damn if woodwinds and maybe cellos don’t grown and press contemplation into the hollow heads of abandoned gods of vanished cliff-dwellers, as thee coalescing image of a prodigious prodigal, no bigger than a Kayo Dot, gauges and gouges a valley of personal mythology(dropping in: percussive beads, talons, wine-streaked sheet music, flapping like wings), until it’s raised from the dry undertow of his affectations, casting and rattling real-enough shadows across my virtual attention span, for quite a while.

I DO hate that title, but

probably the worst lyricist in the avant-garde scene, maybe the worst ever

― an uptempo Pop/Hip Hop mentality (imago), Thursday, 16 March 2017 19:55 (fifteen minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

...hardly, and I'm not huge on his lyrics, though tbh most of what he sings is written by Jason Byron anyway.

I quite like that new track, I have a feeling I'll probably enjoy this more than the last KD album

oh that's true re: Byron

the fact that Kayo Dot are the opening act for Pallbearer and Nadler just proves again how little justice there is in this tasteless, ridiculous world

We're having a big year in the Kayo Dot camp... one of those years that feels like all the work we've put in is finally paying off. I'm super excited to let you know about a few of these upcoming items:

1. Summer tour dates!

We're going all around the U.S. and Canada this summer opening up for a couple killer bands. In July, we'll be opening up for TODAY IS THE DAY– a band that changed the way I see live performance and heaviness the first time I saw them back in 1999. Their singer, Steve Austin, has been one of my biggest vocal influences since then, and it's a honor to join them on this trip. Then we head out in late August once again with the mighty PALLBEARER, a band we had the pleasure of opening for in March this year, and we're so stoked to continue cracking open the cosmos with them across Canada and America. Here are all the dates!

with TODAY IS THE DAY

Jul 06 @ Saint Vitus, Brooklyn, NY
Jul 07 @ Bungalow, Manchester, NH
Jul 08 @ The Depot, Washington, DC
Jul 09 @ The Backstage at Championship Bar, Trenton, NJ
Jul 10 @ Charlie's American Cafe, Norfolk, VA
Jul 11 @ Local 506, Chapel Hill, NC
Jul 12 @ The Masquerade, Atlanta, GA
Jul 13 @ Walters Downtown, Houston, TX
Jul 14 @ Spanish Moon, Baton Rouge, LA
Jul 15 @ The Curtain Club, Dallas, TX
Jul 16 @ The Lost Well, Austin, TX
Jul 19 @ Joe's Grotto, Phoenix, AZ
Jul 20 @ Gideon's Hall, Upland, CA
Jul 21 @ DNA Lounge, San Francisco, CA
Jul 22 @ Tonic Lounge, Portland, OR
Jul 23 @ Highline, Seattle, WA
Jul 25 @ Club X, Salt Lake City, UT
Jul 26 @ Marquis Theater, Denver, CO
Jul 27 @ The Riot Room, Kansas City, MO
Jul 28 @ The Token Lounge, Westland, MI
Jul 29 @ Hard Luck, Toronto, ON
Jul 30 @ L’Esco, Montreal, QC

with PALLBEARER

8/22 Regina, SK @ The Exchange
8/23 Winnipeg, MB @ The Good Will @ Social Club
8/24 Fargo, ND @ The Aquarium
8/25 Iowa City, IA @ Blue Moose Tap House
8/26 Dekalb, IL @ The House Cafe
8/27 Milwaukee, WI @ Cactus Club
8/29 Detroit, MI @ El Club
8/30 Toronto, ON @ Lee's Palace
8/31 Ottawa, ON @ The Brass Monkey
9/1 Quebec City, QC @ Bar L'Anti
9/2 Montreal, QC @ Bar Le Ritz PDB
9/5 Boston, MA @ Brighton Music Hall
9/6 Baltimore, MD @ Metro Gallery
9/7 Raleigh, NC @ Hopscotch Festival
9/8 Atlanta, GA @ The Masquerade
9/9 Knoxville, TN @ The International - Knoxville

2. Choirs of the Eye vinyl!!!

Finally! After 14 years of asking our first label, Tzadik, we've been granted permission to self-release our debut album CHOIRS OF THE EYE on vinyl! We're running a pre-order now, and there are some special bonus items available for anyone who pre-orders. Grab your copy before they're gone! http://kayodot.bigcartel.com

3. Sacrum Profanum Festival in Krakow

I'm happy to let you all know that I've been commissioned to compose a chamber orchestra piece for the ensemble Spółdzielnia Muzyczna to appear at Sacrum Profanum Festival this year in Krakow, Poland. The programme will also be featuring new commissions from Aaron Turner (Isis, Sumac) and Faith Coloccia (Mammiffer), Aidan Baker (Nadja), Mika Rättö and Jussi Lehtisalo (Circle), and Paweł Kulczyński (Wilhelm Brass). I'm extremely excited for this cool opportunity! http://sacrumprofanum.com

4. Madonnawhore, and Hubardo reissue

If you haven't picked it up yet, my solo album, MADONNAWHORE, is now available from The Flenser on CD and vinyl. Simultaneously, The Flenser has reissued our 2013 concept album, HUBARDO, on 3xLP and CD. Get 'em! http://nowflensing.com

For more frequent updates, please follow us on social media:
http://facebook.com/kayodotofficial
http://instagram.com/kayodotofficial
http://twitter.com/kayodotofficial

Thanks so much for listening and for your continued support, and hope to see you out there this summer!

Hi folks, just a quick one!

I'm happy to announce the special limited release of this collection of choice cuts from my March 2017 concert at Roulette, featuring the wonderful work of K.M. Abrams, Kelly Moran*, and String Noise (Pauline Kim Harris and Conrad Harris), plus a bonus outtake from the 2015 "Madonnawhore" sessions.

https://kayodot.bandcamp.com/album/live-at-roulette-march-2017

Please pick this up for a mere five bucks (or more! Your choice!) to help fund a proper studio recording of these live tracks and a few additional ones, to be completed this winter in New York. This collection will only be available until the end of 2017. Thanks for the support, and hope you enjoy!

All the best,
Toby Driver
* from The Nee Yorker:
Kelly Moran: “Hallucinations”

Moran, a composer and pianist, employs stylistic devices borrowed from Satie, Cowell, and Cage with the hands-on assurance of a classically trained performer; after growing up infatuated with electric jazz, minimalism, and metal, she cut her teeth in art-rock bands. “Bloodroot,” the album she released in March on the Brooklyn label Telegraph Harp, features appealing works for prepared piano and synthesizer; here, she concentrates on the former, introducing gently narcotic reveries accompanied by video projections of her own design.

Oct. 16 at 8.
Roulette

509 Atlantic Ave., Brooklyn

From Toby:
Hi everyone,
I would just like to share some news of the past several months with you all, in regard to my various ongoing music projects.

1) PIGGY BLACK CROSS

I've started a new band with singer Bridget Bellavia. The music is electronic, dark industrial-influenced IDM. We just released our first EP a few days ago on Bandcamp, and would love if you go have a listen. We're starting a US West Coast tour **tomorrow** (August 22!!) in Los Angeles, going up to Seattle, and back down again, joined by the amazing THIEF (members of Botanist). If you like what you hear, please consider purchasing a download via the Bandcamp page to help us along the road.

https://kayodot.bandcamp.com/album/always-just-out-of-r-e-a-c-h-robotic-eclosion-after-coming-hylozoic

Tour dates // PIGGY BLACK CROSS with THIEF:
Aug 22 - Los Angeles @ Resident (also with Deth Crux)
Aug 23 - Goleta @ Half Pipe House
Aug 24 - Modesto @ Still Smoking
Aug 25 - Portland @ Bit House Saloon (also with Jason W. Walton (Agalloch, Khorada))
Aug 26 - Seattle @ Highline (also with Jason W. Walton and Convictions)
Aug 27 - Olympia @ Cryptatropa (also with Harsh R and Seed Bed)
Aug 29 - Arcata @ The Miniplex
Aug 30 - Sacramento @ Old Ironsides (also with Killer Couture)
Aug 31 - Oakland @ Jack London Elbo Room (also with Botanist)

2) SOLO WORKS
I've also completed a new solo album of ballads, entitled "They Are The Shield," which will be released by Blood Music on September 21. This will be followed by tour dates in the US, Mexico, and Europe. You can have a listen to a preview track here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5LkZiboJy0

This album features some fantastic violin work by Conrad Harris and Pauline Kim Harris, drums by Brian Chase, piano by Kelly Moran, and guest vocals by Bridget Bellavia.

TOBY DRIVER solo US/Mexico tour dates:

SEP 22 Newark, DE @ Newark Bike Project
SEP 23 Philadelphia, PA @ Ortlieb's
SEP 24 Raleigh, NC @ Neptune's
SEP 25 Atlanta, GA @ The Bakery Atlanta
SEP 26 Little Rock, AR @ Vino's Pizza-Pub-Brewery
SEP 27 Florence, AL @ 116 E Mobile St
SEP 28 New Orleans, LA @ Poor Boys Bar
SEP 29 Houston, TX @ Vinal Edge Records
OCT 4-5 Mexico City, Mexico @ venue TBA
Oct 5-6 Monterrey Mexico @ venue TBA
Oct 9 Austin, Texas @ The Lost Well TBC
OCT 10 Denton TX @ The Mustard Zone
OCT 12 Chicago, IL @ Cobra Lounge
OCT 14 Lakewood, OH @ The Foundry Concert Club
OCT 15 Ann Arbor, MI @ The Blind Pig
OCT 16 Toronto, ON @ TBA
OCT 17 Hamilton, ON @ TBA
OCT 18 Ottawa, ON, Canada @ Mavericks
OCT 20 Providence, RI @ Machine’s with Alec K. Redfearn TBC
OCT 21 Allston, MA @ O'Brien's Pub
OCT 22 New Haven, CT @ cafe nine

3) KAYO DOT
I'm very happy to let you all know that Kayo Dot has signed to Prophecy Productions, a longstanding label from Germany who've just launched an American branch. We're proud to be in their first round of signings. We're just finishing up our new album now, details of which will be announced soon. We'll also be premiering some of the new material at Prophecy Fest in New York, November 2-3, alongside Alcest, Xasthur, and others!

----

If you haven't received your copy of the Choirs of the Eye vinyl yet, please know that I'm aware of the delay and am working on it. I got held up a bit this summer after mid-July mostly by the enormous cost of overseas shipping; it has slowed me down quite a bit and I'm only able to get a couple copies out the door per week. I'm trying to stay on top of it as best I can and I haven't forgotten about your shipment. I really appreciate your patience with this and apologize for the length of time. You can help move this along by picking up a download of the new Piggy Black Cross album - that money will go straight to us. https://kayodot.bandcamp.com/album/always-just-out-of-r-e-a-c-h-robotic-eclosion-after-coming-hylozoic

As always, you can follow on my socials and get the most current news and ongoing updates on added shows and premiered tracks.
Thanks for reading and listening, and hope to see you out on the road soon!

Toby
http://instagram.com/tobydriver
http://facebook.com/tobydriverofficial
http://facebook.com/kayodotofficial
http://facebook.com/piggyblackcross

They Are the Shield is actually great! This song is the best thing he's done in some time imo:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0YpoYE1VHc

Which makes me cautiously optimistic for the next Kayo Dot but we'll have to see

Some rare concerts coming up soon:

May 29, 2019: PIGGY BLACK CROSS at Arcadia!, an event at The VNYL Vintage New York Lifestyle, New York NY. 8pm.

Also very happy to announce that our album, Always Just Out of R.E.A.C.H., will be seeing a cassette release later this year through Tartarus Tapes.

June 6, 2019: TOBY DRIVER plays solo guitar at Best Video Film & Cultural Center, Hamden CT. I'll be trying out some new material, which will be recorded and released later this summer. Also playing will be my longtime friend, composer, singer, and accordionist Adam Matlock.

ASVA plays their only concert of 2019 at Litha Cascadia Festival, June 21-23 in Washington State. This promises to be a beautiful and unique experience all around. Asva will be premiering some new material and in this incarnation will feature not only Stuart Dahlquist and myself, but also Nick Hudson, Ron Varod, and Adam Dahlquist. So utterly stoked for this!

August 8-16, 2019: TOBY DRIVER and JEREMIAH CYMERMAN Northeast US and Canada tour. We have a few dates set up for this but are still trying to sort out the rest, and will then announce next month. Please let me know if you can help arrange something inside this window.
---Toby Driver td at kayodot.net

Toby Driver <td at kayodot.net>
Fri, Sep 6, 1:39 AM
to me

Hi, some words I'd like to share.

Having completed this album a year ago, along with a label change, a lineup change, and even a change in my city of residence, the past 12 months leading up to this release have been absolutely grueling in so many ways. I want you to know that a lot of these painful changes in my life have come as a direct result of me throwing every last bit of myself into this record. I fully exhausted my spirit with this one. To make this record happen, I had to relinquish many things that were important to me, things material and immaterial that I'd thought of as crucial. I needed to grow into another stage of existence, and that was terrifying and pummeling. Why do this? I have never known beyond compulsion.

I've been existing in a limbo state for the past year, feeling my future being pulled fearfully closer as a duality. Almost like Donnie Darko– you feel something coming and everything around you collapses at a faster rate as you approach. The bridge crumbles behind you as you run. I've felt that the past year was the longest year, and have felt that yesterday may have been my last good day. Blasphemy didn't seize power from me; I granted it fully to Her. She leads me, as the new timeline begins today at this moment.

I'm so proud of my collaborators Jason Byron, Ron Varod, Phillip Price, Leonardo Didkovsky, Randall Dunn, Jenya Chernoff, Matthew Serra, Casey Mathewson, and our team at Prophecy Productions for making this thing come to life and allowing me to push them into perhaps unfamiliar territory. I couldn't be more happy with the way the music and the packaging turned out, and if you have a chance to get the full experience with the lyrics, images, novel, and remix album, I highly encourage you to do so because that's all a major part of the release.

I want people to question why they're hearing what they are, why a decision was made, how things are constructed beyond the perfunctory. Creating music is always a perfect opportunity to express yourself, to be Extra AF when you might not be able to do so in your day-to-day life. I most greatly admire musicians who go to extremities in their work, whatever those may be. Musicians who will do the thing that the other people won't do. I try to do my best to live up to the example set by those I admire.

I'm thrilled, anxious, and proud to finally present this album to the world: Kayo Dot's BLASPHEMY.

https://spoti.fi/2m2MTTv

“A Masterpiece.” –Radical Research
9/10 –Metal Injection
9.5/10 –Ave Noctum
9.3/10 –Metal Trenches
8/10 –Metal Italia
R! Choice Pick –Rocking.gr
Pick of the Week –MeatMeadMetal
“Uncompromising in its vision and its execution.” –HeavyBlog
“Blasphemy is Kayo Dot at their most comfortable. It is effortless and hangs delicately in the sky, but carries the weight of Kayo Dot’s creativity with it.” –Invisible Oranges

Toby says giving up on current web host's mailing list practices, asks that we follow on bandcamp---gotta lotta stuff there: https://kayodot.bandcamp.com/

New one is p sick, and I've not said that in a very, very, very long time

Yeah this is very very good. The last one I liked was Coffins on Io, but this is probably the best since Hubardo.

been listening to coffins a bunch lately and its definitely my fav

broke: best since Hubardo

woke: best since Dowsing

nah, Hubardo is better than Dowsing, but only just.

The Knight Errant adds to their impressive litany of incredible opening tracks

Dear friends,

You may have heard me talk on the socials about my trio with Mario Diaz de Leon and Jeremiah Cymerman, Bloodmist, a lot in the past year and a half. It's all because of this album, Arc, which we recorded in Novermber 2020 and is just about to be released. We came up with a new sound for this one through some serious chemistry and situational vibrations, and I walked away from the session feeling like this band was a huge missing piece of the puzzle of my musical life. Making this record set my mind in a new direction and I haven't yet realized the affect it's going to have on all the other music I make– but it'll be huge.
The album comes out June 3, but we're releasing a intense and exciting premiere track today: "Battle Mountain." Check it out over at my Bandcamp page.
https://kayodot.bandcamp.com/album/arc
What's more, ICYMI we had good success trying out the Bandcamp vinyl pressing service a year ago with Bloodmist's previous album, Phos. Those LPs just came in a couple weeks ago, and we couldn't be happier with them. Because it went so well, we're making an attempt to get the new one, Arc pressed on vinyl through the same method. This one's a longer album so it'll be a 2xLP. Because Bloodmist's music is totally self-released and self-funded, the only way for us to get vinyl pressed is to go the pre-order/crowdfund way. If you're interesting in seeing this come to light, please don't hesitate to pledge to the campaign! There are some very special exclusive bonuses for supporters, too, and the campaign ends in just 30 days. The link for that is the same as the above.

I also wanted to let you know that Bloodmist will be playing at the very prestigious festival, FIMAV, in Quebec this month. We all couldn't be more excited about that. It's a festival I personally have wanted to be a part of since as long as I can remember, and for Bloodmist's first out-of-town appearance, this is an amazing standard to set. We feel extremely fortunate for the opportunity and for everyone's well-wishes.

Thanks very much for everything, and stay tuned for some more good news and announcements coming in the next few weeks.

Yours, Toby Driver

KAYO DOT announces full-album, original lineup "Choirs of the Eye" performance at Complexity Fest, Netherlands!
Hello,

I couldn't be more excited to share with you all that after a 3-year pandemic-related live hiatus, Kayo Dot will be returning with a performance at the next edition of Complexity Fest in the Netherlands, Feb 25, 2023! In celebration of the 20th Anniversary of the band and our debut album, Choirs of the Eye, we have reassembled the original Choirs... lineup of maudlin of the Well ex-pats: Greg Massi, Terran Olson, Sam Gutterman, and myself, plus additional members Matt Serra (Wet Math!!!), violin and trumpet powerhouse Timba Harris (Secret Chiefs 3, Alora Crucible, Grails, etc), and woodwind multi-guy Jeff Tobias (Sunwatchers), to perform the album in-full! We have never before toured European shores with this music or lineup, despite some smatterings of reorchestrated Choirs... songs on a tour or two around 2010, so this is really exciting for us. Tt's been a long time coming. And furthermore, it's been a few years of Kayo Dot playing with a minimized lineup so I'm super stoked that we're now getting back to big!

Tickets are now onsale for Complexity Fest at this address:

One month away, Kayo Dot's “Choirs of the Eye” 20th Anniversary Tour begins

Toby Driver | Kayo Dot
Wed, Jan 25, 8:07 AM (2 days ago)

Hello, I'm writing this to you from the back of a tour van in the midst of a long, full-day drive from Grenoble to Brussels on a grey and snowy day. I've joined my friend Charlie Looker, playing bass for his crushing project Extra Life on this trip, which has lasted the full month of January and traversed almost the entire UK and France. The music and hangs have been deep, the hospitality has been loving, and the heating has been almost entirely nonexistent. After the past few years of staying off the road due to the wills of external forces, I'm so fortunate to have the opportunity to join Charlie on this run. I enjoy touring and find it to be an essential facet of my vocation on this Earth, even in the role of a backing musician, and the relative absence of it in my life in the past few years has hurt. But here I am again in the right place, blessed to travel and blessed to be with my head above the surface, engaged in the arts with immediacy.

Only three weeks after returning home from this trip with Charlie, I'll set out again, this time in the bandleader's role with my own long-running, chief project Kayo Dot. This year is the project's 20th Anniversary, and to honor the milestone, I've gathered the original lineup of the fellows who formed the band out of maudlin of the Well to perform our 2003 debut album, Choirs of the Eye in full. The first leg of the tour hits a few places UK and Europe (see below) because this music was never really presented over there. By the time Kayo Dot started touring Europe, Choirs of the Eye was a few albums in the past and the band no longer had an instrumentation that could support the music's proper orchestration. Some of the ex-maudlin guys that are coming along for this trip left the band before ever having the chance to go on a European tour, so this is exciting in many ways. To even further exploit that vibe, we're preparing a few additional songs from the Kayo Dot repertoire that have never once been played in Europe. How about that!

It's very meaningful for me, far beyond the words I can say, to have the opportunity to bring this music back on the road for you. For Choirs of the Eye, but also for Kayo Dot as a project in general. If I had it my way, Kayo Dot would tour all around the world for 150 shows a year. But, I think since 2016 Kayo Dot has only played about 60 times. In 7+ years. That's horrible. I really want to remedy that situation with a ton of music and a ton of live concerts, and this Choirs of the Eye tour is the first step towards that. So, I really hope to see you at one of these upcoming concerts to encourage me along this path. Make sure you buy pre-sale tickets as soon as possible because it allows us to know how to better plan for the trip in terms of merch production and other resource investment. The dates and the ticket links are below.

But first, one more very exciting thing. We're being joined on this tour by our longtime lyricist and former maudlin of the Well vocalist, Jason Byron, who has never been on the road before and was only seen once in public at the MOTW reunion performance at the Stone NYC in 2015. He's bringing copies of his two novels, Blasphemy and Amalia, to sell at the merch table. Kayo Dot fans will recognize those titles as being closely related to Byron's words and stories in our music– and the novels go a lot further to expand upon the universe. He is limiting this first printing to only 50 copies of each. Preceding each concert, we're holding a special pre-show event in which Byron will read a little from his books and then have a Q&A session with the audience and other members from MOTW. The pre-show events are limited-entry, and you can find out more about how to get access at the ticket links below.

24 Feb, London UK at Signature Brew Blackhorse Road
https://dice.fm/event/ayg5q-kayo-dot-uk-exclusive-24th-feb-signature-brew-blackhorse-road-london-tickets?lng=en
---------------------------------------------
25 Feb, Haarlem NL at Complexity Fest:
https://www.ticketmaster.nl/artist/complexity-fest-tickets/994553
---------------------------------------------
26 Feb, Berlin DE at Urban Spree
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/usu-pres-kayo-dot-urban-spree-tickets-493975733717
---------------------------------------------
28 Feb, Warsaw PL at Hydrozagadka:
https://goout.net/pl/bilety/kayo-dot/acpq/
---------------------------------------------
01 Mar, Krakow PL at Klub RE:
Fb event: https://www.facebook.com/events/712136530028492/
Ticket link: https://goingapp.pl/wydarzenie/kayo-dot-us/marzec-2023
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02 Mar, Prague CZ at Underdogs:
Tickets: https://www.goforboom.com/events/kayo-dot-choirs-of-the-eye-20th-anniversary-tour/order

RSVP: https://www.facebook.com/events/666880521665504
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03 Mar, Belgrade SB at Elektropionir
(no tcket link available yet)
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04 Mar, Graz AT at Wakuum:
They sell memberships and it's a free show for members, or pay-what-you-wish.
www.wakmusic.at
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05 Mar, Mantova IT at The Academy:
https://k2music.bigcartel.com/product/kayo-dot-the-academy-mantova-biglietti

One final thing. Last week, I launched a fundraiser to help cushion some of the risk involved in undertaking such an ambitious tour. In the past week, we reached our goal thanks to our generous fans and friends, for which I'm profoundly grateful. If you would like to contribute, the fundraiser is still open, and everything raised will go towards making the tour an easier and less anxious experience. I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your belief in what I do.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/kayo-dots-20th-anniversary-tour-fundraiser?qid=da48484f64450af2476a656eb81f0930

Many thanks for reading, and hope to see you out there! Any questions or desire to unsubscribe please let me know.

Toby td at kayodot dot net