Page 22 - BN1 July-Aug 2019 web

AONDO

SINGLE RELEASE

BY LOUISA STREETING
Musical expression comes to fruition from unpredictable including the hang drum, a melodic percussive instrument
points in an artist’s surroundings. Over centuries, nature with a beautiful sound.
has proven itself as a popular source of inspiration for
musicians, from Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons to ‘What After hearing Rwandan band, Afro Celt Sound System’s
a Wonderful World’ by Louis Armstrong. Placing their song ‘When I Still Needed You’, Kyle was captivated by
time in nature at the epicentre of their musical project is the story of the vocalist’s son being stolen by a militia:
brand new electronic duo, Aondo. Comprised of multi- “Whenever I hear the song I feel and I imagine a story,
instrumentalists, Kyle and Rob, Aondo have built a as I don’t understand the lyrics it’s nothing specific, I love
musical project to reflect their time spent mountaineering how it made my brain work.” Together, Aondo formed a
and skiing. three-part narrative for their own story, with Rob writing
nine chapters.
The pair first met online in the summer of 2017 when Kyle
was searching for an apprentice sound engineer, but they In the works, they are currently developing their music
quickly discovered this was not the only passion they as the soundtrack to create the story into a physical
shared. Rob said: “We discovered we had mountaineering live performance. “The team we’re putting together
in common and that is quite a niche hobby, so we clicked is incredibly talented and it’s unbelievably exciting,”
on that right away, and got going on making music Rob says the production is built around a narrative of
together.” Both Rob and Kyle were born into families of exploration and redemption - a young man’s epic journey
avid skiers and mountaineers. The announcement of their across Asia and the Himalaya in the wake of World War
new project is a homage to exploration - the mountains II. Rob explains how they both have learning difficulties
being their primary vessel for adventure and discovery. (ADHD and dyslexia), and so they aim to combine
multiple disciplines into the performance to introduce a
As someone who has engaged in neither sport, I asked new generation to these great outdoor activities. “Our
Rob how these experiences affected them creatively: school careers were a bit of a car crash, and we both feel
“The exhilaration and the sense of freedom you get from that our various hobbies gave us a lot of direction and a
winter sports just becomes a part of your daily life and level of application we weren’t finding in the classroom.”
your style,” Rob says. “Finding new routes or straying off
piste is always a keen objective and that applies to the The driving force for Aondo’s new project is to deliver
music too.” great narratives of adventure and exploration, music,
and dance. Kyle tells me he does not think of Aondo as a
Rob explains how Eastern sounds do not featured too ‘band’, but more of an art project: “Writing and performing
largely in electronic music thus far. Their music video for music is definitely a big part of what we do, but so is
‘Cairn’, Aondo’s powerful first release launched on BN1 narrative, story-telling and a visual experience.” They
Magazine’s website, was filmed and edited Josy Tenger. both hope to reflect this ethos in the multi-disciplinary arts
It combines compelling beats and organic Eastern- performances to be announced at a later date.
influenced melodies with their insights and experiences
during their time exploring the mountains. Rob tends to Aondo’s single, ‘Cairn,’ is available to buy and stream
take guitar and piano duties while Kyle is on percussion, from Mon 1 July on all online major distribution.