Sweden has a long tradition of electronic sounds, from the first experimental concerts of \u201ddata machine music\u201d, arranged by the arts organization Fylkingen in the early 1950’s to the super-commercial EDM of the 2010\u2019s. Very few artists have been able to combine an adventurous sonic approach and a pop sensibility as well as Kite. They’ve created a dark wonderland of droning synthesizers and throbbing beats, full of majestic melodies that often draw comparisons to bands like Ultravox or Japan. Kite’s concerts \u2013 featuring spectacular lights, breathtaking projections and cat statues shooting laser beams from their eyes \u2013 have given them a reputation as one of the best live bands not only in Sweden but in the entire world.<\/p>\n
Kite was formed in 2008 by singer Nicklas Stenemo, who grew up in the small town V\u00e4xj\u00f6 and started his career in groups like Melody Club and The Mo, and keyboard player Christian Berg who came from the even smaller town Tran\u00e5s and was a member of many bands, most notably Strip Music. \u201dWays to Dance\u201d, the opening track of Kite’s first EP, was an instant club hit. By putting out EP’s instead of an album Kite have developed an \u201dall killer, no filler\u201d approach to music making.<\/p>\n
After six EP’s their repertoire contains so many great songs that it’s becoming increasingly difficult to compile concert setlists that satisfy all the fans. But Kite are less interested in performing their hits than in creating a sense of astonishment. In the fall of 2015 Kite performed four concerts at Cosmonova, the planetarium of the Swedish Museum of Natural History. The band was joined by dancers, and guest singers Anna von Hausswolff, Nicole Saboun\u00e9 and Simon Olsson (from the experimental rock band Silverbullit) and were given overwhelming reviews. The critic from Dagens Nyheter, Sweden’s biggest morning newspaper, declared it the best concert he had ever seen by any Swedish artist: \u201dProjected on the dome over our heads are marching skeletons, hummingbirds in slow-motion, bomber aircrafts on a purple sky, lunar craters, the snow-covered peaks of Himalaya, neon shimmering nebulas and a space baby \u00e0 la Kubrick’s ‘2001’. The Native American dream catcher dangling from Christian Berg’s synthesizers must have been switched to reverse.\u201d<\/p>\n
In Sweden they have been called \u201dthe best thing you can experience live\u201d and \u201dKite is the best pop music that has come out from Sweden since The Knife\u201d.<\/p>\n
Many call them Swedens best kept pop-secret. We don\u2019t! We have just given them the time it has required.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2454,"template":"","festival":[48,44],"class_list":["post-2453","act","type-act","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","festival-2017-en","festival-2023-en"],"acf":{"website":"","facebook_url":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/KiteHQ","spotify_url":"","date":null,"begin":"","end":"","location":"","amphi_festival_premiere":false},"yoast_head":"\n