Kai Hugo (1988, The Netherlands) is a musician, filmmaker, and
composer currently living in Los Angeles, California. Influenced by Italo
Disco, New Wave and Krautrock, Hugo’s first music project, entitled
Palmbomen, combines electronic elements like drum machines and
sequenced synthesizers with the live instruments and singing. The
result of this marriage is an atmosphere that translates to both the DJ
booth and the rock club stage.
After releases on NON Records and Kitsuné Maison, Hugo began to
focus on a new endeavor meant to be more DJ friendly. Palmbomen
II maintains the granular aesthetic of Palmbomen, but with more
focus on electronic elements. Making use of the Oberheim DX, Roland
TR909, TR808, Korg M1, and Korg Wavestation, songs were recorded
directly to tape over four weeks in a studio constructed in Hugo’s
mother’s attic. The limitations of such machines allow f...
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Kai Hugo (1988, The Netherlands) is a musician, filmmaker, and
composer currently living in Los Angeles, California. Influenced by Italo
Disco, New Wave and Krautrock, Hugo’s first music project, entitled
Palmbomen, combines electronic elements like drum machines and
sequenced synthesizers with the live instruments and singing. The
result of this marriage is an atmosphere that translates to both the DJ
booth and the rock club stage.
After releases on NON Records and Kitsuné Maison, Hugo began to
focus on a new endeavor meant to be more DJ friendly. Palmbomen
II maintains the granular aesthetic of Palmbomen, but with more
focus on electronic elements. Making use of the Oberheim DX, Roland
TR909, TR808, Korg M1, and Korg Wavestation, songs were recorded
directly to tape over four weeks in a studio constructed in Hugo’s
mother’s attic. The limitations of such machines allow for a more
spontaneous result, much like early Chicago records from Jamal Moss,
Steve Poindexter, Larry Heard and Virgo Four, as well as European
electronic pioneers Alexander Robotnick, Das Ding, and Philippe
Laurent. Hugo re-watched X-Files and listened to eighties and nineties
relaxation cassettes with themes like ‘tropical paradise’ to ‘hidden lake’
as a source of influence during the recording process. Beats in Space
Records will release a self-titled debut in March of 2015.
As with Plalmbomen, Palmbomen II was created with a multi-sensory
vision in mind. Hugo has built a ‘hardware only’ set consisting of self-
modified machines and home built controls for light displays. The
setup was premiered at Cameo Gallery in Brooklyn to help celebrate
Beats in Space’s 15-year anniversary. Hugo also is collaborating with
Camilla Saldriaga on a series of short films that pair with different
songs from the album. The videos make use of the haunting sprawl of
Los Angeles, captured using professional broadcasting cameras from
the late eighties. In addition to another EP for the new project, Hugo is
has begun working on a follow up release to 2012’s Night Flight Europa
as Palmbomen.
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