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Live Review: KLLO share their most stripped-back sounds ever in 'Nylon'

15 September 2017 | 7:20 am | Julie Fenwick

Kllo's 'Nylon' 'is about disorientation when growing older, but with a mind still too young to take on the serious commitments of what's in front of you.'

KLLO, the collaborative project between cousins Simon Lam and Chloe Kaul, have given a new meaning to the term ‘keeping it in the family’. Sharing their music with us since 2014, Kaul’s airy vocals and Lam’s exceptional production skills have seen them consistently placed on global festival lineups, including Splendour in the Grass (Aus), Primevera Sound (EU), Southbound (Aus) and The Great Escape (UK).

Laneway is the next major festival destination for the two, having just been announced as part of the 2018 line-up alongside Anderson .Paak and Mac DeMarco. They have also landed a spot on the line up for the New Years Day festival, Let Them Eat Cake. This is with no surprise considering the duo are consistently described as one of the most promising up and coming artists.

‘Nylon’, the newest release for the duo, is the third taste off their upcoming debut album Backwater. Though it contains the idiosyncratic sounds that Kllo are so well known for, and which have brought them to the forefront of Australian music in the past couple of years, it is, perhaps, the most raw and truthful track they have released to this day.

Emphasising Kaul’s cool and emotive vocals, 'Nylon' is a self described stripped back 'piano ballad', and works to relay a story of youth and the hardships that come with it.

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In fact, Kllo themselves describe the song as an ode to the struggles of growing up, growing older, and stretching to fit the expectations of adult life, saying, "It is about disorientation when growing older, but with a mind still too young to take on the serious commitments of what's in front of you - and how suffocating it can be to try and hold yourself up to those expectation."

This theme seems to be congruent with the release of their new album, Kaul saying, "It’s the first time we hadn’t felt like kids anymore...We were really able to dive in deeper and bring out a lot more of us into the music."

So, much like ‘Nylon’, it is likely that the release will endeavour into coming of age, getting to know oneself and feeling comfortable in the fact that it’s time to grow up. It is a new direction for Kllo, and one that is very welcome.

Backwater is out 20th October and will be a collection of the electronic-dance, R&B and pop sounds we’ve all come to love. Also around this time, Kllo will be setting off for a world tour, the dates of which can be seen below.

18/10 - Chicago, Shubas

20/10 - Detroit, El Club

27/10 - Vancouver, Waldorf

28/10 - Seattle, VERA Project

1/11 - Los Angeles, The Resident

2/11 - San Francisco, Bottom of the Hill

4/11 - New York City, Elsewhere

5/11 - New York City, Berlin

12/11 - Madrid, Costello

13/11 - San Sebastian, Dabadaba

14/11 - Barcelona, Sidecar

16/11 - Paris, Supersonic

17/11 - Rotterdam, V11

18/11 - Brussels, [PIAS] Nites

20/11 - Amsterdam, The Sugar Factory

23/11 - London, XOYO

24/11 - Bristol, The Louisiana

25/11 - Manchester, The Soup Kitchen

27/11 - Glasgow, Broadcast

28/11 - Edinburgh, Sneaky Pete’s

29/11 - Leeds, Headrow House

30/11 - Nottingham, The Bodega

3/12 - Berlin, Badehaus

4/12 - Cologne, Yuca

5/12 - Hamburg, Haekken

8/12 - Sydney, Oxford Arts Factory

9/12 - Perth, Jack Rabbit Slim’s

14/12 - Brisbane, Woolly Mammoth

15/12 - Melbourne, Corner Hotel

16/12 - Adelaide, Fat Controller

1/1 - Melbourne, Let Them Eat Cake Festival

19/1 - Auckland, REC Bar

20/1 - Wellington, Caroline

2/2 - Adelaide, Laneway Festival

3/2 - Melbourne, Laneway Festival

4/2 - Sydney, Laneway Festival

10/2 - Brisbane, Laneway Festival

Ticketing details can be found at kllo.co

WORDS BY JULIE FENWICK

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