Kiwa

KIWA
Sometime around the mid 90's two school mates, Markku Louhio and Matti Elsinen, inspired by early techno, acid house and Prodigy, got their hands on the Fastracker program. Creating hardcore techno and experimental dance music changed radically for these guys when they discovered Goa trance. Soon their hobby of making music only with the computer evolved to a home studio set-up of MIDI instruments, mixers and drum machines.
Even though their history as producers was rooted in the Goa trance scene, performing in underground forest parties and listening to bands like Koxbox and Eat Static, they were soon to widen their scope of music. After Kiwa's first live show on New Year's Eve 1996, Markku and Matti started challenging themselves by incorporating breakbeats, atmospheric soundscapes and their trademark funky bass lines, at a time when using influences of breaks, drum 'n' bass and house was still very exceptional within the genre. Louhio says that the past ten years has been a journey in learning to blend all the influences and styles to what Kiwa represents today, as well as finding a balance between energetic dance floor tracks and music interesting enough to be enjoyed also outside the party venues.
The music of Kiwa escapes genre labels and has been said to have a unique sound of it's own. Their debut album Dreamtime Enhancer in 2002, according to many critics, was acclaimed to be a milestone in the scene due to it's style-blending approach on electronic music.
Since 2002 Kiwa has toured on live and DJ gigs around the world from Brazil to Israel and from Russia to Western Europe. Kiwa's live setup consists of two synchronized laptops, keyboards and loads of samples and audio channels by which they build their energetic performances on. DJ/Producer Kris Kylven , with a strong history in bands like Killing Joke, Juno Reactor, UX, The 69 Eyes and many more has been flavouring their performances as a live drummer in the past. Kylven and Louhio also started to produce tracks together in 1999 as an industrial and ethno influenced trance project, the Faithealers.
Elsinen and Louhio have worked with many different projects in genres ranging from hip hop to rock, including compositions and sound production for the Finnish television. Aside from Kiwa, Markku Louhio produces the breakbeat influenced band Headphonics and the progressive trance act Highpersonic Whomen with Tommi Sirkiä, known from Haltya. Louhio also performs as a DJ under the name of DJ Make Matic.
Kiwa is currently working on their third album, which is scheduled to be released in January 2007 by Exogenic Records.
RELATED PROJECTS:
www.headphonics.net - Headphonics home... breaks, funk, hip-hop, drum'n'bass ...
www.highpersonic.net - Highpersonic Whomen website. Progressive house & trance.
Faithealers
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