Synesthesia opens with the rough and tumble “Johnny Utah,” which has little to do with Keanu Reeves’ surfer/FBI agent in the beloved 1991 film “Point Break,” except maybe a brooding sense of momentum, a relentless drive enhanced by clattering percussion breaks. Like several of Walker’s tunes “M.C.” moves sleekly through a series of sections, each built upon a different rhythmic theme or motif. In the same way, “Walking…” sounds more like a series of helter-skelter sprints over broken ground than a leisurely stroll.

While the band excels at acceleration, The Kandinsky Effect also knows how to slow down, playing melodies that ooze and saunter. On Walker’s “Cusba,” the band displays a knack for mysterious balladry, with a coolly disquieting theme. The atmosphere gets thicker on “WK51” with the clattering march-time snare chatter building cinematic tension, the coiled calm before a deadly confrontation. The album closes with “If Only,” another ominously serpentine line with subtle layered effects that make it clear the trio has absorbed lessons from Bjork, Squarepusher, and Aphex Twin in developing a lapidary but spacious sound.

Over dozens of shows performed in North America and Europe, the well-travelled trio of Walker, Petrina and Dolister had honed their collective sound to a fine polish. The transatlantic met in a studio mid-way between New York and Paris - in Rejkavik, Iceland! - to record their new album. The result was Synesthesia, The Kandinsky Effect’s second release, and the group’s first recordings on American-based, internationally-distributed Cuneiform Records. Featuring 11 captivating tracks that are simultaneously rhythmically gorgeous, groove-laden, compositionally interesting and immediately accessible, Synesthesia promises to spread the sensory magic of The Kandinsky Effect’s transatlantic jazz worldwide.

PROMOTIONAL TRACK //
"Johnny Utah" (mp3 download) stream: @SoundCloud / @Bandcamp / @YouTube
PRESS MATERIALS // PRESS RELEASE (PDF) - HIGH RES PHOTOS

ARTIST WEBSITES //
www.thekandinskyeffect.com - www.facebook.com/TheKandinskyEffect
The Kandinksy Effect @www.cuneiformrecords.com

"Synesthesia is an inventive album, a relatively rare example of an egalitarian mix of acoustic and electronic sounds. The Kandinsky Effect manages this tricky combination with confidence, crafting music that stimulates the brain and the dancing shoes simultaneously."
- AllAboutJazz

"Walker and company vary the program considerably from track to track, sometimes giving the electronics a prominent role and other times using effects to color rather than dominate the music, and also applying treatments in a way that paints compositional changes in bold relief."
- All Music

"If you like jazz trios but are looking for something new and different from the standard piano trio, this is definitely worth a try. If you love different styles such as electronics, jazz, rock and hip-hop beats melded together in a fresh way, check this one out!"
- Geardiary

"Surging forward with fierceness, groove and trickiness, Synesthesia is a mind-bending, eclectic and challenging sonic stream that doesn’t contain even a shred of pretentiousness, but is full of creativity, individuality, expressivity and outside of the box thinking. An ambitious album that will appeal to fans of Aphex Twin and Boards of Canada."
- Igloo Magazine

"Few trends in popular music have made such an indelible impression on modern jazz as ‘90s innovations in drum-n-bass. The fragmented, lightning-paced beats of Squarepusher and Aphex Twin have been gleefully appropriated by today’s generation of percussionists and the proliferation of effects pedals have made it possible for single-line instruments to create the same electronic soundscapes once the signature of analog synthesizers. Paris/New York trio The Kandinsky Effect takes this approach, firmly grounding their electronic and rhythmic ideas in solid musicianship..... There is a fundamental expectation that a jazz record will be a document of a performance, as opposed to a sonic construction unto itself. The Kandinsky Effect does an amazing job of creating something that satisfies a listener’s expectations for both."
- The New York City Jazz Record

"Synesthesia is one hell of a ride that shows the strength and innovations left in jazz music and all the new styles of music created in the 21st century. A must hear experience...
- Sound Colour Vibration