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Takao Kisugi
Kit Le Fever
Masashi Kitamura + Photogenix
Kitaro
Makoto Kitayama/Shingetsu Project
The Kite
Klaatu
Klar
Dave Kleiner & Liz Pagan
Mary Kleinsorge
Klik
Bobby Klot

The Kinks  (UK)  see:

The Kinks

Kinky  (Mexico)  see: Samples etc.

Kinzoku-ebisu  (Japan)  see: Samples etc.

Kira  (Denmark)  see: Samples etc.

Kimon Kirk  (US)  see: Samples etc.

Curt Kirkwood  (US)  see: Samples etc.

Takao Kisugi  (Japan)

Takao Kisugi, 'Sparkle'

Sparkle  (1981,  49.14)  **/T

Much More...
Easy Drive
Memori Merodi
Goodbye Day
Yumenohada
Tasogare no Ichigo
Sparking Head
Good Luck My Girl
Kehai
Madobe no On'na (Hito)
Yukkuri Natsu ga
Koraju
Much More...

Current availability:

Mellotron used:

After working with Yosui Inoue, Takao Kisugi went solo in 1976, '81's Sparkle being something like his fourth release. Sad to say, it's an album of thoroughly mainstream ballads, the odd upbeat effort (Easy Drive, Yumenohada) doing little to liven things up. There are no best tracks.

An unknown keyboard player gets a little Mellotron in, with flutes on brief opener Much More... and on its reiteration that closes the album. Do you really want to hear this? It's on YouTube.

Official site

Kit Le Fever  (Sweden)

Soldier Blue  (2003,  10.16)  ***½/TT½

Soldier Blue
Marvin
Impulser

Jesus  (2004?,  14.49)  ***½/TT

Jesus
Make Over
Leaving

Current availability:

Mellotrons used:

Sweden's Kit Le Fever have, confusingly, named themselves after a bit-part actor who had a few roles in the '80s, which probably seems like a long time ago if you're young (he said, bitterly). Like so many artists involved with Änglagård's Mattias Olsson, they have a melancholy, Scandinavian air about them, mixed with a noise æsthetic that rears its ugly head occasionally. Now, I don't believe either of these EPs has ever been commercially available, but three of the tracks were available for download from Mattias' studio site and may still be floating around in the ether.

The first of these, probably called Soldier Blue (you can see how vague all this is, can't you?), opens with a typically melancholy title track, after which Marvin is rather more raucous, opening with a punchy bass line, leaving Impulser as another beautiful downer. I suspect Mattias plays the Mellotron, with cellos and strings (and maybe choir) on the title track and flutes and pitchbent strings on Impulser. Their next three-tracker, probably entitled Jesus, probably came out the following year (lots of 'probablys' here). All three tracks have raucous elements, possibly mixing these with their melancholy side more effectively than before. Make Over features cellos, flutes and strings in an almighty Mellotronic mélange, with more strings on Leaving, although Jesus is probably the demo's highlight.

Masashi Kitamura + Photogenix  (Japan)

Masashi Kitamura + Photogenix, 'Prologue for Post Modern Music'

Prologue for Post Modern Music  (1984,  38.50)  ***½/T½

Variation I
Variation II
Variation III
Variation IV
The Final Autumn in Asia... Psychic Document for 1982

Current availability:

Mellotron used:

Masashi Kitamura (later of Ybo²) and Photogenix made just the one album together, 1984's Prologue for Post Modern Music, an experimental, synth-led release sounding little like the Berlin School. Sparse sequencer lines (yes, folks, a DX-7 can sound good in the right hands), even sparser percussion and occasional fiery guitar; think: the more ambient end of Japan and you won't be too far off the mark. Highlights? The side-long The Final Autumn In Asia... Psychic Document For 1982 and (for reasons outlined below) Variation IV.

Shingetsu's Akira Hanamoto plays Mellotron on Variation IV, with a flute melody, chordal strings and an underpinning cello, foreshadowing Kitamura's work in Ybo². To my knowledge, this isn't on CD (why?), but YouTube have stepped in, allowing us to hear this unusual, forward-looking album.

See: Ybo²

Kitaro  (Japan)

Kitaro, 'Silk Road'

Silk Road  (1980,  42.10)  ****/T

Silk Road Theme
Bell Tower
Heavenly Father
The Great River
The Great Wall of China
Flying Celestial Nymphs
Silk Road Fantasy
Shimmering Light
Westbound
Time
Bodhisattva
Everlasting Road
Kitaro, 'Silk Road II'

Silk Road II  (1980,  43.13)  ****/TT½

In the Silence
Takla Makan Desert

Eternal Spring
Silver Moon
Magical Sand Dance

Year 40080
Time Travel
Reincarnation
Dawning
Tienshan
Kitaro, 'Kitaro in Person Digital'

Kitaro in Person Digital  (1980,  46.04)  ****/TTTT

Prologue
Eternal Spring
Westbound
Silver Moon
Peace
Bell Tower
Morning Prayer
Tienshan
Four Changes
Magical Sand Dancing
Kitaro, 'Ki'

Ki  (1981,  44.10)  ****/TTT

Revelation
Stream of Being
Kaleidoscope
Oasis
Sun
Endless Water
Tree

Cloud in the Sky
Kitaro, 'Tunhuang'

Tunhuang  (1981,  42.55)  ***½/T

Lord of the Wind
Fata Morgana
Sacred Journey I
Lord of the Sand
Tunhuang
Free Flight
Mandala
Tao
Sacred Journey II

Current availability:

Mellotrons used:

Masanori "Kitaro" Takahashi had been around since the mid-'70s drumming with the Far East Family Band, but broke away to start his solo career as a synthesist in what has unfortunately come to be known as the 'new age' field. In all fairness, his best work is well above the 'elevator music' of most of the genre's exponents, although he hasn't produced anything of any great interest for many years now. His discography's as confusing as that of many Japanese artists, one notorious website claiming that many of his albums were released anything up to two years before they were recorded. Yes, well...

His best-known work to this day is probably the music he produced for the epic Silk Road TV series, which followed the old silk route across Asia, covering the various areas' history, geography etc. His fourth album (I think), 1980's Silk Road, is marvellous 'relaxing' music, perfectly suited to its role as background soundtrack stuff, while also having just enough substance to make it listenable in its own right. Despite listing twelve tracks, the album effectively consists of two seamless side-long pieces, track divisions only apparent due to changes in mood. Apart from the ubiquitous synths and percussion, Kitaro plays 'Mellotrone' (male voice?) choirs on only two definite tracks, though there could be more hidden in the mix. Silk Road II, from later the same year is more of the same, throwing Mellotron strings into the mix, along with the choirs, heard to good effect on In The Silence and Magical Sand Dance.

Recorded in the September of that year, Kitaro in Person Digital was his third album of 1980, capturing him live in Tokyo with a band, now notable for the inclusion of a young Ryo Okumoto on synths and Mellotron, (much) later of Spock's Beard. Kitaro plays Mellotron, too, the album benefiting from a more 'live' sound, although there isn't a note out of place, or any applause, which makes you wonder quite how much studio polishing may have been done. The standout Mellotron track is Magical Sand Dancing, with dirty great slabs of (quite raw) strings and choir all over the place, although all highlighted tracks have worthwhile use, flutes cropping up occasionally, too.

The Mellotron is slightly thinner on the ground on '81's Ki, although there are prominent strings on opener Revelation and Sun, plus flutes and choirs here and there. Kitaro's formula was already well-worn by this time, with little real variation between most of his albums, but he seemed (and still seems) to be onto a winner and he's remained more palatable than most of his rivals, although that seems rather too strong a word to use in such a gentle genre. Tunhuang seems to be another in the Silk Road series - I believe there's a fourth album as well, though I don't know which one it is. It's the same old stuff, though maybe a little blander; to my knowledge, it's also his last Mellotron album, with strings and choir on Mandala and possible choirs on Lord Of The Wind; it's fairly obvious he was winding it down, even then.

Playing five Kitaro albums in a day is actually slightly mind-numbing; it's all very pleasant, but the essential blandness of his style makes it difficult to actually listen to the music, as against simply hearing it. I believe there's another live, Japanese-only album from around 1981, but if it's World of Kitaro, recorded with the London National Philharmonic Orchestra, the chances of his having used a Mellotron on the night are utterly minimal.

See: Far East Family Band | Ryo Okumoto

Makoto Kitayama with Shingetsu Project  (Japan)

Makoto Kitayama with Shingetsu Project, 'Hikaru Sazanami'

Hikaru Sazanami  (1998,  42.19)  ***½/TT

Budokan
Blue
Heels of Boots
Weekends
Akane Sasu
Heart of Stone
Hikaru Sazanami

Current availability:

Mellotron used:

Makoto Kitayama was vocalist and head honcho with late-'70s Japanese proggers Shingetsu, who also had an album of odds'n'sods released under the name Serenade. After Shingetsu's demise, he recorded a couple of poorly-received demos, causing him to quit the music business for a good decade, until the CD issue of a couple of Shingetsu albums and the aforementioned Serenade title. Having had his interest revitalised, he finally came up with an album's-worth of new material in 1998 under the above name.

Hikaru Sazanami, which sounds like someone's name, though I have no idea whose, is a bit of a mixed bag, if not exactly a curate's egg. The tracks were all recorded between 1996 and '97, although they were written any time between 1972 and '96 and include unrecorded Serenade and Shingetsu material. The album consists of a full-on prog piece at either end, a more modern proggish effort next track in and three shorter vocal/piano/string quartet songs in the middle that could possibly have been single material with different arrangements. Although Blue and, to a lesser extent, Heart Of Stone are quite reasonable prog pieces, it's only really Budokan and the title track that concern us here.

I would guess that Budokan is named after the famed Tokyo concert hall (it translates to something like 'martial arts hall'), but it's the album's one full-on Mellotron track. The sleevenotes state that they'd started by recording it with Mellotron samples, then decided that nothing but the real thing would do (more of this attitude, please!), at which point someone called Haneda 'found one in the back of his house'. As you do. I mean, how many people just happen to have a forgotten Mellotron lying around? Anyway, it sounds great, with strings splattered all over the track in true scattergun style by Kazuto Shimizu, reminding one rather of King Crimson in places, not least because of Haruhiko Tsuda's Frippish guitar style. There's more strings towards the end of Hikaru Sazanami itself, but that's yer lot, I'm afraid.

See: Shingetsu | Serenade

The Kite  (Canada)

The Kite, 'The Kite'

The Kite  (1991,  47.57)  ***/½

Days of Youth
The Road of Hope
These Four Walls
Peculiar Donna
Raging Sea
Breaking Point
Diamonds to Dust
World of Lies
Masquerading
Pages Turn

Current availability:

Mellotron used:

The Kite, from Toronto, played a highly commercial variety of progressive rock, not unlike sometime Yes member Billy Sherwood's World Trade, combining AOR hooks with intricate instrumental work on 1991's The Kite, produced by Rush collaborator Terry Brown. Squirming in horror already? Fair point, but this is actually an awful lot less, er, awful than that description might suggest, although those allergic to 4/4, major keys and heinous synth patches may wish to go elsewhere. Best tracks? Opener Days Of Youth, These Four Walls and Breaking Point, while Masquerading sounds like Saga, for better or worse.

Keys man Bryan Vamos plays real Mellotron (whose?) on Breaking Point, with a lush, chordal string part in the quiet middle eight, although, sadly, that seems to be our lot. Y'know, for all its failings and a grande helping of fromage, this album has a certain joie de vivre missing from many of its more earnest competitors.

David Kitt  (Ireland)  see: Samples etc.

Michael Kiwanuka  (UK)  see: Samples etc.

Christian Kjellvander  (Sweden)  see: Samples etc.

Klaatu  (Canada)

Klaatu, 'Klaatu'

3:47 EST  [a.k.a. Klaatu]  (1976,  36.46)  ***½/TT

Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft
California Jam
Anus of Uranus
Sub-Rosa Subway
True Life Hero
Doctor Marvello
Sir Bodsworth Rugglesby III
Little Neutrino
Klaatu, 'Sir Army Suit'

Sir Army Suit  (1978,  35.57)  ***/T

A Routine Day
Juicy Luicy
Everybody Took a Holiday
Older
Dear Christine
Mister Manson
Tokeymore Field
Perpetual Motion Machine
Chérie
Silly Boys
Klaatu, 'Sun Set: 1973-1981'

Sun Set: 1973-1981  (2005,  152.19)  ***½/T½

Hanus of Uranus
Sub Rosa Subway
Cherie
Doctor Marvello
For You Girl
California Jam
True Life Hero
Calling Occupants
Sir Bodsworth Rugglesby III
Little Neutrino
We're Off You Know
Around the Universe in 80 Days
Madman
Long Live Politzania
The Loneliest of Creatures
Prelude
So Said the Lighthouse Keeper
Epilogue
Hope
A Routine Day
Juicy Luicy
Everybody Took a Holiday Day
Older (live)
Dear Christine
Mister Manson
Tokeymor Field (demo)
Sir Rupert Said
Sell Out, Sell Out (demo)
Howl at the Moon (demo)
I Can't Help it
Paranoia (demo)
Set the World on Fire (demo)
Dog Star (demo)
All Good Things (demo)
There's Something Happening
I Don't Wanna Go Home (demo)
At the End of the Rainbow
December Dream
Mrs. Toad's Cookies
Magentalane
Ambrose Lightship

Current availability:

Mellotrons used:

As you probably know, Klaatu (after the robot in The Day the Earth Stood Still) caused a minor furore when their debut, 3:47 EST appeared in 1976, as the music press decided it was The Beatles. The evidence? Slim, to be honest. Beatlesy intelligent pop, with a singer who sounded a lot like Paul, no musicians' credits or pics on the sleeve, a general air of mystery, not to mention that selfsame robot appearing on a Ringo album cover... Of course, it didn't take long for the truth to emerge; they were a Canadian trio who just happened to sound a bit like The Beatles and who favoured anonymity. I don't believe there was ever any attempt to deceive; hardly their fault if people got the wrong end of the stick, was it?

Anyway, 3:47 EST [a.k.a. Klaatu] does that mid-'70s semi-progressive pop/rock thing very well indeed, even though it spawned a Cover From Hell in the awful Carpenters' version of its opener, Calling Occupants Of Interplanetary Craft. And no, I don't subscribe to the theory that Richard and Karen are so out they're in, or whatever. The original, however, is really quite nice and less 'rock' than tracks like Anus Of Uranus and True Life Hero. According to their website, Dee Long plays the Mellotron on Calling Occupants, with shedloads of strings, flutes, cellos and choir, while John Woloschuk adds more of the same to Doctor Marvello. There are real strings here, too, on Sir Bodsworth Rugglesby III and others, but the two Mellotron Tracks are most definitely that.

There's nothing on the following year's Hope (***½), but third time round, Sir Army Suit, is something of a return to the band's roots, sadly without any killer songs. It's something of a mixed bag, to be honest, chopping and changing between styles with bewildering regularity and is rather harder to recommend than their earlier work. Two Mellotron tracks, with flutes under real strings on opener A Routine Day and a little strings pitchbend work on Silly Boys, but that would seem to be it.

Over two decades after the trio's dissolution, the two-disc Sun Set: 1973-1981 appeared in 2005, comprising previously unreleased versions of material from all four Klaatu albums, plus outtakes. The jewel in the crown for fans of the band is undoubtedly the original, orchestral mix of the Hope album, other highlights including a handful of previously-unreleased tracks plus early, single versions of tracks from their debut. Playing the set sequentially shows how their songwriting changed over the course of eight years, the later material, sadly, faring badly in comparison to the earlier. I'd hoped for another Mellotron track or two, but the three on the set are three of the four on the two studio albums above, with no obvious changes in arrangement.

Official site

See: Terry Draper

Klabautamann  (Germany)  see: Samples etc.

Klar  (Czech Republic)

Klar, 'Motten'

Motten  (1995,  56.33)  ***/TT

Einleitung
Mali

SATO
Píse Ň
Gichtattacke
Hatajoga

Drei Idioten
You Can Do What You Can
Intermezzo
Oh, it's No Difference
Ibenbach
Green White Ghost
Klar, 'Live CZ'

Live CZ  (1997,  64.58)  ***/T

I Got the Wheel
Drum Circle
Silent Waves
Schweinebeat
Generator Keep Smiling
Sand - Heat
The Rain Keeps Falling
Klik - Klak Hönen
Feuertanz
Should Do That
Cold Trapping
Check Out the Fear I
Check Out the Fear II
Klar, 'Between Coma & Consciousness'

Between Coma & Consciousness  (2002,  54.21)  ***/T½

Now More Than Ever
She Wraps It Up
Firebrand
Patient
The Birds
What's It Worth
Wondering
Tapeworm
I Once Wrote Some Poems

Current availability:

Mellotrons used:

Klar were a Czech psychedelic trio, whose debut, 1995's Motten, is as schizophrenic a release as you're likely to encounter all year, shifting between the near-dissonance of opener Einleitung, the African (er, Malian?) chants of Mali, SATO's Farfisa-driven early Floyd vibe and the twin-acoustic attack of Píse Ň and that's just the first four tracks. Drums/keys man Volkmar Miedtke plays Mellotron, with a flute melody running right through Einleitung, high-end cello on Mali, an upfront, semi-dissonant string part on Gichtattacke, interweaving flute lines on Hatajoga and more flutes on Intermezzo, all clearly real.

1997's Live CZ sounds little like a live album to me, with not only no audience noise, but too many audible parts for a trio, unless sequencers were used. It's a more improvisational effort than Motten, faintly resembling '80s King Crimson in places, while Should Do That heavily echoes Hawkwind's You Shouldn't Do That, from 1971's seminal In Search of Space. Miedtke adds Mellotron to just one track, with a blaring string part on closer Check Out The Fear II, once again sounding choppy enough to be real.

The band subsequently split, only to reconvene one last time for 2002's Between Coma & Consciousness, a less cohesive effort than its predecessor, although tracks like Firebrand and The Birds are up to standard. Miedtke on Mellotron again, with a brief string part at the end of Firebrand, more of the same on Wondering and Tapeworm and full-on string and cello parts opening closer I Once Wrote Some Poems, although it's mostly rather low-key.

Frank Klare  (Germany)  see: Samples etc.

Jeff Klein  (US)  see: Samples etc.

Dave Kleiner & Liz Pagan  (US)

Dave Kleiner & Liz Pagan, 'Salesman'

Salesman  (2001,  41.32)  ***/T

Love is as Big as a Horse
Kings Highway
Salesman
The Burtons
Mexican Rabbi
The Other Side of That Rainbow
The Dogs of Summer
Mr. Bean
Good Friday
My Golden Age
That's When You Die
Here's to the Rocky Road

Current availability:

Mellotron used:

Married couple Dave Kleiner and Liz Pagan's third album together, Salesman, features (I believe) Kleiner's wry observations on life, love etc., performed in the duo's inimitable style. Highlights? Depends on your sense of humour, but the title track, the ludicrous Mexican Rabbi and Good Friday (a.k.a. the crucifixion from the other side) stand out, at least lyrically.

Dave Amels plays what sounds like real Mellotron on two tracks, with clicky flutes on The Dogs Of Summer, although nothing audible on That's When You Die. Wacky American humour is both like, yet unlike wacky British humour (and absolutely nothing like wacky German humour, but that's another story). Both have their plus points, some of which are evident here. Worth a listen.

Official site

Mary Kleinsorge  (US)

Mary Kleinsorge, 'The Person I am'

The Person I am  (1980,  36.38)  **/T

The Person I am
I'll Never See You Again
What to Do With Momma
Poor Little Raindrop
The Man in My Musicbox
Sing My Song
It Could Never Be

You're Only Here for a While
Listen to Me Boy
Follow Me in Your Memories
Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Da

Current availability:

Mellotron used:

1980's The Person I am is at least the second album by Mary (now Dr. Mary) Kleinsorge, a Kansas-based singer-songwriter. The album specialises in sweet, balladic material that actually hasn't dated too badly, largely due to its renunciation of anything more complex than acoustic guitar, voice and occasional accompaniment, the one exception being the excruciating, whitey-boy funk version of Disney's Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Da that horribly closes the record. Best track? Possibly The Man In My Musicbox, with its musical box-faking glockenspiel work.

The Mellotron player is uncredited, but seems likely to be engineer Randy Wills, playing distant strings on opener The Person I Am and Sing My Song, plus cellos and strings on It Could Never Be, none of it to any great effect, to be honest. It seems that Dr. Mary sells the remaining copies of her albums through her website, if only on cassette, but I'd be hard-pushed to recommend this to any but the most fanatical of folk collectors.

Official site

Blog

Klik  (US)

Klik, 'American Girls'

American Girls  (2012,  32.17)  ***/T

American Girl
Glass House
Bang Bang
Love is a Gun
Avenue
Lemon Tree
29 Footsteps
Eyeliner
Hollywood
One Question

Current availability:

Mellotron used:

Floridians Klik play a form of modern, female-fronted alt.rock/metal, strong on melody, at its best (in my humble opinion, of course) on its heavier tracks, notably the opening kind-of title track, Glass House and Bang Bang. That'll be the first three tracks, then. The rest? Common-or-garden alt.rock (Avenue, 29 Footsteps), reasonable heavy-end-of-powerpop (Lemon Tree) and rather limp balladry (closer One Question).

Producer Sylvia Massy (presumably) plays her M400, with background strings on Love Is A Gun and One Question, the latter also utilising generic string samples for the stabby bits. Not the most exciting album ever, then, but has its moments.

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Bobby Klot  (Sweden)

Bobby Klot, 'Automobil' download  (2022, recorded 2004)  ***½/T

Automobil

Current availability:

Mellotron used:

Bobby Klot? Since Mattias 'Änglagård' Olsson has posted about this odd little track on Facebook, I suppose that makes the story at least semi-public, so... He recorded this in 2004, the year after the brief Änglagård reformation, with which I was tangentially involved. Kraftwerk were played a good deal in the car on the way down through Germany, so it's hardly surprising that Automobil sits at the exact halfway point between homage and piss-take, Mattias' vocoder use, deadpan Swedish-language vocals and synth effects (spot the 'car horn' effect on the intro) sending up Autobahn, albeit lovingly, while I'm sure I heard lyrical references to Karl Bartos and Trans-Europe Express. As he says on its Bandcamp page, "An hommage to Roadtrips in Europe".

Mattias plays Mellotron, with a brief string part near the beginning and a handful of choir chords towards the end. It seems we're lucky to have this at all; Mattias believed it lost, until a copy turned up, nearly twenty years after its recording. Incidentally, note the sleeve design; for once, I haven't cropped the original image, to retain its 'battered picture bag' effect. Have a look at the full-size version on Bandcamp: not only is the copyright warning spot-on, but is that, just possibly, a member of Kraftwerk in the driver's seat? And as for Bobby Klot... Who knows?!


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