Kukuni and the swirling psyche fusion of "Dreaming Venus"

"Am I dreaming?"

There is such an absolute sense of swirling movement on Kukuni's vast track "Am I dreaming" that it feels like you are experiencing it in surround sound. The seemingly brittle percussion, the dominant groove and drum beat, all intertwined as Willy Christie's pushed plaintive croon steers this musical vessel. I love his vocal aesthetic that feels sort of possessed fully by his own spirit. I have to admit that I thought of Thom Yorke a bit. The bass attack, animalistic in intent and the blaring synths in total have such an orchestrated feel as an amalgam of post rock, funk, jazz, neo post punk and psychedelia in varying degrees colliding in a free form jam.

[Kukuni was conceived in late 2019 during a six month period of self-imposed writing isolation. Based in Los Angeles, Willy Christie claims to have “accidentally” sacrificed an entire summer to the project. Coming out of the cocoon in the winter of 2019, he vowed to never again stay inside for an entire summer. Then COVID happened.

In the middle of writing, Willy heard a guest on NPR mention the concept of “Kukuni.” Turning to the internet, Willy found that there was, in fact, no such thing as “Kukuni,” and that he had simply misheard the word “cocooning.” Not one to let a good idea go to waste, Kukuni was born.

After writing the bulk of material, Willy brought in the help of producer Tony Buchen (John Carroll Kirby, Sam Gendel, Smashing Pumpkins) and drummer Robby Sinclair (Chet Faker, Natasha Bedingfield, Linda Perry) to help take the tracks to the next level.]

-Robb Donker Curtius 

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Kukuni is best described as psychedelic, indie, experimental art rock with pop sensibilities; wavy and groovy; dark but uplifting.

As a student of Jung and Jodorowsky, Kukuni’s lyrics are rife with symbols, myths and fables; the language of the subconscious. Kukuni takes you to into dark forest of the human spirit and shines a light on the path less taken.

Kukuni’s music represents the internal space we all return to when creating; the room in which our strangest ideas float around, waiting to be transformed into something beautiful.

Kukuni, Psychedelic Rock, Lo-fi Rock, Indie Rock, post rock, "Dreaming Venus", orchestral production, free form jam