Album Notes

Xtatika is not indie rock or electro. They are not straight pop. Nor is Xtatika goth, or what counts as goth these days. Xtatika CAN be all these things -- and can be these things exceptionally well -- but instead the duo as an ideal is everything wholly its own. Their sound is a mutant mix of moody pads, cutting synths, dirty-dancey beats, and vocals that are irresistable. Each track a mythical creature that shapechanges into a gorgeous oblivion and takes the listener on a transformative flight from reality, into what can be called "hyperreality" or Noir Wave. The lyrics convey real things, such as can be said of the vocals of Bjork or Thom Yorke. It's true that on every listen that South Korean-born lead singer Haena Kim's voice pierces the heart like an arrow laced in ecstacy.

The band onstage has eschewed the need for guitar, bass or drums -- for now. With the spare lineup of Alabama-born Denim Venom on laptop/synths and Haena Kim on vocal duty, Xtatika opens up the forlorn spacestage to the possibilities of performance, an exciting alternative to the oft-repeated formula of rock or pop instrumentation. Onstage, the songs are taken to a whole new level of swish, a theatrical one-two punch of committed expression through modern dance and costume. It's the entire package plus the band's artistic prowess and stage presence that's drawing audiences in from around the globe, transcending time and language on Xtatika's sexy journey into oblivion -- and you're guaranteed never to come back the same. They released their first album in 2001, the critically acclaimed Tongue Bath, available on Tzadik.