zK

Having recently contributed to Goner’s Yogascum LP, reissued in late 2017 as a vinyl release through Hallow Ground, Mark Godwin now returns to the label together with his musical partner Gareth Ormerod as zK. Formed in 1999 as a live project, zK first released on the legendary Mancunian Skam label in 2003, toured throughout Europe and were invited by Autechre to play the All Tomorrow’s Parties festival.
In the following years, Godwin and Ormerod produced a slew of records that at once paid tribute to their roots in the emerging British rave scene while pushing the envelope of experimental electronica. Combining their interest for visual art and psychology with their spiritual connection to bands like Coil, some of whose records Godwin has worked on as a mastering engineer, zK have carved out a niche for themselves with a multi-disciplinary approach to music.
Last Night, their first proper studio album in five years, was recorded in Godwin’s new home Bangkok. Drawing heavily on musique concrète techniques, synthesizers, and sampling to create an immersive experience bordering on the synaesthetic, the six tracks capture the nervous energy of Thailand’s capital after dark.
Moving from the opener Ouside Broadcast with its collage-like juxtaposition of every-day sounds and squelching noise to the aptly titled Cognitive Dissonance and the aleatoric modular excursions of Feral Confection towards the more sombre, lysergic undertones of the B-side, ending in the both elegiac and haunting final track Fleshpotting, Godwin and Ormerod explore the sharp contrasts which characterise the city. zK navigate through the weird, the eerie and sometimes even the grotesque and occult, they provide a thorough exploration of a metropolis marked by tradition and progress alike.