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	RandomK(e)   [back]                    Waiting
Formed in 2004, RandomK(e) are quite possibly the unlikeliest group of expatriates ever to assemble on a Beijing stage...ever. The band benefits from the wildly disparate musical backgrounds of its constituent parts: Vocalist/ Guitarist Richard Todd brings slabs of punk and DIY/ post-punk to the party, despite singing like a down-to-earth Ian Gillan with emphysema; bassist Adam Pillsbury plays his instrument like the bastard child of Bootsy Collins and Charles Mingus; double-bassist/ laptop terrorist/ gadget fiddler/ knob twiddler general Jackson Garland adds unobtrusive electronic textures to the music that you may only notice by their absence and while drummer Jon Campbell's hair screams Grateful Dead, his beats can whisper Buddy Rich or wail Bill Ward. Waiting is RandomK(e)'s debut full-length for Tag Team Records and finds the band capturing the explosive rush and emotional power of their live shows, where they range from creepy, pastoral interludes to headlong thunderous charges. Recorded in 2008 at Yi Long Studios in Bejing and subsequently mastered by Andy Jackson (Pink Floyd) in London, Waiting is an immediate, visceral record. On it, RandomK(e) use riff, repetition, incremental layering, bursts of noise and sudden changes in pace and volume, all shot through with a dramatic sense of melody to provide new ways of seeing and feeling guitar-based rock. But, more importantly than all of that, RandomK(e) manage to infuse their own brand of genre-hopping, quasi-experimental, kitchen-sink musicianship with emotion, playfulness and dare we say it, fun - albeit a dimly lit, walking down Chang An Dajie at 3am with a healthy buzz and your iPod dimed to 11 kind of fun! What they offer and the source of their appeal is more a full-bore sensory thrill ride than anything else. RandomK(e) want to take you to a faraway place and show you exciting things. And Waiting is the key.