Kayo Dot

by David Jeffries
Epic washes of crunchy guitar and sophisticated modern chamber music combine in the world of Kayo Dot. After the progressive metal-oriented Maudlin of the Well disbanded in late 2002, some of the group's members were lost, and a change of direction was needed. Toby Driver (vocals, guitar, electronics), Greg Massi (guitar, vocals), Nicholas Kyte (bass, vocals), Sam Gutterman (drums, vocals), and Terran Olson (keyboards, flute, clarinet, saxophone) carried on and formed Kayo Dot in early 2003. While Maudlin of the Well lived in the metal arena, Kayo Dot approached music with a more modern classical attitude. Composition was strict and the band showed interest in playing concerts the way orchestras do, more formal and in more traditional venues. Guitars and vocals still drew from the world of rock and metal, but to stress this was a new band and direction, concerts contained no Maudlin of the Well material. John Zorn's avant-garde- and experimental-leaning label, Tzadik, issued the band's debut, Choirs of the Eye, in late 2003. In 2006 the group released Dowsing Anemone with Copper Tongue, followed by Blue Lambency Downward in 2008.