AK/DK

Ed Chivers and Graham Sowerby, the Brighton-based multi-instrumentalists, launched AK/DK after first crossing paths at a London art installation in 2008. What began as a conceptual arts project soon evolved into melodic electronic music shaped by their joint fascination with synthesizers and the legacies of Raymond Scott, Add N to (X), and Krautrock. Audience participation became central to their shows, prompting onstage collaborations that reinforced the same raw D.I.Y. principles in their studio work. A full European tour supporting the Dandy Warhols ensued, highlighted by one appearance alongside keyboardist Zia McCabe. Late in 2012 the duo shared a bill at Brighton’s Green Door Store with their heroes Damo Suzuki from Can and Ann Shenton from Add N to (X). Dispatch #1 arrived in 2011, Dispatch #2 in 2012, and Dispatch #3 in 2013—the last containing the single “Battersea”—each preserving the unvarnished D.I.Y. recording aesthetic that defined the project. Their debut album, Synths + Drums + Noise + Space, followed in 2014.