Chikinki

Formed in Bristol, England during 1997, Chikinki brought together Rupert Browne on vocals, Ed East on guitar, Steve Bond on drums, and keyboardists Boris Exton and Trevor Wensley. The five members settled into a house in the Bedminster district, where they launched an intense stretch of songwriting and recording shaped by their wide-ranging musical backgrounds. An experimental fusion of indie pop and electronica surfaced immediately on the independently released Telephone Heroes EP in summer 2000. Local imprint Sink And Stove followed with the band’s album Experiment With Mother in 2001. Strong reviews in the UK music press attracted several major labels, and Island Records signed the group the next year. Ahead of their Island debut, the menacing single ‘Hate TV’, the double a-side ‘Time’/‘Scissors, Paper, Stone’ surfaced on independent label Fierce Panda in March 2003. Even with the inclusion of ‘Hate TV’ alongside the strong singles ‘Assassinator 13’ and ‘Take It Or Leave It’, the resulting album Lick Your Ticket drew a somewhat muted response on release.