Kotki Dwa
21 year old Alex Ostrowski and his brother Tristan have been together for the past seventeen years, for it was then that the latter was born. Kotki Dwa as a band however only came in to being with the addition of drummer Tom Walker, also 21, around a year and a half ago. The brothers from Milton Keynes and their Buckinghamshire friend Tom have been doing things as Kotki Dwa very much their own way ever since, and we’re pleased to report, as of January 7th 2008, “still don’t hate each other”.
Who does what? Well, Alex “writes the words and sings and plays the guitar” and is responsible for “a lot of the bleeping”. Little bro Tristan “plays bass and synthesiser and can do good impressions of birds using it.” Tom sits behind the drums, and what’s more, plays them – and occasionally the keyboards too.
Why’ve they not signed a big bucks record deal? Why are all their releases so difficult to get hold of? Why’s this (possibly) the first time you’ve ever heard of them? Because the guys are busy. Alex is studying Graphic Design in Bristol, Tom’s working on Zoology in Leeds and Tristan’s yet to complete his A Levels, so cut them some slack. How’s your coursework coming along, eh? EH?
Though there may indeed be other concerns in their life, Kotki Dwa is far from a hobby of a band (though there’s nothing wrong with one of them – look at Shellac, after all). Still unsigned, and releasing all their records themselves, they’ve managed to obtain a ‘demo of the week’ nod from NME a while back, the publication also giving their debut album (the beautifully packaged Onlyyouarenotsleeping, which doesn’t sound half bad either) a meaty 8/10 review. Every label with ears has tried to sign ‘em. And to their utmost credit, given the success and consistently high quality of music they continue to put out on their ownsomes (most recent single ‘Robin’s Clogs’ was a f**king corker), they’ve not seen the point of saying ‘yeah, go on then’ to any of them.
They’re also a little more artistically interesting than your average quirky English guitar/synth pop combo too, as evidenced by their triumphing in a competition organised by the Tate Gallery in London, where young bands were asked to pick a favourite piece of art from the Gallery and provide it with a fitting soundtrack. Kotki Dwa came up with a track called ‘Le Beau Charcutier’, inspired by Francis Picabia’s The Handsome Pork Butcher 1924-26. Their MySpace has it.
2008 will see Kotki Dwa press more daisies in to badges, hand draw more of their own flyers, pose for only unconventional photographs depicting them as either tin foil robots or as existing in some Technicolor dreamland, self record and self release their as yet untitled second album and probably continue to infuriate record labels to their very core by sticking their fingers in their ears, closing their eyes, blowing raspberries and flat out refusing to sign to them.
KOTKIDWA.COM: Cogs, lightswitches and, on the browser we’re using at least, text so small you can barely read it – which just makes it all the more intriguing….
HIDDEN KOTKI DWA SITE #1: A semi-secret section of the Kotki Dwa website hosts this page, with all sorts of information about last year’s BBC session.
HIDDEN KOTKI DWA SITE #2: There’s also this page, containing everything you could ever wish to know about the single ‘Robin’s Clogs’. Click on ‘compo’ and you might just win one.
MYSPACE.COM/KOTKIDWA: A marvellously illustrated blog, four songs (including their winning Tate Tracks entry) and all the colours of the rainbow to boot. Their fans leave them drawings of giraffes as comments. That kind of band.
JOIN THE MAILING LIST: Expect dazzlingly colourful, originally hand written missives from the band to arrive in your inbox just regularly enough for you to be ever-informed, yet not so regularly that you’ll get annoyed. Like those ones I keep getting about penis enlargements.
KOTKI DWA’S INDIESTORE: Every Kotki Dwa song (that’s 30 of ‘em so far) is available to download via the band’s 7digital Indiestore site for less than a quid a pop. How very day-brightening.
EXHIBITION: KOTKI DWA SINGLE LAUNCH: Exclusive photos from the launch of ‘Robin’s Clogs’ back in December.
KOTKI DWA @ SWN FESTIVAL ‘07: A brief write up, and actual photo of an actual Kotki Dwa member in the flesh not wearing tin foil or in front of a garish primary colour (there aren’t many, believe us – we’ve spent all morning looking), of the band’s recent performance at the hugely successful, inaugural SWN festival in Cardiff.
ROBIN’S CLOGS:
And for very little reason other than it’s quite cute, here’s an English translation of the Polish lullaby ‘Kotki Dwa’:
Ah-ah-ah, ah-ah-ah,
There were once two little kittens.
Ah-ah-ah, two little kittens,
They were both grayish-brown.
Oh, sleep, my darling,
If you\'d like a star from the sky I\'ll give you one.
All children, even the bad ones,
Are already asleep,
Only you are not.
Ah-ah-ah, ah-ah-ah,
There were once two little kittens.
Ah-ah-ah, two little kittens,
They were both grayish-brown.
Oh, sleep, because
The moon is yawning and he will soon fall asleep.
And when the morning comes
He will be really ashamed,
That he fell asleep and you did not.