Kan Wakan at The Troubadour, 11.4.13

Kan Wakan may have officially kicked off their West Coast tour at San Diego’s The Griffin on November 3^rd, but their fans know that their homecoming show at The Troubadour last night was an especially momentous event for the members of the LA-based musical collective, which is headed up by producer Crooked Waters and co-producer Peter Potyondy and features a rotating group of live session musicians.

As family, friends, and admirers began to fill one of West Hollywood’s most iconic music venues, violinist Dannon Rampton sat alone on stage amidst a sea of musical instruments and gear.  At first, he appeared to be simply tuning his strings, but as the lights dropped and a dramatic spotlight poured down over him, he began to create beats by tapping the body of his instrument, amplifying the anticipation that emanated from the crowd.  After laying down the beat to loop, Rampton began to play a Baroque-inspired sequence that set a somber and slightly suspenseful mood as other musicians took their places on stage.

Chantuese Kristianne Bautista continued to mill about unassumingly, but certainly not unnoticed, amongst the crowd for a few more minutes while the boys made their final preparations, and then, as the lighting shifted to create a soft blue haze around the musicians, she drifted casually to center stage.  Bautista took a tambourine in hand and moved to the mic just moments before Keith Krey launched their set with drums, followed immediately by Peter Potyondy on guitar.  As Bautista crooned in her uniquely evocative style, Gueorgui Linev, Ian Anderson, and Jesse Aumiller, obscured by low lighting, joined in with their multi-instrumental contributions to “Forever Found”, a silky song that is part James Bond theme, part cinematic Western soundtrack, and entirely avant-garde in the way its combination of sonic elements defy genre classification.

Over the course of their set, Kan Wakan maintained an almost trance-like concentration while they seamlessly wove together intricate layers of sound.  As they performed, it was obvious that this collective of musicians came together with the shared purpose of creating deeply moving art without interest in rock-star posturing or showboating. 

Their set included the four tracks from their recently released EP, Forever Found, interspersed with several pieces that fans might remember from their Echo residency back in February, and as Bautista sang, she swayed gently and emphasized her soulful lyrics with delicate hand gestures.  The members of the band occasionally switched places on stage, shifting stations to take up different instruments and even Bautista moved to the back of the stage to play keys as Kan Wakan killed the crowd softly with “Midnight Moon Pt. I & II” as their final song.

Unlike the sudden and dramatic drop off that so many musicians employ to end their set, Kan Wakan let the sound trail out slowly, allowing the audience to drift gently out of the dreamy world that the music of Kan Wakan masterfully creates.  Kan Wakan’s West Coast tour may only just be getting started, but their rapid rise is certainly eminent as their fans eagerly await the early 2014 release of their first full-length album, Moving On, and no doubt another captivating soundscape in which to get lost and sublimely forever found.

Photography by Griffin Gosnell.