Exclusive Premiere: Watch Kidi Band’s New Video for “Free Will”

By: Staff –

Emerging Los Angeles/San Francisco-based indie folk quartet Kidi Band is back a new video for “Free Will”, which you can watch exclusively via Aesthetic Magazine below.

“Free Will” plunges its listener into a whirlpool of expansive inquiry. Where is the origin of thought? Am I in control of my body and mind? What am I? This mechanical and relentless track illustrates a dynamic soundscape of grappling with these impossible questions. All four band members shout-sing the refrain: Where is the line between what is me and what is not me? Between what is free and what is not free?, wholly summing up the song and suggesting these questions should keep being asked, over and over, again and again.

The group makes ambitious indie folk that recalls early experiments by Animal Collective, and infuse it with complex rhythms inspired by West African drumming, layering their four-part harmonies over the top.

The musicians behind Kidi Band combine unlikely material to find a voice that’s explosive, organic, and electrified. The quartet’s knack for fusing diverse sounds can be likened to Deerhoof, Dirty Projectors, and tUnE-yArDs, but there’s no doubt that Kidi Band has taken those influences and moved in a direction totally their own.
 
The patchwork-complexity of a single Kidi Band beat, emanating from a trio of percussionists, incorporates the language of West African rhythms with equal parts reverence and ingenuity. Sounding against buzzy acoustic guitar riffs, drums propel us through intricate, wholehearted songs. Atop all of this is the band’s consonant anchorage—four harmonizing voices that carry equal weight and power. Steven Kai van Betten, Linnea Sablosky, Cari Stevens, and Cooper Wolken lift their music up as only the closest of friends can, lending creative insight and sharing the spotlight from moment to moment. Although they are new to many, Kidi Band has played together for years and it shows.
 
There’s a definite progression from Kidi Band’s debut album Gimme Gimme to their sophomore album, So Good. After the rawness and vulnerability of Gimme Gimme, So Good has a refreshing edge and clarity. With each band member contributing songs, the lyrical content of the album dances across a wide spectrum—from nostalgic memories of kids playing in trees, to contemplations on free will. Serene and beautiful at times, and harsh and gritty at others, Kidi Band is consistently captivating. So Good is out on March 19th.