{"id":9835,"date":"2015-01-22T13:16:44","date_gmt":"2015-01-22T13:16:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stylusmagazine.ca\/?p=9835"},"modified":"2015-01-22T13:16:44","modified_gmt":"2015-01-22T13:16:44","slug":"kenmode-intimidate-dominate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ckuw.ca\/stylus\/2015\/01\/22\/kenmode-intimidate-dominate\/","title":{"rendered":"KENmode :: Intimidate & Dominate"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"KM2014\"<\/a><\/p>\n

by Jillian Groening<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s 2015 and so far I\u2019m fat, out of shape, sad and bruised.”\u00a0<\/p>\n

Jesse Matthewson, 33, is getting restless. His band KENmode is back home in Winnipeg after the standard crazy year of non-stop touring, constant writing and never-ending work. The Christmas season doesn\u2019t make Matthewson\u2019s \u201ctime-off\u201d any easier.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I\u2019m not playing shows or doing Muay Thai then immediately I just shut down,\u201d Matthewson explains over coffee. \u201cIt\u2019s like there\u2019s a big slab of meat that\u2019s just hanging on my brain.\u201d<\/p>\n

The hard work seems to be paying off for the Juno award winning group, also made up of Matthewson\u2019s little brother, Shane Matthewson, on drums and Saskatoon\u2019s Skot Hamilton on bass. KENmode recently recorded with Steve Albini, bringing the infamously influential producer (Nirvana, Pixies, The Jesus Lizard) all the way to Winnipeg.<\/p>\n

While recording the band\u2019s sixth studio album, Success<\/em> (more on that aptly ironic title later), Albini was hosted by Matthewson\u2019s parents.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s cool working with engineers who are still punk rock enough to understand that every dollar you save from not putting them up in a hotel you\u2019re giving to them for their work,\u201d Matthewson says. \u201cHe was just happy with a door to close and a bed. And he requested working internet.\u201d<\/p>\n

Recorded over a week and a half at Empire Recording above Whiskey Dix on Main St., the process was fuelled by Smoke\u2019s poutine and sugar. Most specifically, Winnipeg\u2019s own Oh Donuts. Success in deed.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m embarrassed slash proud that this was the smoothest vocal run I\u2019ve ever done,\u201d Matthewson says with a laugh. \u201cWe practiced a ton though, so maybe it was in spite of the donuts.\u201d<\/p>\n

Success<\/em> is by far the groups most stripped down album yet. By peeling away all the metal and hardcore aspects of KENmode\u2019s sound, the result is a pure rock recording harkening back to the groups roots and to what the brothers would listen to as teenagers.<\/p>\n

\u201cI won\u2019t be surprised if it flops, that\u2019s why we\u2019ve called it Success<\/em>,\u201d Matthewson explains. \u201cWe find it funny and the entire concept is relative. Although, the few people who have heard it said it wasn\u2019t what they expected from us, which in itself is a success.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite Success<\/em> being possibly KENmode\u2019s most accessible album yet, Matthewson is prepared for the uphill battle that could be involved with promoting the album. With KENmode often being lumped in with more metallic-sounding metal bands and being under strictly metal and hardcore labels, it will be difficult to get the people who will likely enjoy the album the most to pay attention.<\/p>\n

\u201cPersonally, it\u2019s my dream record and I don\u2019t care what anyone else thinks,\u201d Matthewson says with a confident nod. \u201cThis is the most important artistic statement I\u2019ve ever made in my life and I\u2019m sticking to that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Post BIG FUN, KENmode will be touring to Austin, TX for their fourth South by Southwest gig before heading over to the Netherlands and the UK before the big record release and following tour in June 2015.<\/p>\n

\u201cTwo things that have been Shane\u2019s and my goals through this whole situation is we wanted to see the world and we wanted to make more people give a shit,\u201d Matthewson says. \u201cWe hadn\u2019t been touring enough so we changed that part. Now lets see if we make more people give a shit.\u201d<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t miss KENmode\u2019s BIG FUN set Friday January 30 at the Sherbrook Hotel. For more information on the full festival line-up, please feel free to visit bigfunfestival.com.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Jillian Groening \u201cIt\u2019s 2015 and so far I\u2019m fat, out of shape, sad and bruised.”\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[103,519],"class_list":["post-9835","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-features","tag-big-fun-2015","tag-kenmode"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ckuw.ca\/stylus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9835","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ckuw.ca\/stylus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ckuw.ca\/stylus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ckuw.ca\/stylus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ckuw.ca\/stylus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9835"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ckuw.ca\/stylus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9835\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ckuw.ca\/stylus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9835"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ckuw.ca\/stylus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9835"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ckuw.ca\/stylus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9835"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}