Five Minutes with Kristoff Krane
In the second installment of a new series that profiles artists performing at The Cedar, Cedar staffer Brian Corner asks Kristoff Krane (aka Chris Keller) for five minutes and a few answers.
Q: What do you have planned for The Cedar show on May 28, and who will be on the stage with you?
A: The show will begin with Fat Kid Wednesdays. It will then venture into Aby Wolf, then to me. Part of my set that will include me rapping solo. Part of my set will entail me playing guitar solo. And part of my set will involve myself with a band, including this line up: Jeremy Ylvisaker, JT Bates, Michael Lewis, Casey O'Brien, Joseph Horton, Bobby Mulrennan,Graham O'Brien, Kyle Keller and Andy Pavek!!!! One can also look forward to the smell of fresh lilacs and perhaps a slice a spicy ginger.
BC: Wow, that's an impressive crew you have assembled!
Q: What 4 words would you use, MySpace-style, to describe your music?
A: Experimental-prog-folk-hop
Q: Your new album Hunting for Father features 19 tracks, runs over an hour in length, and spans a dizzying range of styles. Care to take a stab at describing it succinctly?
A: Hunting for Father swells with observations of mankind’s collective experience and conveys the trials and tics of an unlikely protagonist. It captures the author Kristoff Krane inside of his personal storms and tribulations, yet at times is global in narrative, as if Krane were simply the channel of someone else’s world. Krane’s acoustic guitar melodies, haunting piano progressions, raw vocalizations-both singing and “rapping”- and self produced compositions, confound quite pleasurably to produce a sound one might call “Experimental-prog-folk-hop”.
Q: According to Wikipedia: The Krane family is the name of a noble family in Germany, Austria and Slovenia. Any connection?
A: None known to me.
Q: The artwork on your pair of albums, Hunting for Father and Picking Flowers Next to Roadkill lines up as one image, which suggests to me that the albums should perhaps be regarded as two halves of a single story. Do we need to listen to both albums to get the whole enchilada?
A: i tried to be tricky..I think it may have worked. The deal with the double release and art is that I made all of these songs over the same period of time, so there's guaranteed to be some bleeding between the two. Although one does not need to listen to both records to appreciate them independent of one another, I would encourage it.
Q: What should the audience expect on May 28? Hip-hop? Folk? Singer-songwriter fare? To leave with an expanded mind?
A: I hope everyone laughs, cries, embodies frustration and then calms.
Q: What have been some highlights of your past year?
A: I got married 10 months ago to my lovely partner Sharri.
Q: What are you listening to right now?
A: city buses, bird chirps, a disgruntled women and sprinklers.
Q: Any recent musical discoveries that you’d like to share with our readers?
A: No bird sing, Kimya Dawson, kill the vultures, flaming lips,
Q: You have already written a book of your own (The Other). Do you have plans to write another?
A: My wife Sharri and I just put out a Photo/lyric book. It's 40 pages including kristoff krane lyrics to "Hunting For Father" complemented with photos by sharri's Photography LLC, "Satori Innovations".
Q: What are you reading, or what books are near the top of your must read list?
A: I recently finished Siddhartha and Ishmael. I plan on reading Shadows of the past and 1642.
Q: What advice do you have for young people looking for a way to get into performing their own music?
A: Take negative criticism lightly and know that if someone isn't willing to give constructive feedback, that they are most likely resentful of the fact that you are attempting to express how you feel. Each time you break the fear of performance by sharing your piece with another (even if its just 1 or 2 people) or with a group, the anxiety is bound to lessen.
Q: What’s up next for you?
A: On East coast tour with E&A in july and on West coast tour with Sadistik of Seattle in Aug.
Thanks for your time, Kristoff, and here's to a very successful album launch, and tours!
Kristoff Krane
Kristoff Krane’s distinctive blend of message-driven lyrics, delivered over organic composition and carefully sampled beats, demands attention. A natural born teacher and poet, Krane’s lyrics connect our similarities rather than pointing out our differences, “… an artist finding resolve through expression”. Whether rapping over a beat, singing over a piano, or creating a song, live, through a loop-pedal with his audience, Krane has branded his performance as an experience bound to resonate with something deeper than our ego desires. The fusion of these elements gives Krane’s music an edge and musical appeal that continues to expand his fan base at a staggering rate. This is conscious hip hop at its finest.
