London, UK · darkwave · shoegaze · post-punk

The KVB

3 festivals played

A duo working the seam between shoegaze and cold wave — drum machines, black reverb, and hooks that surface slowly out of the murk.

The KVB began in 2010 as the solo recording project of Nicholas Wood, then based in Southampton. He released demos and limited-edition cassettes independently before the techno label Downwards picked up the EP Into the Night in 2011.

Kat Day joined on synthesisers and keyboards later that year, turning the project into a duo. The pair have worked together since, splitting time between the UK and Berlin and releasing records through labels including Geoff Barrow's Invada. Day, who studied fine art at Goldsmiths, also creates the visual side of the band's live shows.

The KVB played their first show together at the Shacklewell Arms in December 2011 and released their debut album, Always Then, on Clan Destine Records in February 2012, touring Europe with acts including The Soft Moon, Singapore Sling and Tamaryn. Later dates took them to Australia supporting The Brian Jonestown Massacre and onto Loop's UK reunion shows.

Their music layers heavily processed guitar, analogue synth lines and programmed drums into something that draws on both early-1980s cold wave and later shoegaze, with vocals mixed low inside the reverb rather than on top of it.

Records such as Of Desire and Only Now Forever set that template. The 2014 EP Out of Body was recorded at Anton Newcombe's Berlin studio, with live drums from Joe Dilworth, formerly of Stereolab. Later releases include the album Unity, a set of 1960s psychedelic rock covers, and 2024's Tremors. Live, the two of them still handle guitar, synths and visuals between them.

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darkwaveshoegazepost-punk