kontravoid (formerly of crystal castles, parallels)

"Driving, Moroder-esque electro-bass, new wave synth lines, and sharp pop sensibility" - Altered Zones

"The name Kontravoid belongs on a limited run cassette circa 1980-something, the type of tape buried in lost upstate dustbins of pre-MIDI analog electronics, wedged between Cabaret Voltaire and Das Ding. The dark industrial and new wave influences are strong on ex-Crystal Castles drummer Cam Findlay’s new project—his voice is scary, like an echoing underwater growl—but the underlying pop melodies always afford a degree of breathing room." - The FADER

Kontravoid is the recent solo project of Cam Findlay - drummer for bands such as Crystal Castles and Trust. After departing as writer/producer for Toronto band Parallels, Findlay has settled into a music venture he can call his own, assuming the identity of this masked alter-ego for what appears to be a permanent ride.

On his debut self-titled album, Kontravoid turns to analogue synths to create a dark, brooding pop masterpiece. His brilliant vocals emit a dystopic low-grown, often running through warped effects accompanied by exceptionally stirring arpeggiated synths and washes of sound. Modern touchstones could parallel the likes of John Maus or Trust, but Kontravoid's vision is a much more twisted one, embracing goth influences and yielding a monstrous result that is harder to define. Despite its sonic vampiricism, Kontravoid's music leaves plenty to dance and lose your mind to, but the imagination here goes way beyond these activities exclusively. The debut record is available on iTunes and Amazon, as well as Rough Trade (UK). 

A deluxe edition of the record will be released July 11, 2012 featuring additional tracks and remixes through Pretty Pretty Records - a Toronto-based imprint for underground synth music.

Keep watch for a very special release of 'Native State' and 'Cut to Cleanse' on 7" through Cititrax (Minimal Wave) coming out later in the summer.

www.kontravoid.com