It makes me so happy when a super creative and hard working indie record label is able to scrape together a few bucks to hire a publicity company like ours in order to help said small label reach all of you fine US media folks.  You get to hear some incredible original music, the label gets some recognition, and we get to be the happy match-makers.

Kracfive (I love that name) is the label in reference (www.kracfive.com).  They are a tiny outfit based out of Hollis, New Hampshire.  The owners/founders Christopher Graves, Noah Sasso and Joe Miragliuolo are pursuing their college degrees so sometimes their base of operation varies (most recently Pittsburgh has been a point of business due to the proximity of Carnegie Mellon).

Founded in 1998 Graves recalls, “Joe and Noah and I started K5 out of some weird masochistic urge to spend vast $ and time.  And it worked!!!”  Besides the three US owners, Reimer Eiseng from the Netherlands is the fourth member of the Kracphibian collective.  Between the four highly talented gentlemen they have released 10 CDs on Kracfive (solo projects, collaborations and compilations).

The four of them have collaborated on this new release entitled Original Instrument, as a kind of “Kracfive super group” called Original Instrument, due for release in the first quarter of 2002. This mega collaboration between the four primary Kracphibians:  Kettel (Reimer Eiseng), Colongib (Chris Graves), Octopus Inc (Noah Sasso), and Miragliuolo (Joe Miragliuolo) is 180 degrees from their previous group effort, Penguin Mechanics.  The “rules” for Penguin Mechanics required the participants to construct all the music by way of machine sounds.  Original Instrument is made up of only one sound source - the human voice.  Vocal cutups and distortions are taken to extremes – not woven in; they are the music (!).

The Kracfive collective have performed live all over the Eastern United States as well as Canada.  All four artists have also contributed to other labels, such as Carpark, Sub Rosa, Cottage Industries, and Mike Paradinas’ Planet Mu.  They’ve been included on various compilations with Autechre, Marumari, Phthalocyanine, Bisk, Kid606, Bill Laswell, To Rococo Rot, L'usine, Electric Company and others.  And they have appeared in such media outlets as the LA Times, CMJ, XLR8R, De:Bug, and Grooves.

Besides releasing highly collectable music, the Kracfive album artwork is superior to most labels, big or small.  Antti Jaderholm aka fthr from the tpolm collective in Finland (www.tpolm.com) does much of the creative design work.  He did Original Instrument‘s black and white cover art.  Kracfive co-owner, Graves’ graphic talents are exquisite as well.  He did the gorgeous album cover for Kettel’s album Dreim (ok, it does happen to be green but it is so lush and over-whelming; check it out on their site).  Actually the Finnish tpolm collective is much like the Kracfive collective: like-minded buddies doing music, computer art and programming.

The Kracfive crew is also working on their second video and is embarking on an animated series.  They also plan to release and distribute a comic book that Antti plans to create.



About the Artists

Reimer Eiseng (Kettel) has lived his whole life. His debut album, Dreim, was released on Kracfive in 2001. Reimer spends his time at work and play in the gnome infested waters of The cold Netherlands. He and gnomes have a History. Reimer began making music at the age of six and continues to this day. He enjoys the occassional gherkin, huge garden, city trip, camping trip. Says Reim: "I love music, I love to make it. There are not many things which are as pleasant as enjoying the process of creating music you like. My goal is to make music I want to listen to over and over again, and if there are other people who want to do that too, its even better. Because it's very lovely to share positive feelings about music." OK! Watch for upcoming 12" releases on Planet Mu and Neo ouija.

Chris Graves (Colongib, Christopho Graves) was born and raised in backwoods New England coast (USA). While growing up he was surrounded by robots, which
influenced his music in strange and unpredictable ways. Despite being influenced to do general stuff by the mother, he had to start having sonic adventures. He
started K5 with Joe and Noah out of some weird masochistic urge to spend vast $ and time. And it worked. ! Really, the old imagination vs suck; and
imagination is coming out on top. I'm going to go lift some weights. what?!

Noah Sasso (Pacman, Octopus inc) was born & raised on the east coast of the us. In between psychedelic public high school experiences, he managed to record a
series of four Pacman cassettes, parts of which were used to compile the 2x cd release, Pacman - This is the End. Currently, Noah is living in southern California &
northern New Jersey, and has recorded two albums for Kracfive as Octopus Inc - 1999's Mere Things & Mindless Creatures and, to be released in summer of 2001, Fluid Freedom. Octopus Music was praised recently in the LA Times as 'kinetic' and 'ebullient'. (ebullience is good)

Joe Miragliuolo (Miragliuolo) is a 6'2" SWM with brown hair/eyes from New England, enjoys his many interests, which last from various period of times of intenseness
from 1 day to 3 months. A vegetarian by accident and poverty, he wants a non-smoking female muse to force him to finish his songs. These songs need finishing.
There are some that are done, but he's contemplating just releasing all the unfinished bits and never actually finishing anymore again. No.


Kracfive Discography

KFAT010CD Octopus Inc : Fluid Freedom CD
KFAT009CD Original Instrument CD
KFAT008CD Colongib & Christopher Graves : Special Rumble CD
KFAT007CD Octopus Inc : Mere Things & Mindless Creatures CD
KFAT006CD Kettel : Dreim CD
KFAT005CD Pacman : This is the End 2xCDR
KFAT004CD Colongib : Mapping Music CD
KFAT003CD V/A : Penguin Mechanics Vol III CD
KFAT002CD Colongib : Upgrade [to v2.0] CDR
KFAT001CD Pacman|Colongib split CDR
KFAT000AC Colongib 1 demotape

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