Interview with Perth musician Krumple Krink

“Connected To Disconnection” is the new and final track of 2022 from Perth musician Krumple Krink. Produced entirely by himself, and recorded at his home, the artist proves just how much talent he has to offer as he fused, and layered multiple tracks to create this sound and put together a truly great psych pop single that you can check out now. Read below how Yannai Goldberg got his project name, and how the single came together in a little Q&A we did with the artist.

How did you get started in music? What’s your music background?

Unofficially, my music career started off when I was a 9 year old child and I’d get home from school and whip out awesome dance moves to Michael Jackson. I properly began playing music when I was 10 years old, with classical guitar. After a few years I decided to give busking a go, and after playing unamplified classical guitar for a few days, I realised that I wasn’t loud enough to grab people’s attention. I knew I was a bad singer at the time but started shamelessly singing loudly in an effort to get people’s attention - it worked and my music officially kicked off.

When it comes to creating, normally where do you get your ideas for new music from?

I usually get them from just jamming and playing out ideas. I change the way I do this for every song. Sometimes I will start with a drumbeat and play over that and sometimes I start with the guitar. I think changing up the starting point of songs allows them to sound very different from each other. Another thing I do once I start producing the song is to try and visualize the music in ways other than sound. For instance, I’ll try to imagine all the sounds of the songs as bubbles sitting on top of eachother, and try to make that bubble art look interesting and detailed in my head. Another thing I’ve done before is to try to imagine the sounds as colours, and just have that colour on my mind while writing and recording.  

Where did the name Krumple Krink come from?

Rob Grant from Poons Head Studios came up with the name one day while I was getting a song mixed. There was a sound I used in one of my songs that sounded like a potato chip packet being crumpled up. Rob wasn’t so sure about it but I became passionately adamant about including it in the song. Originally the name was KRUMPLE KRINKLE, to emulate the sound of that chip packet. I think KRUMPLE KRINK sounds cooler though, so it became that.

Tell us about your newest track and final release of 2022, “Connected To Disconnection.

This song is meant to sound a little bit like static electricity that's buzzing, but on the edge of cutting off. I focused on the textural aesthetic of the song, rather than any specific meaning. With that said, I think a large part of the song is about escapism, and being excessive, overboard and erratic. I think this is portrayed in the electric feeling of the song. I knew as I was recording the song that I wanted to make an awesome music video for it, and that I would go overboard with it. I also wanted to showcase some of the visual ideas I have for this project, and give people a little teaser of what the live show will encompass. 

What’s the inspiration behind this track and what did the creative process look like?

My idea behind the song was to have this funky verse that went into this chorus where you were suddenly hit by this intense wall of sound, that all kind of blurred together. I wanted the chorus to feel completely disconnected from the verse, and make it feel like you’re running through the verse before flying into the chorus. The song was recorded and produced in a week, where I probably drank close to 40 cups of coffee and definitely did not sleep enough. I let myself become fully immersed in this wacky world that I was creating and allowed any musical idea that I had to be explored. 

We cannot believe that the year is almost over already. What can we expect from you in 2023?

I have three more songs for this EP that will be released next year. I also have new music in the works, but before releasing anything further than this EP, I’m hoping to do some collaborations with some other amazing Perth artists to explore a lot of different genres, and add my KRUMPLE KRINK touch to them. I want to challenge musical boundaries and make every single song sound different and unique. In short, in 2023 you can expect the unexpected from me.

Where do you see this project in the next 5 years?

I see KRUMPLE KRINK as being a live experience filled with a wide range of interesting, colourful and unique people in a show that celebrates quirkiness and eccentricism. The show will be a place where people are free to escape from their everyday lives and allow their fun, silly side to emerge. We live in a world where we all try to fit in and be ‘normal’ but KRUMPLE KRINK is about sticking the middle finger up at the concept of ‘normality’ and just having fun, not worrying about what people think of it.