Capitol K

Biography
by Matt Fink
A true citizen of the world, born in Malta and raised in various disparate locales such as Arabia, Brunei, and England, Capitol K (aka Kristian Craig Robinson) channels his respect for and experience with different musical traditions into the creation of a unique hybrid of lo-fi rock, electronica, and pop. With everything from Chinese pop to the marching band music of the United Arab Emirates in his early musical vocabulary, the influence of punk, new wave, grunge, and Japanese noise-core would collide to create an interestingly new product. Eventually settling in London because of the creative climate and opportunities available to him for exploring his musical muse, Robinson was soon making four-track sound collages and passing tapes of his music around town, one of which fell into the hands of Mike Paradinas of Planet Mu. His studio experimentations gave birth to his debut, Sounds of the Empire, a largely electronic album built upon a heady balance of samples and live sources that received largely favorable reviews and placed Capitol K at the forefront of the U.K.'s electronic scene. The follow-up, 2002's Island Row, took its inspiration from the musical conceptualization of people and places from Robinson's past, as he sampled sounds from his childhood for another layer in his complex arrangements. Joined by Leafcutter John, Robinson has also gained a reputation for being a captivating live performer, re-creating the sprawl of his albums with a mix of live and sampled sources.