XTRNGR aims for new heights with his last album Climbing, and discovers a new sonic universe…

If the name XTRNGR gives you the impression of a cold stage persona, as cryptic as its spelling, and as distant and “strange” as its pronunciation might suggest, then you’ve never been acquainted with Kenny Pérez and his music. And unless you are seriously allergic to synthesizers, it’s about time that you do…

Six consonants that begin with an almost defensive X might sound like a good name to hide behind; but a master of duality and reconciling opposites, Kenny does the exact opposite. His new, most personal and refined album Climbing, is the musical diary of his heart and soul, states of mind, moods, conflicts, complexities, dilemmas, the ups and downs, as high and low as they might go…  Climbing is an exhilarating and visceral journey into the collective human psyche; it is ambitious, personal, fearless, and simply magnificent…

Kenny’s genius partially comes from letting feelings and sensations lead the music, and not forcing the sounds to fit into a pre-determined itinerary. Light and dark, fast and slow, as well as opposing moods such as euphoria and depression, hope and disappointment quite often get woven into the fabric of a song together. This allows to have transitions between songs to be sharp, yet prevents the album from sounding episodic. Syncopated rhythms and synths keep the tempo high, but the moods they help create range from reassuring to alarming…

Active professionally since 2010, XTRNGR has partnered up with prestigious Discontinu Records to release his previous album, Together. Subsequently, he performed at Sónar, MUTEK [ES], Cau d’Orella, and MIRA Festivals in 2013. His genuine, keen artistic instincts, and strong point-of-view make it possible to take the personal and make albums that are accessible and, at least partially, dance-floor friendly.

Climbing was for the most part recorded live, making the recording part of the creation process. “It was analog recording for the most part too,” says Enric Masgrau, the head of Discontinu Records. “There are no loops, no samples, nothing like that…This has been very interesting, because you can hear the difference – it sounds more organic, with layers upon layers of synths… I think it gives the album a very unique and cool flavor.”

Just released in vinyl form, after being available digitally for a month before, Climbing has a genuine cohesion as an album, a rarity for our times. It’s a deep, multilayered exercise that straddles contradictions and opposites. Even though the musical ups and downs, sharp turns are at times quite harsh indeed; the narrative woven out of sounds and rhythms keeps the journey on track. Yes, even when it’s time climb up the walls…

FLIC: Your stage name XTRNGR, when pronounced, sounds like it has connotations related to ‘stranger’ in English, or ‘extranjero’ (foreigner) in Spanish. Was that a factor in your adoption of this name?
 XTRNGR: It was mostly just chance… I was looking for a short name that would be representative of the style of music I do; so I took out the vowels from “stranger” and added an ‘X’ to the front. I think this way it’s visually easy to recognize.

Were there any specific sensations and experiences you wanted to elicit from the listeners that have affected your creative process?
 In this album I’ve tried to tell a story from the beginning to the end. I wanted to make the album as personal as possible, full of emotions, so that listening it would take one to far away lands. I haven’t made it with the listeners in mind per se; but it rather is a small personal story…

Would you elaborate a bit on the journey of creating Climbing? And how that reflects on the tracks?
 The creation process has been very varied and diverse; I haven’t followed any type of a norm, and the process for each song has been different. I did, however, make it my goal to have them sound as natural as possible, without resorting to a big production. There even are some tracks that are live improvisations entirely, such as “All Down”, “Driving Noises”, or “Cry Clouds”. Other objectives in the process were to make the album sound as analog as possible, as well as to not have the music follow any specific style or genre. I believe all these details together reflect to the album, and make it highly personal…

What qualities you possess as a musician, do you think, are the most likely to leave a mark in the world of music? And what role your last album Climbing would be playing within this context?
 It is really difficult to point out something specific; but I believe that Climbing is an honest album that conveys and passes on feelings, and with this I am satisfied already…

What do you like and enjoy the most about performing live? On the other hand, what sort of difficulties do you find yourself having to deal with?
 The thing that I like the most about playing live is seeing the people enjoying my music. I really do like performing in big festivals such as Sónar or MIRA, as the sound they have is simply spectacular. The biggest difficulty, on the other hand, is feeling underappreciated and not valued enough by the event organizers, as they always see foreign artists as more valuable…

So, what should we be expecting from XTRNGR next? Any tours, performances, projects?
 For this summer, we will be planning a tour with my new show, together with Dslnc’s visuals. We have prepared a show in which they represent and visualize my songs with their images live, and we are very happy with the results… Aside from that, there are a couple of remixes I’ve been working to be released this year, one of them will be out quite soon. Also, a little piece I made for Oscar-nominated Esteban Crespo’s short film will be coming out pretty soon…