About Kudu

There are two bands with the same name: 1. Kudu is a New York group that includes Sylvia Gordon (vocals, bass), Deantoni Parks (drums), Nick Kasper (keyboards), and Peter Stoltzman (keyboards) and that blends jazz, soul, and electronica into a heady concoction of urban music. Parks' organic drumming often replicates digital beats and drum'n'bass technology, while a variety of textures and rhythms emanate from Kasper and Stoltzman's wall of keyboards. At the forefront is Gordon, whose lyrics and soulful pipes have become the group's hallmark. Kudu released their self-titled debut on Velour Recordings, a New York-based label, in 2001. The group has generated favorable press and a following in the jam band universe, a genre that developed an increasingly catholic reach throughout the '90s. Their profile grew considerably when they released Death of the Party in 2006. 2. Kudu was a collaborative three-piece featuring members from West London's broken beat massive. Dominic Stanton (Sonar Circle, Static Imprints, Domu, Blue Monkeys, Umod, zoltar, Bakura, Rima, Vaceo, Yotoko, Legends Of The Underground), Paul Dolby (Seiji, Disorient, Opaque, Bugz in the Attic, Everyday People, Psyan, Oreja, Homecookin', Legends Of The Underground), and native New Zealander Mark de Clive-Lowe (12 bit rephugeez, dub basement, Spacecadets, Freesoul Sessions, Legends Of The Underground) teamed up to release a few productions in the early 2000s, including the "Space" 10" for Bitasweet. "Transit," the excellent B-side of the "Space" 10", made an appearance on Bitasweet's Phuturistic Dancin': Mission One compilation. Each producer's past involvements with the drum'n'bass movement played a major role in their beat-heavy work, which took on bits learned from jazz-funk, fusion, and Afro-beat.