I am sure that KINSKI does not need a special introduction to German grindcore fans. The band recently released their excellent debut full-length and deserves to be introduced to a wider audience. Kris, the singer of KINSKI, answered the questions.
Hi Kris! Thank you for taking the time to answer the questions. I’ll try to guess where the name KINSKI comes from. Does it have anything to do with Klaus Kinski, the German actor who made us cover our eyes with his terrifying roles? Anyway, if I’m wrong, please introduce KINSKI.
That’s correct. We have named ourselves after the art figure „Klaus Kinski“ created by Klaus Günther Karl Nakszynski himself. The thought that his constant outbursts and aggressive behaviour were meant to be adapted in our kind of music.
The band was formed in 2019, and in this short time, you’ve had numerous changes in the lineup. Is it difficult to assemble a band of people who share the same vision, or is there a completely different reason for the changes?
KINSKI was founded in 2019 as a project without having a plan where exactly the journey should go. At that time, the three of us started. Only with drums, guitar and vocals. Later, a new bassist and drummer was added, but the interests seemed to differ. But now we finally have a permanent cast. KINSKI consists of the members of the bands UNTETHERED and DEKATHEXIS: Kris (vocals), Kilian (vocals), Jens (guitars), Julius (bass) and Nanuk (drums).
In addition to music, we are also best friends and we do a lot privately together. Therefore, it was the best decision to continue together at KINSKI.
On June 1st this year, you released your debut full-length album. What was the inspiration behind this album?
The songs for this album were written much earlier, but due to the many changes of the band members, they never managed to be recorded sensibly. Originally, the album was supposed to be released in 2020/2021. The inspiration for our music is life itself. With all its ups and downs. We would describe our music ourselves as Grindcore. However, many styles that we ourselves also like are incorporated, such as Death & Black Metal or Punk.
Germany has a strong metal scene. What is the situation like with grindcore bands? How difficult is it to book a gig? Do you have a booking agency behind you, or do you look for clubs and promoters yourselves to play as much as possible? How do you approach the marketing and promotion of your music?
We are completely DIY, we book our shows on our own, promote it and publish our stuff this way. We are all in the scene for a long time now, so we contact people we know, that know people and so on… The most difficult thing is certainly that we come from a corner where the band density is very high and has a lot of quality. With so many bands that all regularly publish music, it’s hard to draw attention to us. Like most, we try to reach people via social media, but the best way remains to play live.
How much has the internet helped in the band’s work? Do you rely on any music platforms?
Internet is both a curse and a blessing on the same time. On the one hand it helps to stay in touch with you fans and is a great place to spread your music all around the world. You are able to reach any. On the on the other hand, you depended a lot on the platforms and social media where you publish your stuff an nobody really can control what the algorithms of that platform allows the users to see your shit. Still a lot more effective way than tape trading. 🙂
Has your sound evolved since you first started?
At the beginning, the sound was a little more punk. In the meantime, however, there are more influences from other music styles. This will probably change again over time.
Your lyrics are in German. Do you think this is a barrier for fans who don’t speak German well enough to understand it, or is it not important to you and you want to convey your message in German?
Well, we are a German band, so why not sing in German? That’s the best way we can express ourselves. I think for the people not speaking German who really want to understand our lyrics there are easy ways to go in this time of technology.
What is the most difficult part of being in a grindcore band?
The smell?…haha just kidding
I don’t think it’s easier or more difficult to play in a grindcore band than in other bands. But starting from the fact that we are so good friends, it makes it much easier to make music together. We are a very harmonious band.
How do you approach the visual aesthetic of your band? Your full-length cover art is not a typical grindcore LP cover. How important is this aspect to you?
It took a long time to create a suitable cover for the record. Our cover is a photo-montage and consists of many different pictures. It is intended to reflect the content of the lyrics. The picture shows two people sitting a little further apart, on a heap of garbage and looking at a destroyed city.
The cover is ultimately just as important as the music itself, especially when you release LPs. You don’t just buy a record. You also buy a picture. And it is always interesting what idea you have partly of the music when you see the artwork.
What was the first show you ever played?
Our first show was at the “Knüppel aus dem Sack” (which has been taking place for over 11 years now) in 2019, which is organized by a good friend and singer of the band Human Waste. If Jan hadn’t given us the opportunity to play live back then, the whole thing might just have been lost.
Are there any new bands worth mentioning?
Let’s do shameless self promotion here and say DEKATHEXIS and UNTETHERED, the other bands we are playing in. UNTETHERED have released their killer EP “Siechen” this year. Pretty nice Blackened Death Metal. The album by DEKATHEXIS is currently at the mix and mastering and will be released at the end of this year.
Where can people see you live and how can they order your LP?
We still have couple of shows lined up this year, the best way to keep track of that will be our Facebook or Instagram page. Our LP can be bought at our shows or on
https://kinskigrind.bandcamp.com/album/krone-der-ersch-pfung
TOP 3 German beers?
That is a hard question and probably each of us would answer differently. Let’s just say we enjoy the variety.
But as some may have already noticed, we have KINSKI GIN made with our own recipe. You should definitely try it (-:
Message to old and new fans?
Love Grind, Hate People!
Follow KINSKI:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kinskigrind
Bandcamp: https://kinskigrind.bandcamp.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kinskigrind
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@kinskigrind
