“Kyushu” (Total Bike Forever song) – Queen City Sounds and Art

TotalBikeForever6_sm — Total Bike Forever, photo courtesy the artists

Adam Faulkner and Tim Stephens traveled a long way both physically and psychologically to make the music they’ve released as Total Bike Forever. The track “Kyushu” found the longtime friends making the trek from London to Tokyo (we can assume they didn’t ride their bikes the entire route seeing as large bodies of water are involved). Along the route they composted tracks of electronic music infused by local influences taking fourteen months across over twenty-five thousand kilometers and traversing twenty-six countries. The plan is to release their debut album with an accompanying documentary to screen at festivals in Europe and the UK. But for now you can listen to “Kyushu” which includes the sound of various Japanese flutes and a Nepalese women’s choir from Kathmandu. The story behind the song could overshadow the music but “Kyushu” is an engrossing downtempo song that combines the analog with the digital in a way that feels like a synthesis of methods and cultures that transcends preconceived notions of where this music must come from and where it fits in. It washes over your mind like a sonic palette cleansing for the mind. It sounds like the end of a long journey and taking some time to look back on everything you experienced before going back home to the contexts you know best. Listen to “Kyushu” on Soundcloud and follow Total Bike Forever at the links below.