Adem K (born Adem Kerimofski; 10 January 1975) is an Australian independent rock musician and

songwriter A songwriter is a person who creates musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music genre and film scoring. ...

. As a founding member of the group Turnstyle, Kerimofski is credited with introducing

Casio is a Japanese multinational electronics manufacturing corporation headquartered in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. Its products include calculators, mobile phones, digital cameras, electronic musical instruments, and analogue and digital watches. It ...

and toy keyboard integration to the Australian contemporary

rock music Rock is a Music genre, genre of popular music that originated in the United States as "rock and roll" in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of styles from the mid-1960s, primarily in the United States and the United Kingdo ...

landscape in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Turnstyle

Kerimofski's first band Turnstyle achieved a degree of success in 1999 with the single "Spray Water on the Stereo", reaching No. 16 on the ARIA Singles Charts. The band formed in 1995 and went on an eight-year hiatus in 2002. Reforming first in 2010 and again in 2013, the band has permanently reunited and after releasing the album ''Time Equals Function'' in 2015 (produced by Kerimofski), have played several shows and released a follow-up ''Happy Factories'', released on 1 December 2018. When asked about the new release in a conversation with

The West Australian ''The West Australian'' is the only locally edited daily newspaper published in Perth, Western Australia. It is owned by Seven West Media (SWM), as is the state's other major newspaper, ''The Sunday Times''. It is the second-oldest continuousl ...

, Kerimofski described it as "going to be oddball in parts but a bit more contemporary in sound". The band trickled short clips from the album on their Facebook page leading up to the album's release. In late 2020 the band signed to Valve Records (

Regurgitator Regurgitator are an Australian alternative rock band from Brisbane, Queensland, formed in late 1993 by Quan Yeomans on lead vocals, guitar and keyboards; Ben Ely on bass guitar, keyboards and vocals; and Martin Lee on drums. Their debut stud ...

Shonen Knife Shonen Knife is a Japanese pop-punk band formed in Osaka in 1981. Influenced by 1960s girl groups, pop bands, the Beach Boys, and early punk rock bands such as the Ramones, the band crafts stripped-down songs with simple yet unconventional ...

) and prepared the compilation ''KEY NOTE SPEAKER'' for release. The album features the band's

-heavy songs and one new song performed by only two members of the band due to the pandemic. The band released the album ''Citizens' Handbook'' in September 2023. This was followed by two music videos, one of which was filmed at night in a deserted location where the band was threatened by a man wielding a chain.

Mitey Ko

Kerimofski joined the duo of poet/activist Allan Boyd and

WASO Waso (; formerly Nweta () or Myayta (Old Burmese: မ္လယ်တာ (မြေတာ)) is the fourth month of the traditional Burmese calendar. Festivals and observances * Dhammacakka Day () - full moon of Waso *Beginning of the Buddhist Le ...

cellist/author Kevin Gillam in 2000 as a percussionist and keyboard player. In 2002, the band's music was the featured musical component of the independent film Teesh and Trude starring

Peter Phelps Peter Phelps (born 20 September 1960 in Sydney) is an Australian actor, singer and writer. He is notable for his role as Trevor Cole in ''Baywatch''. Phelps is also known for his roles in the internationally successful Australian series '' Son ...

and

Susie Porter Susie Porter (born 1970 or 1971) is an Australian television, film and theatre actress. She made her debut in the 1996 film '' Idiot Box'', before rising to prominence in films including '' Paradise Road'' (1997), '' Welcome to Woop Woop'' (1997 ...

. Mitey Ko released 4 albums, all featuring Kerimofski.

The Burton Cool Suit

A band Kerimofski once described as "a kind of arranged marriage of indie rock and 60s garage rock", existed between 2003 and 2007. At the behest of some band members Kerimofski abandoned much of his past influences for the band's first release instead taking a more retro approach. The Burton Cool Suit supported Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks on their 2005 Australian tour as well as a varied list of other supports including

The Buzzcocks Buzzcocks are an English punk rock band that singer-songwriter-guitarist Pete Shelley and singer-songwriter Howard Devoto formed in Manchester in 1976. During their career, the band combined elements of punk rock, power pop, and pop punk. They ...

, Idlewild and Youthgroup.The band's second album reintroduced some of Kerimofski's earlier influences by which time he had effectively annulled the band. In an interview with Perth Music Journalist Bob Gordon he said, "I felt like I was not making music for myself but for the people who still thought it was 1966, it just wasn't me. The last straw was when

The Stems The Stems are a garage punk band founded by Dom Mariani in Perth, Western Australia in late 1983. The group is heavily influenced by 1960s garage rock and 1970s power pop. They broke up in August 1987 and reformed in 2003, releasing a new albu ...

reneged on a promise of us supporting their Australian tour and I told them to go fuck themselves". The song 'SQ' was nominated for a WAM Song of the Year award in 2007. In July 2016 The Burton Cool Suit albums were digitally re-released by revered Australian independent record label

Half A Cow Half A Cow is an independent record label from Australia, established in 1990 in music, 1990 by Sydney musician and music identity Nic Dalton. History In 1985 - 1989 Dalton ran a bookshop (owned by Dalton's parents) in the Sydney suburb of G ...

. To commemorate the release the band performed two shows in October 2016.

The Community Chest

After releasing a well received solo album in 2010, Kerimofski formed the Community Chest with his wife Dee and Turnstyle producer Laurie Sinagra, winner of numerous

West Australian Music Industry Awards The Western Australian Music Industry Awards (commonly known as WAMis) are annual awards presented to the local contemporary music industry, put on by the Western Australian Music Industry Association Inc (WAM). History WAM was originally fo ...

. Originally formed to perform Adem's solo material, the band forged their own identity and eventually recorded a debut album, which was released in July 2013 on vinyl format. The band released an EP "Make Your Decision Now And Live With It Forever" in October 2015 which further explored Kerimofski's interest in drones, repetition and rural futurism. Self-produced, the EP was mastered by

Stereolab Stereolab are an English people, Anglo-French avant-pop band formed in London in 1990. Led by the songwriting team of Tim Gane and Lætitia Sadier, the group's sound incorporates repetitive motorik beats with the use of vintage electronic keybo ...

producer Paul Tipler in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. The band released the "Concrete" EP in early September 2019, eschewing the drones and extended endings of their previous release for more compact songs with even stronger lead synth elements and sparse guitar work. The song "Reflections Through Corrugations" written by Kerimofski and sung by Dee came in at number 71 of radio station

RTRFM RTRFM (call sign: 6RTR) is a not-for-profit, community radio station based in Perth, the state capital of Western Australia. It broadcasts 24 hours a day, on 92.1 in the FM band, and digitally at www.rtrfm.com.au, RTR2, A digital only alterna ...

's 100 most played songs of 2019. During the early days of the

COVID-19 pandemic in Australia The COVID-19 pandemic in Australia was a part of the COVID-19 pandemic, worldwide pandemic of the coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by SARS-CoV-2, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first confirmed case in Aust ...

Kerimofski prepared several songs for release, releasing 3 as singles. The first single "In My Dreams" was released in September 2020 and mixed by American-born producer Casey Rice. It came in at number 24 of radio station

's 100 most played songs of 2020. The second single "Handshake" was recorded and mixed by the band with post-production by Andy Ramsay of

. It was launched with a custom brewed beer called "Hazy Handshake" using a recipe provided by Kerimofski. The third song, "SOUNDER" was mixed by Aaron Espinoza at Ship Studio in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

and features additional production and sound manipulation from

Jason Lytle Jason Lytle ( ; born March 26, 1969) is an American musician best known for his work in the indie rock group Grandaddy. The group split in 2005, and Lytle continued to release music as a solo artist and in collaboration with other musicians. Gra ...

Grandaddy Grandaddy is an American indie rock band from Modesto, California, Modesto, California. The group was formed in 1992, and featured Jason Lytle, Aaron Burtch, Jim Fairchild, Kevin Garcia and Tim Dryden, until Garcia's death in 2017 following a ...

.Adding two new songs and an alternate version of “Handshake”, the band released the synth-heavy EP “Mono/Poly” in March 2024.

Other

Kerimofski once played drums for Jens Lekman in 2005 during the latter's Australian tour. In 2014 he played drums for

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

band

Shining Bird Shining, The Shining or Shinin may refer to: Arts and entertainment * The Shining (franchise), ''The Shining'' media series from the Stephen King novel: **The Shining (novel), ''The Shining'' (novel), a 1977 novel by Stephen King ***The Shining (f ...

at one of their two Perth concerts. In November 2017, Kerimofski supported Laetitia Sadier, vocalist for

on her Australian tour as a solo artist, interpreting selections from his discography using guitar loops and live Casio. In early-2018, Kerimofski released an EP with ex- Lemonheads member and

Half a Cow Half A Cow is an independent record label from Australia, established in 1990 in music, 1990 by Sydney musician and music identity Nic Dalton. History In 1985 - 1989 Dalton ran a bookshop (owned by Dalton's parents) in the Sydney suburb of G ...

founder

Nic Dalton Nicholas James "Nic" Dalton (born 14 November 1964) is an Australian multi-instrumentalist and record label owner. He was a member of various Australian bands including, The Plunderers (band), The Plunderers (1984–95), Godstar (band), Godstar ...

on a project known as The Hotpoints, heavily influenced by

Brian Eno Brian Peter George Jean-Baptiste de la Salle Eno (, born 15 May 1948), also mononymously known as Eno, is an English musician, songwriter, record producer, visual artist, and activist. He is best known for his pioneering contributions to ambien ...

and Turkish psychedelia. The EP was preceded by a 7"single in 2017. He toured Germany and Spain in October and November 2018. During this flurry of activity Kerimofski engineered for other artists ranging from synth-pop to country. In September 2019 Kerimofski performed a live comedy sketch with SNL alumni

Fred Armisen Fereydun Robert Armisen (born December 4, 1966) is an American actor, comedian, musician, and writer. With his comedy partner Carrie Brownstein, he co-created and co-starred in the IFC sketch comedy series '' Portlandia''. He also co-created ...

on the latter's Australian tour. The two reportedly met after Kerimofski loaned Armisen a guitar amplifier for an instore performance earlier in the afternoon. In October 2019 Kerimofski toured Japan and live streamed a solo performance from a bar in Nakano City at the tour's conclusion. Since the pandemic, Kerimofski has concentrated mainly on his two bands and shifted some focus to his record label.

Record label

Kerimofski is the proprietor of Igloo Records. The label was conceived in 1995 as a means of releasing his music independently but by the end of the decade was used to license Turnstyle product to major labels. Since 2020 the label has released work from other artists and has been particularly successful in reissuing recordings from bands who broke up before the advent of streaming. In February 2024 the label branched out and promoted a show for American musician

Lou Barlow Louis Knox Barlow (born July 17, 1966) is an American alternative rock musician and songwriter. A founding member of the groups Dinosaur Jr., Sebadoh and The Folk Implosion, Barlow is credited with helping to pioneer the lo-fi style of rock ...

which after selling out in 24 hours was moved to a larger venue. The label has an exclusive arrangement with

MGM Distribution MGM Distribution (Metropolitan Groove Merchants) is the largest independent distributor of Australian music and music related merchandise. It was established in April 1998 by Sebastian Chase. MGM Distribution was set up specifically as a d ...

Acting

Apart from occasional appearances in student films, Kerimofski began acting officially in 2024 with the horror film Proclivitas, co-produced by

South Park ''South Park'' is an American animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, and developed by Brian Graden for Comedy Central. The series revolves around four boysStan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormickand the ...

producer Debbie Liebling. He followed this up with an appearance in season 3 of

The Twelve (Australian TV series) ''The Twelve'' is an Australian television drama series on Fox Showcase that premiered on 21 June 2022. It stars Kate Mulvany, Sam Neill, Marta Dusseldorp, and Brendan Cowell. The second series aired on 11 July 2024, and in September 202 ...

as a police officer during scenes set in 1968. Kerimofski was cast as a zombie in

We Bury the Dead ''We Bury the Dead'' is a 2025 survival horror thriller film written and directed by Zak Hilditch. It stars Daisy Ridley, Mark Coles Smith, Brenton Thwaites and Matt Whelan. Premise Ava Newman (Daisy Ridley), a desperate woman, searches for ...

, starring

Daisy Ridley Daisy Jazz Isobel Ridley (born 10 April 1992) is an English actress. She rose to prominence for her role as Rey in the ''Star Wars'' sequel trilogy. She appeared in the mystery film ''Murder on the Orient Express'' (2017), played the title ...

but was unable to make it to set on time due to touring commitments with Turnstyle.

Personal life

Kerimofski married in 2004 and has a child. The Kerimofski family live in Bassendean, a suburb of Perth, Western Australia. Adjunct to his home is The Future Ranch, a small studio complex he uses exclusively for recording and rehearsals. Associate Professor of Accounting at University of Virginia's Darden School of Business

Shane Dikolli Shane S. Dikolli is an Australian accountant who is an Associate Professor of Accounting at University of Virginia's Darden School of Business. He was ranked 4th overall and 1st in accounting in ''Bloomberg Businessweek'' Most Popular Busine ...

is the cousin of Kerimofski. He works at a Perth-based university in the screen arts/ filmmaking department.

Equipment

Kerimofski predominantly uses Fender guitars, such as Jazzmaster, Telecaster Deluxe and Jaguar and a pre-CBS 1965 Duo-Sonic II that he gifted to his wife in 2013. Kerimofski has been seen occasionally playing a 1967 Gibson SG

Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. In January 2001, it was merged into "long-standing rival" (and IPC Media sister publicatio ...

. Live dates throughout 2015 and 2016 have seen him using a Guild S-100 reissue. After using a Fender 2 x 12 Deville amplifier for many years, in 2009 he switched to a Fender Deluxe '65 reissue, running it through a mid 70s Fender Bassman cabinet. At the beginning of 2018 he returned to using a larger amp, a Fender Twin Reverb. Kerimofski has remained loyal to

's MT series of keyboards and also owns a sizeable collection of

Synthesizer A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis a ...

s including various

Roland Roland (; ; or ''Rotholandus''; or ''Rolando''; died 15 August 778) was a Frankish military leader under Charlemagne who became one of the principal figures in the literary cycle known as the Matter of France. The historical Roland was mil ...

models, a

Korg , founded as Keio Electronic Laboratories, is a Japanese multinational corporation that manufactures electronic musical instrument An electronic musical instrument or electrophone is a musical instrument that produces sound using electr ...

MS20, and monophonic Moog synths. Kerimofski claims to have the only working

Farfisa Farfisa () is a manufacturer of electronics based in Osimo, Italy, founded in 1946. The company manufactured a series of compact electronic organs in the 1960s and 1970s, including the Compact, FAST, Professional and VIP ranges, and later, a se ...

Syntorchestra in Australia.

Discography

with Turnstyle

* ''Turnstyle'' (1995) Cassette * ''Itcheekneesonchee'' (1997) Cassette * ''Seasides'' (1997) CD * "Spray Water on the Stereo" (1999) CD single AUS No. 16 * ''Turnstyle Country'' (1999) CD * ''Purple Crown'' (1999) CD single * "Portamento" (1999) CD single * "I'm A Bus" (2000) CD single * "Geek Party" (2000) CD * "Turnstyle Corporation" (2001) CD * "Sad Rambo" (2002) CD, Limited to 100 copies * "Colour Me In" (2013) CD, Limited to 50 copies * "Colour Me in Vol 2" (2014) CD, Limited to 50 copies * "Time Equals Function" (2015) CD, Digital * "Happy Factories" (2018) CD, Cassette, Digital * "Colour Me in Vol 3" (2020) Digital * ''We Ran With The Pack'' (2021) Digital Single * "Key Note Speaker" (2021) Vinyl, CD, Digital * "Citizens’ Handbook" (2023) Vinyl, Cassette, Digital * “Turnstyle Corporation - Corporate Restructure” (2024) CD, Digital. A reissue of their 2001 album with additional recording and editing conducted in 2024.

with Mitey Ko

*"2thresQ" (2000) CD *"5% Famous" (2001) CD *"Incidental Guerillas" (2003) CD *"Devastated, Frustrated" (2008) CD

with The Burton Cool Suit

* "The Burton Cool Suit" (2005) CD * ''You Can't Fight City Hall'' (2007) CD

Solo

* ''The Community Chest'' (2010) CD

with The Community Chest

* ''Top of the Hour'' (2013) Vinyl LP * ''Make Your Decision Now And Live With It Forever'' (2015) CD EP * ''Reflections Through Corrugations'' (2019) Digital Single * ''Concrete'' (2019) CD EP * ''In My Dreams'' (2020) Digital Single * ''Handshake'' (2021) Digital Single * ''Sounder'' (2021) Digital Single * ''Mono/Poly'' (2024) CD EP

Other releases

*"The Town We Loved In", Showbag (2003) CD (as lead guitarist) *"Death of Robot", Airport City Shuffle (2007) CD (as sound engineer) *"Self-Titled", OkiOki (Recorded 2007, Released 2015) Digital (as sound engineer) * "Welcome to the Growth Zone", When the Sky Fell (2009) CD (multi-instrumentalist, sound engineer) * "Choose The Sentinel Blooze", 6s & 7s (2010) CD (as co-sound engineer, percussion and synthesiser) *"Boy's Night", Spod (2017) single (as backing vocalist) *"Crosswires/Gotcha!", The Hotpoints/Modern Bombers (2017) Split 7" single (multi-instrumentalist, sound engineer) *"Perth Mint", The Hotpoints (2018) CD, Digital (multi-instrumentalist, sound engineer) *"Invisible Seams", Em Burrows (2018) Vinyl, Digital (as sound engineer) *"Swinging Simian Sounds", King Cornelius and the Silverbacks (2018) Vinyl, CD, Digital (guitar, organ, vocals) *"No Caveat", Didion's Bible (2021) Cassette, Digital (as Producer) *"AWWWW", Lonesome Dove (2021) CD, Cassette, Digital (as Producer) *"Back in Time/Mall Grabbing", Dead Tooth Hottie (2022), 7" single, Digital (mixing) *"Monkey or a Man/ Creature from the Black Lagoon", King Cornelius and the Silverbacks (2022), 7" single, Digital (guitar, organ, sound engineer) *"Enter the Forbidden Zone", King Cornelius and the Silverbacks (2023) Vinyl, Digital (guitar, organ, vocals, sound engineer) *"The Veil", Ruby Pettit (2023), Digital (overdub engineer)

References

External links

* https://igloo.bandcamp.com/ * https://turnstyleband.bandcamp.com/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Adem K 1975 births Living people Australian male songwriters Australian rock keyboardists Musicians from Perth, Western Australia Australian rock guitarists Australian people of Albanian descent 21st-century Australian guitarists