KONK was an American band formed in 1980 in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and active until 1988 that emerged during a period marked by the

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of music that emerged in late 1977 in the wake of punk rock. Post-punk musicians departed from punk's fundamental elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a broader, more experiment ...

/ new wave and

disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...

scenes which were prevalent at the time. KONK won the attention of both scenes by playing a hybrid of the two musical styles which involved the blending of a new wave attitude with the carefree nature of

's dance crowd. KONK's musical influences ranged from

Afrobeat Afrobeat (also known as Afrofunk) is a West African music genre, fusing influences from Nigerian (such as Yoruba) and Ghanaian (such as highlife) music, with American funk, jazz, and soul influences. With a focus on chanted vocals, complex i ...

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

and

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

. Given these influence KONK's style is noted as being highly percussive, and containing simple, yet strong, backing bass lines. As part of New York’s

dance scene they regularly played alongside groups such as

Liquid Liquid Liquid Liquid is an American no wave and dance-punk group, originally active from 1980 to 1983. They are best known for their track "Cavern," which was covered—without proper permission or attribution—by the Sugar Hill Records (rap), Sugar ...

, Bush Tetras, ESG, the Peech Boys and

the Lounge Lizards The Lounge Lizards were an eclectic No Wave musical group founded by saxophonist John Lurie and his brother, pianist Evan Lurie, in 1978. Initially known for their ironic, tongue-in-cheek take on jazz, The Lounge Lizards eventually became a show ...

. They are included in a book by

David Byrne David Byrne (; born May 14, 1952) is an American musician, writer, visual artist, and filmmaker. He was a founding member, principal songwriter, lead singer, and guitarist of the American New wave music, new wave band Talking Heads. Byrne has ...

and others on the New York post-punk scene.David Byrne et al. ''New York Noise: Art and Music from the New York Underground 1978-88'' Photographs by Paula Court. Soul Jazz Records; illustrated edition, 2007.

Members

KONK was formed by

avant-garde jazz Avant-garde jazz (also known as avant-jazz, experimental jazz, or "new thing") is a style of music and improvisation that combines avant-garde art music and composition with jazz. It originated in the early 1950s and developed through the late 1 ...

personality Dana Vlcek, and had among its many members: * Richard Edson on drums, who also played drums on the first

Sonic Youth Sonic Youth were an American rock band formed in New York City in 1981. Founding members Kim Gordon (bass, vocals, guitar), Thurston Moore (lead guitar, vocals) and Lee Ranaldo (rhythm guitar, vocals) remained together for the entire history of ...

record and had acting roles in films including ''

Ferris Bueller's Day Off ''Ferris Bueller's Day Off'' is a 1986 American Teen film, teen comedy film written, co-produced, and directed by John Hughes (filmmaker), John Hughes. The film stars Matthew Broderick, Mia Sara, and Alan Ruck, with supporting roles from Jenn ...

'',

Spike Lee Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee (born March 20, 1957) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, actor, and author. His work has continually explored race relations, issues within the black community, the role of media in contemporary ...

's '' Do the Right Thing'', and

Jim Jarmusch James Robert Jarmusch ( ; born January 22, 1953) is an American film director, screenwriter and musician. He has been a major proponent of independent film, independent cinema since the 1980s, directing films such as ''Stranger Than Paradise'' ...

's ''

Stranger Than Paradise ''Stranger Than Paradise'' is a 1984 American black-and-white absurdist deadpan comedy film directed, co-written and co-edited by Jim Jarmusch, and starring jazz musician John Lurie, former Sonic Youth drummer-turned-actor Richard Edson, an ...

''. * Angel Quinones on congas, who later played for Jimmy Buffett. * Shannon Dawson on the trumpet, who also was an early associate of

Jean-Michel Basquiat Jean-Michel Basquiat (; December 22, 1960 – August 12, 1988) was an American artist who rose to success during the 1980s as part of the neo-expressionism movement. Basquiat first achieved notoriety in the late 1970s as part of the graffiti ...

in the band

Gray Grey (more frequent in British English) or gray (more frequent in American English) is an intermediate color between black and white. It is a neutral or achromatic color, meaning that it has no chroma. It is the color of a cloud-covered s ...

, and who did some of the band's promo poster art work. He is the uncle of actress

Rosario Dawson Rosario Isabel Dawson (born May 9, 1979) is an American actress. She made her feature-film debut in the 1995 independent drama '' Kids''. Her subsequent film roles include '' He Got Game'' (1998), '' Josie and the Pussycats'' (2001), ''Men in B ...

. * Geordie Gillespie played drums and percussion, co-produced the songs, and was the band archivist. The band was managed by Ken Sitz, later creative director of Conelrad.

Discography

Albums

* ''Yo!'' (1983), Les Disques Du Crépuscule * ''Jams'' (1988), Dog Brothers Records * ''KONK: The Definitive Collection'' (10-song digital release, 2008), Unleashed Music * ''KONK Live at CBGB (November 6, 1981)'' (8-song digital release, 2009), Unleashed Music

Compilations

* ''The Sound of KONK (Tales of the New York Underground 1981-88)'' (2004),

Soul Jazz Soul jazz or funky jazz is a subgenre of jazz that incorporates strong influences from hard bop, blues, soul, gospel and rhythm and blues. Soul jazz is often characterized by organ trios featuring the Hammond organ and small combos including sa ...

Compilation appearances

* ''New York Noise'' - "Baby Dee" (2003), Soul Jazz

Singles and EPs

* "Soka-Loka-Moki" (1981), Konk Organization, distributed by

99 Records 99 Records was an American independent record label, active from 1980 to 1984. The label was home to musicians in the no wave, post-punk, post-disco, and avant-garde scenes in New York City. History British designer Gina Franklyn sold British fas ...

* ''Konk Party'' (4 tracks) (1982),

Les Disques Du Crépuscule Les Disques du Crépuscule is an independent record label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small and medium-sized ente ...

/Interference * ''Konk Party'' (4 tracks) (1983),

Celluloid Celluloids are a class of materials produced by mixing nitrocellulose and camphor, often with added dyes and other agents. Once much more common for its use as photographic film before the advent of safer methods, celluloid's common present-day ...

* "Your Life" (1984),

Sleeping Bag A sleeping bag is an insulated covering for a person, essentially a lightweight quilt that can be closed with a zipper or similar means to form a tube, which functions as lightweight, portable bedding in situations where a person is sleeping o ...

* ''Your Life'' (4 tracks) (1984), Sleeping Bag * "Love Attack" (1986), Dog Brothers Records * "Machine" (1987), Dog Brothers Records

''Billboard'' charting releases

* "Your Life" - No. 5 Dance (August 11, 1984) * ''KONK Jams LP Cuts'' - No. 30 (May 7, 1988)

Usage in film

''Bright Lights Big City''
- dir. James Bridges, song - "Love Attack"
''Broken Embraces''
- dir. Pedro Almodóvar, song - "Your Life"
''Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child''
- dir. Tamra Davis, song - "Your Life"

External links

Official website

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Konk Musical groups established in 1980 Musical groups from New York City No wave groups American funk rock musical groups American dance-rock musical groups Rough Trade Records artists Sleeping Bag Records artists Factory Records artists