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What inspired you to first start making music? And how did you come to be in your current incarnation? Or if you prefer, a brief bio about you.

Well since we’re not kids, music making is quite an old story for both of us. Ted started writing material during the mid 90s, while he was playing the guitar in bands. Theo started playing in bands in the early 00s.
Both of us have participated in many different groups, of various degrees of success, both in Greece and abroad (London, Paris).
We’ve met about 4 years ago. All this time we’ve collaborated with different musicians, but our closest and permanent collaborator is a fantastic musician on keyboards, Konstantinos Synodinos. We ‘ve worked with Sergios Voudris of Voyage Limpid Sound, on our previous album “15-16 : The Pleasure Garden” (self released 2017) and now we are working on the new album “ost: 18-19 THE HALL” with Nick Ottomo Angloupas.

Provide us with some info about your latest release…

First of all now the core of the band is just the two of us. Ted Sourvinos and Theo Pap. So collaboration and communication is easier than ever and things happen fast.
The album will be completed in 3 installments, not because there are 3 different musical styles, but we believe it’s the sane thing for a band to do in the current musical environment. We guess very few bands have the klout to withstand the speed of change in the everyday music media, and release an album that will not be forgotten unbelievably soon. And not because of the quality of material. This is how it works nowadays, so it’s an idea to avoid such problems.
On the other hand well produced self releases cost, so it’s a way to of budgeting, since nobody can predict what can happen financial wise. We are certain that most releases don’t break even, so it’s also and idea to make loss happen gradually.
Ost : 18-19 THE HALL is a concept soundtrack album, of an imaginary film, which includes songs written by us during the period 2018-2019.
The Hall is a society- joint of colorfull cinematic characters. Characters taken out of Woody Allen, Blake Edwards and John Waters films. Characters full of controversy, opinion, ambition and vanity. Larger than life in a dangerous way for their existence.

Which ones would you consider your main influences both music-wise & non-music-wise?

The French nouvelle vague, The Beatles and The Velvet Underground, Woody Allen and John Waters, Roxy Music, David Bowie, Queen, Elton John and the New York punk scene, Pulp, Blur, Tracey Emin, Damien Hirst, Pavement, Mercury Rev, Air, Douglas Coupland, Richard Linklater, Lars Von Trier, Paul Auster and many more.

In what way does your sound differ from the rest genre-related artists/bands and why should we listen to your music? In other words, how would you describe your sound?

We don’t know if there are similarities with many other artists and we’re sure we have our own personality on what we ‘re doing, because we don’t try to copy or immitate anything. We ‘ve heard so much music during our life and we ‘ve loved so many different things that it’s impossible for us to say, “let’s do this or that”.
We always start with a proper tune. Songwriting is always the base of our music. Ted comes with the song first and each time we play with different versions of the same idea, till we find the proper Kenny Freq sound. After 4 years, we know what is proper for Kenny Freq and what is just a gimmick or just not proper for us. Luckily enough it works.

Please name your 3 desert islands albums, movies & books…

Ted records: Highway 61 revisited – Bob Dylan, Country Life – Roxy Music, The Great Escape – Blur

Ted books: Life after God – Douglas Copeland , The Great Gatsby – Scott f. Fitzgerald, Sexus – Henry Miller

Ted movies: La Maman et la Putain – Jean Estache, Le Mepris – Jean Luc Goddard, 8 1/2 – Ferderico Felini

Theo albums: Histoire de Melody Nelson – Serge Gainsbourg, Deserter’s Song – Mercury Rev, Sheer Heart Attack – Queen

Theo films: Blade Runner – Riddley Scott, Dancer in The Dark – Lars Von Trier, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly – Sergio Leone

Theo books: Journey To The End Of Night – Celine, The Fall – Albert Camus, Blindness – Jose Saramago

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Do you prefer studio or performing live and why?

Definitelly the studio for the time being, because it’s a situation where we ‘ve managed to find our proper way of working. We guess live there ‘re many things left to be desired, since we love rich sound and both the venues we can play and the current limited line up of the band can’t really achieve. That’s something we ‘re trying to work out and we will play live only if we sort it out.

Is there any funny-unique story you would like to share with us, always in relation to your music ‘career’?

In a way our whole carreer is funny and not unique at all. Especially during the first (and last for the time being) Greek tour all hell broke lose. A real disaster. All the spinal tap – r’n’r catastrophe happened. Broken van, lost voice, unpaid gigs, lost soundchecks, horrible promoters, weird landlords. Add on top of that several drummer stories, several ego related arguments and you’ve got the score. All the cliches in the book.

Which track of your own would you point out as the most unique and why?

Ok. We wouldn’t be fair to chose one, but since we ‘ve got a new release I guess the single out of it “Diane Lane” is our special song for the time being because we tried to write an “ode” to one of our favourite movie stars of all time for so many reasons.

Would you like to share with our readers your future plans?

By the end of the year the album release. Some thoughts for gigs after that. The live band is ready.

Free question!!! (Ask yourself a question) you wish to answer and haven’t been given the opportunity…

How our cats and dogs influence our music making process?

With cats we ‘ve got to be carefull with anything electric, instruments and cables, so we set up pretty quick, when they’re not around. Dogs don’t interfere but they hate loud amps. So after the first chord, be ready to step to the door and admit the dogs out. It’s a matter of technique and experience. It makes music making more concious and adds an extra layer of effort, comedy and drama. Quite “Kenny Freq-uesque” in our book.

Curated by: Christos Doukakis

Recommended listening:

Connect with Kenny Freq:

https://kennyfreq.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/kennyfreqcentral/

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCx4ZD9WZ6uS7bdb-DHeN5HQ