Khonnor

One of my first introductions into the joys of netlabels was to discover the work of Connor Kirby-Long. As a musician with a prolific amount of early work, Conner has left a trail of releases scattered across multiple free labels. The process of tracking all of his work down is fun unto itself, and each one of his various early EPs (as Khonnor, Grandma and I, Cactus) is well worth the effort to find.

Using quite modest equipment, including practically a toy microphone and Fruity Loops software, Conner crafts music that is hyper-melodic and completely evocative. He mixes childlike whimsy with instant nostalgia and a sense of playfulness tempered with complete craft. Many of his songs are simultaneously rooted in the worlds of IDM, Glitch, Pop, and Shoegaze. I don't plan on covering much electronic music through this blog, as I feel like that genre is already well covered in the world of netlabels and free releases. I will happily make exceptions, though, for songs as fun as these. Definitely recommended for fans of Mum, for those who would like to hear Aphex Twin filtered through a sunny day, or anyone wishing that Boards of Canada were far more playful.

• I, Cactus - Chartreuse Cactus
• Khonnor - Crapstone
• Grandma - He Near Krxern

A mostly comprehensive overview of Khonnor's discography can be found here on Wikipedia.

Labels that Khonnor has releases on include Monotonik, Camomille, 8 Bit Peoples and Please Do Something.