Austrians are reserved people. We shot the videos with Chikinki only a few footsteps from the venue of their show and only about half an hour before they were scheduled to go on stage. So there were lots of fans and concert-goers around – especially girls in their late teenage years and last exponents of the chequered dressed New Ravers -, but surprisingly no one actually joined us as we walked by together with singer Rupert and guitarist Ed. They kept watching from a safe distance, when Chikinki performed stripped down, yet powerful versions of their songs, lacking the synths, the heavy guitars and their extroverted stage presence. The five-piece band formed while their studies in Bristol in 1996 and have become quite popular all over Europe since 2005, when they started to release an album every year. Temporarily subsumed under the fading away New Rave movement, Chikinki have sure enough established themselves beyond any short-lived trends.

chikinki.co.uk