VON KONOW is all about contradictions. A synthesis of different, even conflicting, musical styles and identities, the new solo act by singer and songwriter Marko von Konow combines fresh pop melodies with orchestral instrumentation alongside glam sounds and rough beats. Von Konow’s vocal presence is powerful and engaging, inspired not only by the various styles of music but by theatre, cabaret and film as well. He invites his listeners to embark on a journey to lucid atmospheres and distant places. His songs tell about the survival of exposed souls in harsh borderlands and battles between light and shadows.
The main goal is to create new musical spaces by combining the power of rock and pop with the playfulness of art music and film. The synthetic result gives musical form to various marginal figures, from fearless travelers to startling aliens and disdained criminals. The themes of love and death combine with a delicate social critique that targets our contemporary life destined for normalization and unity. von Konow does not preach any truth or doctrine; his music opens up an alternative space in which the outcasts and the forgotten are free to breathe, feel and think. If there is a message in these songs, then they proclaim that marginality does not condemn us to death but provides a freedom in which new identities and new natures become possible.
Von Konow’s synthetic approach has deep roots in European art and philosophy. Its first initiators were Friedrich Nietzsche, Jean Genet ja Jean-Paul Sartre who all urged us to abandon familiar worlds and to experiment with new forms of life. In the 20th and 21st centuries, marginal figures have been developed most freely in pop culture and music, where the best-known contributors are David Bowie, Freddie Mercury and Lady Gaga. von Konow’s music draws from these sources and aims primarily at creating a multidimensional musical space in which the audience can create their own identities. In addition to Bowie, von Konow’s inspiration comes from Kate Bush, Nick Cave, Depeche Mode, Rick Wakeman, Florence and the Machine and Owen Pallett.
Photos by Rita Carmo