Texas-born composer, performance artist, and multi-instrumentalist Konrad Kinard has lived between Berlin and Leeds, and his new album War Is Family (released November 21 via Incinerate Media and The Orchard) is his most personal and ambitious work to date.
Kinard describes it as “a radio drama without the drama or the radio” a haunting blend of spoken word, sound collage, and music that draws heavily on his Cold War childhood in Texas. He explains: “I was born a Texan. I was born into the Cold War. Sputnik circled the earth and shattered the peace in my home. This album is a letter from that time – from a child raised under the eternal threat of annihilation – to the Now.”
Texas Roots, Leeds Influence
The album is steeped in Texan imagery and paranoia – bomb shelters, rockets, and the looming shadow of nuclear war – yet it’s also shaped by Kinard’s years in Leeds, a city with a very different cultural rhythm. Spoken word and overdubs were recorded locally at Old Chapel Recording Studio, Leeds, giving the project a Yorkshire anchor.
That contrast – Texas heat meets Leeds grit – makes War Is Family a unique listening experience.
Collaborators Across Continents
Kinard has assembled a striking ensemble:
- BJ Cole – pedal steel guitar
- Eleonora Rosca, Emily Burridge, Matthias Hejlik – cellos
- Chris Farr – drums
- Fredrik Kinbom – harmonium, bass, and production/mixing/mastering in Berlin
- Fergus Quill – contrabass (Yorkshire connection)
- Taro and Lola Kinard – vocals, percussion, bells
- Junior Laniyan – tap dancing
It’s a truly international collaboration, stitched together from Berlin, Brooklyn, and Leeds, bridging generations and genres.
Listening Through the Tracks
With 20 tracks, Kinard delivers a scope rarely seen in modern releases. Highlights include:
- Born A Texan – Opens with Kinard’s voice recalling Cold War childhood: “The Russians are at the door, coming to kill us all.” Eerie piano and night‑bug ambience set the tone.
- Better Red Than Dead – Crowd noise fades into an electronic beat with marching‑band snare; a glitchy voice repeats “Better dead than red.” A surprising electronic turn from a Texan.
- Siddhartha Goes To Alabama – Slide guitar brings Americana tones; narration of a car journey to Louisiana, ending with a child’s voice: “Where is my America, the one I see on TV?”
- Three Sisters – Night bugs return; Kinard recalls his sisters as teenagers, including painful memories: “Binge and purge… later in life it nearly killed her.”
- Red Ant Hill – Accordion and slide guitar evoke Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds; soulful spoken word delivery.
- Daddy Bought A Gun – Stark and short: “Daddy bought a pistol and aimed it at my head.” Childhood fear distilled into 56 seconds.
- War Is Family – Title track is all acoustic. Vocals echo Nick Cave’s intensity. Great song.
- The Bomb Shelter – Cuban Missile Crisis memories: “The children stood outside and cried.” Kinard describes a shelter stocked with food, sleeping bags, and ammunition.
- Rockets – Electronic pulse with the chilling refrain: “I live for explosions.”
- Sun Rises – Emotional cello and guitar intro, male/female vocal harmonies chanting “Sun is rising again.” Optimistic, driven by drums and slide guitar.
- A Texas Summer Night – Closing track: crickets, dripping water, distant train, silence, then radio static tuning into Cuban music. Ends with fading radio sounds – a haunting full stop.
Why It Resonates
This is not just an avant‑garde experiment. It’s memoir, myth, and sonic memory woven into a 20‑track epic. Kinard’s Texas childhood collides with his Leeds life, producing a work that feels both deeply personal and globally resonant.
For Yorkshire audiences, it’s striking to hear Cold War paranoia refracted through a Leeds studio. It’s proof that underground music here can hold its own against global currents – and sometimes, it’s the outsider’s story that sharpens our own sense of place.
Live in Leeds?
Kinard will perform War Is Family live at Hyde Park Book Club, Leeds, on December 17th. Expect a show that blurs gig, theatre, and ritual – a night where history, memory, and sound collide.
Get tickets for this event here
Links to Konrad social media above. Make sure to go follow.
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