Kinkajous – led by drummer/ producer Benoît Parmentier and saxophonist Adrien Cau, create a whirling dreamland of electronic orchestrations and instrumental sensibility. They are set to release their new album Nothing Will Disappear, set for release October 18th via Running Circle.
Kinkajous have garnered support from the likes of Gilles Peterson, Clash, BBC Radio 1, BBC Radio 3, The Vinyl Factory and more and have pushed into with sell-out headline shows at London’s Jazz Café and King’s Place, alongside a gargantuan collaboration last winter with the London Contemporary Orchestra at London’s EartH Theatre, and performances at Bluedot and EFG London Jazz Festivals.
New album Nothing Will Disappear is maximalism at its most subtle and tender – ambient music at its most rejuvenated. There are echoes of Sam Shepherd’s collaborative work with Pharoah Sanders as Floating Points, and the subtle timbre shifts of Jon Hopkins and James Holden more so than their capital-“J” jazz contemporaries. Bruised electronics go back-to-back with compulsive drum patterns in a strobe-lit dance; vulnerable but bursting with colour. At their most bright and inviting, Kinkajous revel in a beautiful indulgence, and at their most vulnerable, the unease becomes a physical feeling for the most headstrong listener.
FACTS
1. The sun
2. We are called Kinkajous and we make music
3. Octopuses have three hearts, and two of them stop beating when they swim
1. What is the biggest inspiration for your music?
The constant pursuit of beauty, in art and music of course but also in the smallest things and the mundane. I’m constantly collecting things of all kinds and let them create their own ecosystem to allow for new ideas and creativity.
2. How and when did you get into making music?
I started playing classical percussions and drums from the age of 7 after a failed attempt at learning the guitar. Music making in its simplest form started on an old beaten up piano at the family home, completely out of tune and with broken keys. Later in my teens, I got my first laptop and internet connection. I put my hands on as many cracked softwares as I could – Reason and Cubase were my go to at the time – and discovered the world of music production and sound design.
3. What are 5 of your favourite albums of all time?
This list changes pretty much everyday – currently it would be something like
Tim Hecker – Love Streams
Steve Reich – Music for 18 Musicians
Clark – Iradelphic (I recently rediscovered this record)
Talk Talk – Spirit of Eden
C Diab – Imero
4. What do you associate with Berlin?
Berghain, techno, cheap rent and kebabs
5. What’s your favourite place in your town?
Home
6. If there was no music in the world, what would you do instead?
Put on sturdy shoes, leave the city and go on an endless hike
7. What was the last record/music you bought or listen?
Phoenix: Flames Are Dew Upon My Skin, Eartheater
8. Who would you most like to collaborate with?
A collaboration we really wanted was with the London Contemporary Orchestra and we were lucky enough to make it happen at the end of last year. Another one would be Thom Yorke
9. What was your best gig (as performer or spectator)?
There are so many… Something I love when going to gigs is being moved by the feeling of communion between the artist and audience. I saw Snoop Dogg at Bestival several years back after my set, the crowd was one, I’d never seen anything like it. Watching Bon Iver live for the first time was also a powerful and inspiring experience.
10. How important is technology to your creative process?
Very. I spend a lot of time building devices, building software instruments, and with all sorts of synths and modular synths. Technology enables you to access sound palettes that are unique to you. I’m a big user of MaxMSP, it’s an amazing way to make space for chaos and randomness, but equally gives you tools to create order and structure.
11. Please tell us a bit about your new album “Nothing Will Disappear”.
With our previous record being quite dark and introspective, we wanted to escape into a
different space with this music. We wanted it to be more colourful, more driven, whilst pushing towards the edges of fragility and vulnerability. ‘Nothing Will Disappear’ is a reflection of the world around us—chaotic, unpredictable, yet always connected. It’s about embracing uncertainty and allowing sounds to linger, evolve, and intertwine—like an ongoing
conversation. That’s the essence we’ve tried to capture—how even in moments of stillness or dissonance, something lasting remains.
