Kenna is an electronic band that consists of one man. Born in Ethiopia, he grew up in Virginia Beach listening to a diverse range of artists. This musical diet made him strive to create his own. He is intentionally vague about everything, to the point where few people know his real name.
Limp Biscuit’s Fred Durst signed Kenna to Flawless Records, where Kenna produced his first CD – New Sacred Cow. The first single off of the CD, Hell Bent, was made into a fantastic claymation video, which was featured heavily on MTV2. Directed by Mark Osborne, the video was nominated for Best Animated Short Film at the Academy Awards, and has won 19 international film awards. The video was originally made for a different song by New Order, but Hell Bent fit better. New Sacred Cow was scheduled to be released this last December, but now looks to be released in February or March.
Kenna is an enigmatic electronic artist whose first CD is one of the greatest I have had the pleasure to chill to. His songs are catchy but out there, simple yet complex, influenced yet original. His CD is a masterful work, filled with amazing electronic pop compositions. The entire CD can be found online, and I recommend adding it to your play list.
- 1:20 - Within Earshot (intro)
- 3:23 - Freetime
- 4:04 - Man Fading
- 4:16 - Sunday After You
- 6:14 - Vexed and Glorious
- 3:37 - Red Man
- 4:51 - Hell Bent
- 4:01 - New Sacred Cow
- 3:52 - I'm Gone
- 5:18 - War In Me
- 3:11 - Yeneh Ababa (Rose)
- 4:30 - Love Hate Sensation
Let it blare
Let it distort your speakers
Forget you are driving to it
Let it remind you
YOU ARE BREATHING
YOU ARE HERE.
I AM NOT MADE TO ORDER.
An artist isn’t one who fits a mold.
An artist is one who makes a mold.
I am hard pressed to assuredly describe the sound of this record.
You may need to listen to it a few times to understand.
There is a chance that you will not understand.
I am ok with that.
It will affect those who are to be affected.
I have been influenced by my surroundings.
Influenced by The Cars and Depeche Mode, Michael Jackson and The Beatles.
Influenced by time, environment and cultural pressures.
I am a meld of my surroundings, upbringing, and generation.
My music is a hybrid of everything that I have become in life.
I was born in Ethiopia. Lived there until I was three years of age. I moved to
Cincinnati and then onward to Virginia Beach. Oddly enough, Virginia is
where I discovered music. I also discovered what would become the influences
of my upcoming album, New Sacred Cow.
At a young age I was blessed to be introduced to U2’s Joshua Tree album,
and found myself entranced in Bono’s melodies and ability to leave the story
for you to suss out yourself.
It was the first record I owned and I wore to ruin. Subsequent albums were
bought and other influences seeped in everything from The Police to
The Cure and Stevie Wonder.
Loud American sounds would permeate a normally quiet Ethiopian household.
At the time, it was hard to believe that I would soon be creating my own music.
This is the music that I have the chance to share with you. New Sacred Cow
will, in some ways, chronicle that story.
"Hell Bent" is just the beginning. It is a glimpse at the overall perspective of a
happily dysfunctional person.
Thank you for letting it be heard.
Listen close and you may find yourself in me.
-- Kenna