Koria Kitten Riot is the solo project of Antti Reikko from Helsinki, Finland. He also fronts the indie band Johnny Superhero.
The band’s music is a happy mixture of alternative pop and Americana with singer/songwriter influences. They were formed in the mid-’00s and have a genuinely quirky approach to indie pop.
They’ve released three albums so far, and their third album ‘Rich Men Poor Men Good Men’ is out in January 2014. This release was made after Reikko decided to transmute his songwriting skills into a full band, and the result is the most honest and developed recordings yet from KKR.
This is a very particular kind of giddy, instrument-stuffed indie pop that’s rarely heard on the radio. It’s an extremely happy kind of music that will have you singing along at home, and it’s a great way to relax after a stressful day.
Reikko is an acoustic guitar player, but he also plays synthesizer, mandolin, piano, glockenspiel, harmonica and trombone on the record, as well. He writes and sings most of the songs, and recorded them all himself on a shoe-string budget.
He has many influences, including Elliott Smith, Neil Young, Sufjan Stevens, Bright Eyes, Nick Drake, Jon Auer, Damien Rice and The Flaming Lips, among others. It’s an impressive list, and usually someone with that kind of list really knows their music.
They’ve been playing live for a few years now, and have already released two EPs, which you can download for free. Their most recent full-length, ‘Rich Men Poor Men Good Men’, is available on GAEA Records.