Music to Code By: Kwoon

Kwoon is a French post-rock band. I discovered them when a friend sent me a link to the video for “I lived on the Moon,” from their first record Tales and Dreams.

I lived on the Moon from Yannick Puig on Vimeo.

Tales and Dreams (iTunes, Amazon MP3)
When the flowers were singing… (iTunes, Amazon CD)

Kwoon describes themselves as post-rock. I’ve mostly given up on genre names these days, but instrumentally, “rock” belongs in there somewhere. They play the typical guitars, bass, and drums, adding cello, keyboards and samples. The music itself rarely earns a “rock” label, though there are exceptions, “Overture” from When the flowers were singing… being the most obvious.

You’ll be right at home if you like Sigur Rós or non-radio Pink Floyd (Meddle, Animals). It blends into the background, filling the silence and only rarely demanding attention. When it does (“Overture”), I don’t mind turning up the volume and giving my brain a little break before diving back into code.