KONRAD KINARD
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Konrad Kinard is a Texas-born composer, musician, and interdisciplinary performer. After a stint University of North Texas, he emerged from New York’s downtown scene, performing with Bettina Köster (Malaria), Rhys Chatham, Glenn Branca, La La La Human Steps, The Woodentops, Arthur Russell, and others. His projects — from Slash Orchestra to Zero Ping — have crossed the borders of performance, sound installation, and dance.
Kinard’s work has been presented at The Kitchen (NYC), Whitechapel Gallery (London), Tacheles (Berlin), Bradford Cathedral (UK), New Music America,48 Hours Neuköln and Kremer Gallery (Berlin), The Paradiso ( Amsterdam) as well as across Europe and North Amercia. . His earlier compositions have appeared on Sub Rosa Europa, Bean Creek Recordings, and within major dance and performance works, including Human Sex by La La La Human Steps. His previous release was the 2025 epic 20 track Americana-opera, “War Is Family (Surviving the Cold War and the Unraveling of an Imagined America)” on Incinerate Media.
ABOUT THIS RELEASE
"I Put A Spell On You," releasing September 18, 2026 , through Incinerate Media, showcases Kinard's audacious approach to one of music's most covered classics. This version merges the intensity of Jay Hawkins' original with Nina Simone's emotional depth, creating what has been described as the "perfect amount of sexy/creepy." The basic tracks and vocals were recorded during the 2020 outbreak, with the final touches added later through unconventional methods that pushed his collaborators into creative territories. This tense, dark rendition captures the zeitgeist perfectly, offering listeners a timeless track filtered through Kinard's weird but wonderful vision of simplicity and accident.
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The lineup for this recording includes top talent from Leeds, UK who also appear in the atmospheric and intriguing .video.
Konrad Kinard - voice, electronics, piano, gamelan, arrangement
Benji Arnold- Trombone
Teruki Chan- Percussion
Buddy Greyhound, Esquire - Top Dog presence.
Produced by Konrad Kinard for Incinerate Media
Mixed and Mastered by Fredrik Kinbom-Madame Vega's Boudoir, Berlin
Recorded at Falling On Deaf Ears, Leeds, UK
"I Put A Spell On You" by Jay Hawkins/Copyright EMI Unart Catalog Inc.
Video shot by Taro Kinard
After Effects by Oleskii Zelynskyi Prague
Location provided by Hyde Park Book Club- Leeds, UK
Edited at Incinerate Media Studios- Brooklyn, NY
Press
Konrad Kinard Puts A Twisted Little Spell On You.
...he upends that balance by setting the verses in 7/8, converting the song from a flowing waltz to a staccato shard of noirish be-bop tango. The subtle yet radical alteration forces you to recalibrate your senses while adding new layers of urgency, menace and off-kilter propulsion to the cut.
A familiar song walks into the room, but something feels different. The rhythm refuses to settle, the silence seems to carry its own meaning, and the voice sounds as though it knows a secret the listener has not been told yet. That is the atmosphere Konrad Kinard creates with his striking reworking of “I Put A Spell On You.”
Drawing us in with a captivating, brooding vocal and dramatic piano with cerebral trombone motifs, Konrad Kinard opens his re-imagining of the iconic song, I Put A Spell On You, with a unique energy, syncopated percussion and a cinematic allure. We appreciate the originality that manifests with this cover.
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In terms of the title and subject matter, this rather haunting portrayal actually seems perfectly suited to present the implications of I Put A Spell On You. Konrad and the band captivate from the outset, and hold tightly to this quiet and compelling confidence that is both eerie and engaging, as the song somewhat freely meanders towards its end. The melody is grounded and structured, the trombone and percussion, however, feel a little more impassioned and unconfined, perhaps unpredictable, and the visuals cleverly reinforce this dynamic – Konrad calm and unconcerned, Benji and Teruki mildly more comical and uncontained.
Extravafrench.com translated
[Kinard} maintains that truth often lies in the silence between sounds. "I Put A Spell On You" thus treats emptiness as an active element. Instead of layering sounds to heighten the sense of menace, Kinard allows certain pauses to become uncomfortable. The listener is almost compelled to fill in the gaps left by the unplayed notes.
The sensuality of the original track remains, yet it is never reassuring. The 7/4 time signature creates a constant, subtle twist; the trombone doesn’t smooth out the edges but rather deepens the sense of strangeness; the percussion unsettles rather than stabilizes.
"I Put A Spell On You," then, is not an attempt to prove he can cover a classic.
Instead, he prefers to show that a song so familiar can still become unstable the moment its center of gravity is shifted.
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“I Put A Spell On You.” Originally made iconic by Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, the track is transformed here into a tense piece of experimental jazz, filtered through Konrad’s distinctly unconventional perspective. Released through the Incinerate Media imprint, the recording draws from the intensity of Hawkins’ original while folding in the emotional expression of Nina Simone.
Tradução:
Konrad Kinard has just released a new single, a powerful track full of personality, energy, and a completely captivating and authentic rhythm, in a way that we love and that moves us. It's a track of personality, surprise, elegant sounds, and immense strength that has won us over.