Cat #: 052TZM

Hot & Cold was born in 2005 in New Delhi, India, the brainchild of Joshua and Simon Frank. Sparsely pairing lo-fi bass and megaphone vocals, the Frank brothers’ single Delhi performance incorporated a bedraggled Yamaha keyboard, and involved throwing candy at small children from above. 

In 2006, Joshua (20) and Simon (18) relocated to China’s chaotic, industrial capital – a city far better suited to their dirty robotic clangour. At the encouragement of internationally-acclaimed composer Shouwang, they began to accumulate an arsenal of effects pedals, quite literally launching themselves at Beijing audiences in frenzied 20-minute sets. 

Even in Beijing – one of the most exciting cities for new music today – Hot & Cold have proudly stuck out. Rather than gradually descending into chaos, their notoriously frenetic performances explode from the get- go. Their debut, Any Monkey is Dangerous captures the band’s shambolic grooves with all the vitality of their live performances. Hot & Cold channel their penchant for obliterating noise through a deep love for the fuzzy anthems of Pavement and Pixies. Their angular riffs and keyboard jabs have drawn comparison to New York no wave and Cabaret Voltaire, while lo-fi drums loops, rollicking basslines, and irreverent vocals evoke the Fall in both sound and attitude. Crystalline melodies emerge from their pulsing sonic chaos, and touches of yesteryear Bollywood hits pierce through the melee.