Neon Legion is a New Wave/Indie Rock band formed in 2009 in Buenos Aires, Toronto and New York, initially in the context of the recording of the new album of singer‑songwriter Philip Kurt Kressin, who performed under the name Kirt.

Philip Kressin was born in Frankfurt a.M., Germany and is a classically trained composer and multi‑instrumentalist.

Verity, Equity, Acuity.

These are the meanings of the symbols in the Kressin family crest, and also the foundation of Neon Legion, the rock band based around German‑born composer and multi‑instrumentalist Philip Kurt Kressin. In a music landscape where many artists are concerned with shiny veneers over artistic content, Kressin demands that his work stand for something. With Empire, the debut Neon Legion album, he seeks to honor the values of his forefathers while crafting a sound that brings together elements of rock, electronic, and classical music, honoring his own personal tradition.

The Neon Legion philosophy is shaped in large part by Kressin's roots, as a descendent of German knights. He sees it as part of his mission to reemphasize values derived from the knights' code of chivalry. To see that the band's outward image coalesces with its message, renowned artist Stefan Strumbel was recruited to design Empire's artwork, including the crest that adorns its cover. Strumbel's work employs dichotomous readings of modern‑day and traditional German iconic imagery to create a surreal world that comments on man's retreating ideals. Kressin says he identifies with this because, like Strumbel, he wishes to «refer back to a time when Germany was known for its poets, its thinkers, its innovations in technology and culture».

Kressin received formal training at the exclusive art and music‑oriented Frensham Heights School near London, where rock & roll is an accepted part of the curriculum. Here, he learned about Bach's harmonies and Handel's melodies, toured Europe as a member of the choir and orchestra, and…читать далее ↓

Neon Legion is a New Wave/Indie Rock band formed in 2009 in Buenos Aires, Toronto and New York, initially in the context of the recording of the new album of singer-songwriter Philip Kurt Kressin, who performed under the name Kirt.

Philip Kressin was born in Frankfurt a.M., Germany and is a classically trained composer and multi-instrumentalist.

Verity, Equity, Acuity.

These are the meanings of the symbols in the Kressin family crest, and also the foundation of Neon Legion, the rock band based around German-born composer and multi-instrumentalist Philip Kurt Kressin. In a music landscape where many artists are concerned with shiny veneers over artistic content, Kressin demands that his work stand for something. With Empire, the debut Neon Legion album, he seeks to honor the values of his forefathers while crafting a sound that brings together elements of rock, electronic, and classical music, honoring his own personal tradition.

The Neon Legion philosophy is shaped in large part by Kressin's roots, as a descendent of German knights. He sees it as part of his mission to reemphasize values derived from the knights' code of chivalry. To see that the band's outward image coalesces with its message, renowned artist Stefan Strumbel was recruited to design Empire's artwork, including the crest that adorns its cover. Strumbel's work employs dichotomous readings of modern-day and traditional German iconic imagery to create a surreal world that comments on man's retreating ideals. Kressin says he identifies with this because, like Strumbel, he wishes to "refer back to a time when Germany was known for its poets, its thinkers, its innovations in technology and culture".

Kressin received formal training at the exclusive art and music-oriented Frensham Heights School near London, where rock & roll is an accepted part of the curriculum. Here, he learned about Bach's harmonies and Handel's melodies, toured Europe as a member of the choir and orchestra, and rubbed elbows with the children of rock legends like Roger Waters and Brian May, often visiting the house where Led Zeppelin famously recorded “Stairway to Heaven”. After school, Kressin expanded his musical studies in London with attaining a Bachelor of Arts Degree in music at Brunel University. He specialized in composition and won the university´s Steve Thomas Memorial Prize during his second year at the University with his work Crusades, a melodic representation of medieval battle.

Upon finishing his formal education, Kressin returned to Germany, where he began two years of work at Black Solaris Studios, an old (and possibly haunted) WWII bunker in Frankfurt. Here, he produced a number of German hip-hop and electronic artists, and had his first foray into film composing with his classical score for the award-winning short film Geigensolo. The latter would prove to be a most intense experience: The film's director was partially deaf, and had previously rejected the work of twelve other composers. Because the director could not hear high-range melodies, Kressin found himself adding sub-bass frequencies, "so that deaf viewers could feel the bass in their bodies."

Amid his other work at Black Solaris, he found time to record his first album, Cyan (under the name Kirt). But soon after its completion, Kressin left Germany for the sunnier climes of Buenos Aires to release the disc. "I didn't see very much light in the bunker for a couple years," he says. "I just needed some light again." A two-year stay in Argentina yielded considerable critical praise and regional touring, as well as a group of musicians that would effectively form the first incarnation of Neon Legion. Kressin and friends would also co-found Multicorriente, a collective that functioned as his record label, and as publisher of a monthly cultural magazine.

When restlessness struck again, the artist set out for what are now his twin bases in North America: New York City and Toronto. "The move seemed like a logical step," he says. "I’ve always been nomadic, living in different places, establishing myself there as an artist, and then moving on to the next one, building a network of collaborators in that way." For Kressin, building a network means finding a new set of musicians in each of his adopted hometowns.
"I like to put together a different band in each city, everyone brings their own sound and cultural perspective to the global group that is Neon Legion.”


It took more than a dozen musicians in four countries on three continents to make Empire. After working out arrangements with his Argentinian group, Kressin enlisted Priestbird cellist Daniel Bensi in New York, as well as a large cast of Toronto musicians, referred to him by a mutual friend of Broken Social Scene's Jason Collett, including members of the experimental electronic group Holy Fu*k, The Hidden Cameras and Bahamas. Despite having so many hands on deck, the album maintains an organic feel uncommon in most synth-rock music. This is a result of having recorded primarily live, with Kressin putting aside his admitted "control freak" tendencies and trusting the instincts of his fellow musicians.

Mixed (and partially recorded) at Electric Lady Studios in New York, Empire bears the unmistakable sonic stamp of that legendary building's 40-year history. At the fore is Kressin's vulnerable tenor, a counterpoint to the often moody, driving rock underneath. After "fighting against the band" in live situations for some years, he decided to roll back his "rock" voice, thanks in part to a steady diet of the art-rock bands like the Flaming Lips and Blonde Redhead. He credits the latter's classical harmonies, with "an almost childlike male voice" as a particular inspiration for his vocal style on Empire. "Sometimes singing quietly is stronger.”

The album's ten songs delve into existential and sometimes political topics—the nature of man, intellect vs. instinct, man vs. the environment—from an omniscient perspective, in an effort to bring clarity and truth to humanity's larger patterns. "Hunt" tackles the Christian denial of the evolution of man ("The day that Christ christened his lies/The humans fell into the trap"). In "Time to Feed" Kressin laments the destruction of planet Earth ("It leaves in me a fear so deep, I can't breathe") before offering atonement ("Mother, I'll take care of you like no other son would"). It's no wonder that when he sings "Maybe we're all the same" in the song "Twin", it seems to be meant with a sense of resignation.

The heavy themes never get in the way of hooks. "Eyes" finely incorporates electronic elements into a pulsing, guitar-driven groove; the insistent synth-pop of "Wicked Men" harkens back to the masters of the craft, Depeche Mode. Like most great records, Empire gets plenty weird: "Pornoratorio" explodes with a cascade of tricky time signatures into a dramatic post-glam-rock chorus; the nearly eight-minute "La Revolucion" stomps ahead on an electronic pulse and foreboding synthesizer pattern, like an army of giant knights marching forward.

Neon Legion is Kressin's brotherhood, or knighthood; a means to unify the classical and traditional with the modern and futuristic. Empire is his mission statement, a plea for humanity to self-actualize and improve its standing in the universe. Yet he's keenly aware that revolution comes at a price. As Empire's title track expands into a chorus lush with strings and shoegazer guitars, Kressin envisions a post-revolutionary world where simple truths prevail: "We are the children of gold/We are the children of stone/We won't be falling from great heights/Anymore."

Band Members:
Philip Kressin - Vocals/Synth
Brett Caswell - Guitar
Afie Jurvanen - Guitar
Javier Bustos - Guitar
Chris Lesso - Drums
Brad Kilpatrick - Drums
Kieran Adams - Drums
Alejandro Lopez - Drums
Lincoln Hamlyn - Bass
Jon Hynes - Bass
Jeremy Little - Bass
Juan Huici - Bass
Nicolas Ospina - Synth
Daniel Bensi - Cello

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