Photo by Simon Bridgefoot
Kristin Witko
Performance artist and outsider pop star Kristin Witko isn’t so much of a songwriter as they are a world-builder. That’s why their audiences are as likely to be treated to Anthony Kiedis cosplay (complete with athletic sock enhancement) as they are to musical performances. Of course, music is at the center of this character-driven world. Described as “bizarro ABBA”, it’s an experimental yet palatable confection of classic rock, early 4AD goth, and modern pop.
Kristin’s genre-defiance and character-building has nurtured a fanbase so intense that getting tattoos of their signature isn’t unheard of. In 2019, when they released their LP Zone of Exclusion on Vancouver’s revered “small time” label Kingfisher Bluez, these fans made an outsized impact. The album charted in !earshot’s National Top 200. It placed #7 on Beatroute’s Best of BC list. It produced a CBC Radio 3 hit with “I’d Rather It Be With You”. All this despite Kristin’s self-described status as a “geriatric Millennial queer moldering in the suburbs.” They have never toured, perform infrequently, and reside in the Fraser Valley, a culturally marginal place frequently described as British Columbia’s Bible Belt.
The question that guides Kristin’s project has always been the same: “Can a person create a sense of belonging by publicly manifesting what is alien about themselves?” To continue building the project, they have found their address, age, and social networks matter less than their interest in this question.
“While filled with hooks and undeniably danceable, listeners dare not underestimate the grit and swagger at the core of Kristin Witko’s Zone of Exclusion.”
“Kristin Witko unfurls a cool alt pop tune, enriched by her unique vocal styling that bears some resemblance to Tanita Tikaram.”
“Witko’s whole artistic practice pairs thoughtful pop music with performance art.”
“Kristin’s gifts for songwriting, video artistry, and performance are truly special, like some kind of bedroom-pop, alternate-universe Lady Gaga. Her album sounds like a Chernobyl MPI fever- dream converging on an Eyes Wide Shut sex orgy masquerade.”