About Zone of Exclusion
I (mostly) recorded Zone of Exclusion as part of an Artistic Residency at Abbotsford’s Kariton Gallery with my co-writer/producer Simon Bridgefoot. We needed a space to record in and the Residency seemed like a fun challenge. Part of our end of the bargain for using the gallery (at night) was creating and teaching a series of low-barrier workshops based on our “areas of expertise”. They were all more or less about music-making as a suite of mental health tools. (The other part of the bargain was that on Saturdays, as our cheerful press release promised: “visitors to the gallery [would] be welcome to observe [us], talk to [us], and even potentially join the recording process”. As the people of Abbotsford wandered into the gallery every weekend, it was a frequently strange and poignant promise to keep.)
Simon and I also had a loose personal goal of building stronger friendships with and within our local arts community. I’m happy to report that that was a S.M.A.R.T. goal. During spooky, moonlit, funny, disarming gallery sessions, we collaborated with musicians like Blessed’s Drew Riekman and Jake Holmes and You Say Party’s Becky Ninkovic.
Both the workshops and these relationships informed my live performances and the content on Zone of Exclusion. At the time I released it, in 2019, I said that my record “[explored] attachment in an era of narcissism and apocalyptic stirrings.” (Lol, I guess so; cute “copy”, hun.) Anyway, Zone was released on Kingfisher Bluez on June 28, 2019. I was shocked, shook, snatched, and maybe even snookered in certain senses to secure what’s seen as a strong showing for a suburbanite! For, you see: it charted in !earshot’s National Top 200, placed #7 on Beatroute’s Best of BC list, and produced a (very) minor hit for CBC Radio 3 with “I’d Rather It Be With You”. (Thank you, people who love it. <3)
live
Here's a music video
NICE WORDS
“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 needs to be known. Her fever-dreamy pop songs have a look in their collective eye that gives you the same unsettling feeling as the last episode of Twin Peaks.”
“Witko’s whole artistic practice pairs thoughtful pop music with performance art. ”
“Witko’s humour is most apparent in “Hausfrau,” a track that’s immediately focused on relationship dichotomies. Tacked against the background of shimmery electronic pop hooks and a wafting siren, the lyrical content of the track is highlighted to almost jarring, comical effect.”
“Kristin Witko unfurls a cool alt pop tune, enriched by her unique vocal styling that bears some resemblance to Tanita Tikaram.”
“Witko’s “Zone of Exclusion”, which, while full of hooks and undeniably danceable, blends the pop sensibilities of her earlier releases with a much more clearly defined grit.”