29 Aug 2017 // A review by Paul Goddard
Wow, seriously just wow! Cairo Knife Fight have done it again and released a piece of art that hits the soul, mind and makes your heart beat a little faster.

There are artists, geniuses, and musicians and in very rare cases there is someone who is all three of those things. If you haven't heard of Nick Gaffaney then you need to check out this latest release from Cairo Knife Fight. The single A-Eight is from the upcoming album Seven (what's with the numbers Nick?) In fact all tracks on the new album are of the numeric variety. I am cool with that.

Nick seems to spend most of his time in the USA at the moment and is the heart and soul of Cairo Knife Fight joined this time by George Pajon who is best known for his work with Black Eyed Peas and Fergie. Reading that might throw you a little but the Guitar work on A-Eight is a mix of brutal, sublime sonics that pulls you in and spits you out.

When it comes to two piece bands you will not find any that will blow your mind and your speakers like Cairo Knife Fight. They are also one of the most exciting live acts you will ever see and effortlessly cool if you need that in your life.

OK, back to A-Eight.

It stamps its authority right from the opening note and Nick has never sounded better. He comes on like Josh Homme on speed who bumped into Richard Patrick from Filter after an argument with Trent Reznor. This is rock music how it is supposed to sound, 3 minutes that will stick in your head and change your mood. Lose yourself to it.

I would say go out and buy A-Eight but that would just be wrong. If you have read this far then you need to pre-order the Album Seven AND buy everything else Cairo Knife Fight has ever released.

If you haven't heard them before you will be shocked how good this is and it keeps getting better.

Am I gushing? No Apologies. Wow, seriously just WOW!

Cairo Knife Fight is Nick Gaffaney, a man who has drummed his way around the place for many of New Zealand’s leading songwriters, and George Pajon Jr, a Grammy award winning songwriter and guitarist who has worked with some of the biggest names in the international music business including The Black Eyed Peas, Fergie, Carlos Santana, Macy Gray, John Legend, Sting, Nas and Damien Marley. Forming as a duo in 2009 Cairo Knife Fight try to redefine what two musicians can create live with Nick combining the responsibilities of playing drums, keyboard bass, creating live loops and lead vocals with George’s seemingly limitless guitar soundscapes and incendiary riffs. The bands long history of dedication to pushing the boundaries of music video content has also seen them achieve viral status with their 2014 single Rezlord being viewed more than 11.7 million times.

In short order the band shot to the attention of the public after gaining a standing ovation from a packed Opera House in Wellington following their support set for UK act Gomez in late 2009 and being hand picked by Them Crooked Vultures to open for their New Zealand tour in early 2010 July 2010 saw CKF release their self-titled EP. The first single This is Love was included on the NZ Radio Hit Disc for mid 2010 seeing it rated as one of the songs of the year. The EP went on to be nominated in the 'Best Rock Album' category at the New Zealand Music awards in 2011. 2010 also included a trip the NYC to perform during the CMJ festival (while not actually a part of CMJ the band came to the attention of several members of the team and found themselves on a CMJ bill at the Bowery Electric) and touring Australia.

2011 was an extraordinary year for CKF. It began with a NZ tour with NZ's rock hall of famers Shihad in January before Them Crooked Vultures front man Josh Homme once again requested CKF to be the opening act for his Queens of The Stone Age NZ tour in February, which was disrupted by the deadly earthquake in Cairo Knife Fights hometown of Christchurch. While dealing with the aftermath of such an horrendous event the band took solace in recording the follow up EP II, released in August 2011 to 5 star reviews and top 40 chart placing’s, and to appear as special guests of the Foo Fighters for an earthquake benefit concert in Auckland, NZ. CKF rounded out the year by again joining the Foo Fighters onstage at Western Springs in Auckland, New Zealand in front of 45,000 people for the band's Wasting Light tour. The concert is considered one of New Zealand's biggest ever stand-alone shows.

Visit the muzic.net.nz Profile for Cairo Knife Fight

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