13
SOUND CHECK
WHAT’S PLAYING AROUND
THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST
JULY 13�20, 2022
Alka Mahdi combines electronics with live music
The duo plays July 15
for the Side A-lley
concert series
By John Vollinger
Go! Magazine
LA GRANDE — Switching things up for
Side A’s Side A-lley concerts is local duo
Alka Mahdi, who play at 7:30 p.m. Friday,
July 15, at Side A Brewing, 1219 Wash-
ington Ave.
Alka Mahdi — composed of Maddie
Ford and KC Kunkle — is a relatively new
collaboration, although both musicians
have been involved in music for a number
of years.
Alka Mahdi is similar to the acts that
have already graced the back patio stage
at Side A, in that they have a broad array
of songs that are engaging, fun and
well-crafted.
Where they diff er, however, is in their
sound.
Kunkle had been refi ning his music
for years when he discovered the “Akai
Force” — an electronic production ma-
chine that allows one to use samples of
music, as well as synthesized sounds, to
create wholly original tracks. This gives
him the opportunity to prearrange some
of the more melodic and percussive
elements of particular songs in a fresh
way. He then accompanies these sounds,
live, by playing the guitar and keyboards,
describing his sounds as a “hybrid of DJ
Contributed photo
Alka Mahdi, the duo of Maddie Ford and KC Kunkle, play Friday, July 15, at Side A Brewing, 1219 Washington Ave. in La Grande.
and live music.”
What rounds out this puzzle is the
vocal accompaniment of Ford, with some
additional harmonies added by Kunkle.
Ford has a voice that can sound pow-
erful at volumes high and low, and seems
to easily relay songs of a range of sounds
and genres.
This brings us to the all-important
question: What can we expect to hear
from the group?
Alka Mahdi performs covers of pop-
ular songs, of various time periods, in
a wholly original fashion. The audience
July 30th at Churchill School
can expect to hear covers of anything
from Fleetwood Mac’s “Rhiannon” to
Cher’s “Believe” and “Rolling in the
Deep” by Adele.
At fi rst glance, this might seem like a
wide variety of styles to form a cohesive
performance, but Alka Mahdi manages to
pull it off with their distinctive style.
With Kunkle’s unique style of produc-
tion, he is able to reimagine elements
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of the songs that give them a newfound
style and groove to make for an atmo-
sphere that is energetic and fun to dance
to, regardless of the genre of the original
composition.
For an example of this, look up the
band on Facebook for a full rendition of
“Rolling in the Deep,” as well as snippets
of many other covers, from “Auld Lang
Syne” to the Backstreet Boys.
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