Eight musicians from diverse cultures come together to forge a unique alchemy of sound, blending the frantic rhythms of the Balkans, the explosive sounds of metal and math-rock, the tumult of free-jazz and the haunting melodies of Eastern brass bands. Their music is an ode to resilience and creativity in the wake of the apocalypse. Since their last LP (RDS-202, 2020) and Junkz (a collaborative project with La Jungle released in February 2023), the work of cohesion and encounters has taken the group into the studio to produce Octophilia, an album made up of long-form tracks that extend their influences as far as the Caucasus and baroque music, absorbing math-rock, lame Romanian rhythms and poetry along the way. There are also some surprisingly festive tracks that combine punk energy with Balkan intoxication, abstruse breaks and electro trance. Kermesz once again offers an improbable, supercharged blend that blows styles and conventions out of the water in the service of festive, devilishly lively music. Octophilia also features the band's only four-legged member, who is the vocalist and usually accompanies the band in concert. On stage, incorporating their street art experience and freakshow-inspired visuals, the band atomise a sweaty, transfixed audience, who witness the rebirth of an ecstatic universe from the ashes of post-industrial apocalypse. Blending street art, popular and learned music, drawing on math-rock, electro and free jazz, as well as Eastern European traditions and freakshows, Kermesz offers an improbable condensation that blasts styles and atomises a stunned audience, witnessing the rebirth of an ecstatic universe on the ashes of the post-industrial apocalypse.