Hudson K....

Ouroborous  and  the  Black  Dove  is  the  national  debut  of  the  Knoxville-­based  powerhouse,  Hudson  K. Under  the  guidance  of  internationally  renowned  producer,  Jason  Rubal  (Amanda  Palmer,  Over  the  Edge, The  Cure),  and  his  team  at  Seventh  Wave  Studios,  the  multi-­talented  duo  (Christina  Horn  and  Nate Barrett)  found  the  courage  to  dive  deep,  creating  a  brave  musical  mosaic  without  the  underpinning  of traditional  instruments.

Hudson  K  is  electro-­synth  rock  with  influences  ranging  from  Siousxie  and  the  Banshees  to  P .J.  Harvey . Comparisons  to  the  Yeah  Yeah  Yeahs  and  Annie  Lennox  have  been  made  in  recent  press.  Over  the  past seven  years  of  cultivating  their  sound  through  energized  and  often  extravagant  stage  shows,  Hudson  K has  built  a  loyal  following  across  the  Eastern  States  in  cities  ranging  from  Chattanooga  to  Knoxville, Asheville,  Philadelphia,  and  New  York  among  others.

Bold  exploration  is  what  caught  the  attention  of  producer  Jason  Rubal  at  Seventh  Wave  Studios.  “It  all started  with  a  message  I  got  out  of  the  blue  one  day  from  Jason,”  recounts  Hudson  K  founder,  Christina Horn,  “It  said,  Mark  my  words:  Some  day ,  I  will  make  your  album.”

It  took  a  community  to  bring  Ouroboros  and  the  Black  Dove  to  life.  In  Fall  2012,  Hudson  K  launched  a crowdsourcing  campaign  through  Indiegogo  to  raise  the  money  for  the  project.  “I  didn’t  know  if  we  could do  it,”  Horn  recalls,  thinking  back  to  her  initial  hesitation.  “It’s  such  a  daunting  task.  Will  people  believe  in the  project?  Will  they  pre-­order  a  record  that  hasn’t  been  produced?  Do  they  trust  us?  Do  they  want  to hear  the  music?”

As  it  turned  out,  there  was  no  need  to  worry .  Within  the  30-­day  campaign,  Hudson  K  exceeded  their fundraising  goal.

“You  know,  there  are  a  lot  of  different  ways  to  spell  ouroboros.  It’s  an  ancient  symbol,”  Horn  explains, “but  I  chose  this  way  of  because  of  the  o-­u-­r.  We  could  not  have  made  this  album  without  our  fans.  This  is a  community  album.”

New  and  old  fans  will  be  amazed  at  the  technical  prowess  in  this  album  as  it  swings  seamlessly  between the  branches  of  synth-­heavy  meta-­rock,  pop-­dance  tunes,  and  powerful,  stripped  down,  soul-­searing ballads.  Ouroboros  and  the  Black  Dove  is  a  visceral,  cathartic,  and,  at  times,  upbeat  album  that  makes  a bold  statement:  This  is  Hudson  K.

What  does  it  take  for  a  band  to  find  their  voice? Time,  talent,  grit,  and  determination.

Founding  member  Christina  Horn  spent  seven  years  studying  piano  in  a  classical  conservatory ,  refining her  technique  and  composition.  She  spent  the  early  part  of  her  musical  career  playing  with  orchestras  and classical  groups  in  Chattanooga  and  Knoxville,  TN.

“I  knew  I  had  talent,”  Horn  will  tell  you  with  a  flush  of  embarrassment,  “but  I  didn’t  know  I  had  a  voice.  I fell  into  the  trap:  get  a  degree,  get  engaged,  buy  a  house  in  suburbs.  It  wasn’t  authentic...to  me.  It  was

everyone  else’s  idea  of  a  good  life.  Not  mine.  I  didn’t  have  a  voice.  I  gave  it  away  before  I  ever  found  it.”

Bold.  She  took  a  leap  and  gave  away  the  life  she  had  built.  Horn  spent  the  next  year  crashing  on  couches, making  her  first  attempts  as  a  singer-­songwriter  and  defining  her  own  idea  of  a  good  life.  In  those  early days,  she  could  be  found  at  open-­mic  nights  around  Knoxville,  Chattanooga,  and  even  as  far  south Eddie’s  Attic  in  Atlanta.  Almost  whispering  into  the  microphone,  hiding  behind  her  hoodie,  Horn  began  her quest  to  find  a  sound.

In  the  midst  of  these  transitions,  Horn  ran  into  Knoxville  drummer,  Nate  Barrett.  The  two  hit  if  off  instantly . Horn  told  Nate  of  a  dream  she  had  discovered:  to  transpose  classical  elements  of  composition  to  modern rock.  With  her  steadfast  resolve  and  technical  skill,  Nate  was  sold  and  Hudson  K  was  born.

After  a  solid  year  of  touring  HK  began  to  realize  the  absolute  saturation  of  the  live  music  market.  It became  painfully  obvious  that  there  were  hundreds  if  not  thousands  of  female  songwriters  and  indie  bands trying  to  be  heard-­and  they  all  sounded  similar.

“There  are  so  many  Tori  Amos’s,”  Horn  says.  “I  hated  being  compared  to  Tori  Amos.  It’s  like,  if  you’re  a female  musician  who  plays  piano,  you’re  compared  to  Tori  Amos.  I  always  wanted  to  be  an  innovator.  I wanted  to  find  my  own  sound,  maybe  a  new  sound.  I’d  rather  be  a  Kate  Bush  or  a  Laurie  Anderson.”

The  solution  was  hard  won.  Horn  had  been  toying  with  Ableton  Live  since  it’s  initial  release  in  2001  but had  yet  to  really  implement  the  software’s  capabilities  into  a  live  set.  In  2012  she  took  a  sabbatical  from performing  and  locked  herself  in  a  hotel  with  the  goal  of  unlocking  how  she  could  best  use  technology  as a  tool.  A  few  months  later  Hudson  K  emerged  onstage;;  the  traditional  piano  had  been  replaced  by  a laptop,  a  MIDI  controller,  a  launchpad  for  live  looping  and  triggering  samples,  and  a  wireless  MIDI  keytar. The  new  sound  is  a  definite  departure  from  the  cabaret-­inspired  piano  ballads  of  2010.

Hudson  K  has  become  a  guiding  force  for  the  thriving  music  and  art  scenes  in  Chattanooga,  Knoxville, Asheville,  and  the  surrounding  areas.  When  they’re  playing  close  to  home,  a  Hudson  K  show  becomes  a collaboration  of  arts,  regularly  featuring  belly  and  knife  dancers,  hula-­hoopers,  and  aerial  artists. Harnessing  the  passion  of  the  music  with  a  focused  energy ,  Christina  Horn  and  Nate  Barrett  capture imaginations  and  inspire  audiences  wherever  they  go.

When  they  aren’t  on  the  road,  Hudson  K  calls  their  scruffy  city ,  Knoxville,  TN,  home.