Akiva - Video Of The Week

Ralph's favourite video this week is M.O.D. by Akiva. Three quarters of Akiva – Malcolm Carter (guitar, vox), Rob Mercel (bass) and Dave Mercel (drums) – have known each other since their schooldays at a Bedfordshire comprehensive sharing a love of raves, classic guitar riffery and grunge.

Singer, guitarist and synth programmer Dave MacKenzie then arrived from England’s northwest, bringing with him a passion for break-beat, the Madchester scene and anything with a bit of groove and swagger.

Honing their art in a dingy south London rehearsal room, Akiva found themselves sharing the studio space with Kasabian, whose processed beats and retro licks weren’t a million miles away from where Akiva themselves were heading. Throw in shuffling broken drum beats, rolling bass-lines, twinkling analogue synths and punchy, percussive lyrics and you have the Akiva sound, fully formed.