It’s been six years since Kommunity FK has played Los Angeles. To be specific, they haven’t played live at all since 2019. This week, though, you’ll have two chances to see the seminal goth band, who came up in post-punk L.A., this week. Kommunity FK is set to perform live on both nights of Independent Project Records 45th anniversary— Wednesday, November 5 and Thursday, November 6— at Gold-Diggers in East Hollywood. The concerts foreshadow an exciting 2026 for the 47-year-old outfit, helmed by singer Patrik Mata,. Kommunity FK’s 1983 debut album, The Vision and Voice, is planned for a reissue next year via IPR.
“We get so many requests for it,” says Mata on a recent video call from Albuquerque, where he has lived since 2005.
During the 1980s, Kommunity FK became a cornerstone of L.A. deathrock and the goth scene that evolved from it. They appeared on the influential local television show New Wave Theater. The song “Something Inside Me Has Died,” can be heard in Modern Girls, the ’80s cult classic film about a night out in Los Angeles, alongside bands like Depeche Mode and the Jesus and Mary Chain. Over the years, Mata has kept Kommunity FK active, so it’s a bit surprising that The Vision and the Voice hasn’t yet been reissued on vinyl. (It was reissued on CD via Cleopatra Records back in 1993, with the track order altered from the original release.)
That the reissue is with Independent Project Records, known for vinyl releases with detail-rich packaging, is significant for more than just the fact that the label originally released Kommunity FK’s first two albums. “I could reissue it with any interested label, but it wouldn’t be the same. It wouldn’t have the class. The packaging, it’s fantastic,” says Mata. He notes that the label provides listeners with the chance to engage with albums, “Like we used to do in the old days, before digital. You looked at the cover while you were listening to it. There were lyrics inside, and pictures and you’re holding it and you’re getting that vibe of what that artist is giving you. ”
Mata was already making music when he found inspiration in the now-iconic Anarchy in the U.K. zine with Soo Catwoman— all spiked hair, winged eyeliner and striped clothing— on its cover. “I cut all my hair off and became a Pistols maniac,” he says. “Then I was like, I’m going to start my own band.” He searched around L.A.’s punk clubs for a drummer and met Matt Chaikin, who would play on the band’s first two albums, and formed Kommunity FK in 1978. The band played around the city’s clubs and loft parties. Along the way, they connected with another local band, Savage Republic, whose guitarist, Bruce Licher, went on to found Independent Project Records.
Recorded live in the studio The Vision and the Voice was made with minimal overdubs. “In those days, we were anti-that,” Mata says of heavy production. “It was more like bam-bam-bam, we’re just going to kick it out and what you hear is what you get.”
That said, the album also gives a glimpse into how Kommunity FK sounded on stage in the early 1980s. “That first album was our set list,” says Mata. “We just let the tape roll and we’re going to go for it and they would stop us if they had to make an adjustment on there, the engineers, and that was that.”
In addition to punk, Mata was, and still is, influenced by various art movements, including Dadaism, German Expressionism and Surrealism. “The movement that really struck me were the Dadaists because they were kind of punk rock in their own way,” he says. Mata mentions Tristan Tzara, whose cut-up Dadaist poem instructions were a precursor to the method of rearranging text popularized by William Burroughs and Brion Gysin. “I use that concept a lot during the first album, some of the lyrics,” he says. “Some of them make sense, some of them don’t.”
There was also a process of evolution involved in Mata’s early Kommunity FK lyrics. “I used to make up the lyrics on the spot,” says Mata. “If we had a great song, musically, I would sing and work with lyrics live and, finally, whenever we got into the studio, whatever I sing, that’s it.”
Thematically, Kommunity FK songs tapped into societal issues, although they weren’t necessarily political. “More societal angst that I was going through at the time,” Mata clarifies. He does point out the continued relevance of some songs. “Like the song ‘Bullets,’” he responds, “which is about anyone can buy a gun and you can do whatever you want, you can get away with all kinds of stuff with a gun.”
Forty-two years later, The Vision and the Voice has become a cult favorite as Kommunity FK’s fanbase has expanded far beyond Los Angeles and encompasses multiple generations, as well as fans of a number of different genres. Mata mentions “Incompatible Disposition,” perhaps the most synth-heavy track on that first album, as we chat. “That song is considered synth-punk now. It’s a whole genre,” he says.
“There are some great artists, like N8NOFACE. I really love him,” says Mata of his affinity for synth-punk. “He’s amazing. When he was first coming up, I caught it. It’s kind of Screamers-ish.” He also mentions that he’s glad to see that his contemporaries from the late-1970s L.A. scene, Nervous Gender, are playing, now as Nervous Gender Reloaded. “They’re all over the place, thank God, they deserve it,” he says.
While gathering materials for the reissue, Mata has come across archival gems, some of which he doesn’t want to disclose so that it will be a surprise for fans. However, he does mention a recording from a significant show in Kommunity FK’s history. In 1981, the band supported Killing Joke at the Whisky a Go Go. “It’s a very killer live show,” says Mata. “The crowd was going nuts. People throwing things at us.” He adds that some of the crowd response is audible in the board recording of the set. “It’s really fun,” he says of the discovery.
In addition to The Vision and the Voice reissue, Mata also has been working on new music, both for Kommunity FK and other projects. Kommunity FK is also planning to tour in 2026. In the meantime, if you want to catch the band play the Independent Project Records bash on November 5 and 6, single and two-night tickets are available. For those who can’t make it to the IRL show, livestream tickets are also available. See IPR’s website for more information on the event.
Liz O. is an L.A.-based writer and DJ. Read her recently published work and check out her upcoming gigs or listen to the latest Beatique Mix. Follow on Instagram or Bluesky for more updates.
Keep Reading:
Flashback to 1980s L.A. with Grey Factor on Live Album, A Peak in the Signal (Interview)
Anja Huwe on New Xmal Deutschland Box Set and Returning to the Live Stage (Interview)
N8NOFACE and Chico Mann Update a Classic Alternative Sound on As of Right Now (Interview)