KIDKANEVIL INTERVIEW – BONAFIDE EXCLUSIVE

Way back in Bonafide 02 we did a feature on one of our favourite producer mans Kidkanevil. It’s been a while but if we could still be arsed to use MySpace, he would be in our top friends for sure. And I’m talking top 8 shit, before it turned jokes. Consistently dope and consistently unpredictable, one of the most genuine and original producers in the UK today. If you haven’t heard his latest album Basho Basho then erm, you really need to.

You’ve been pretty busy since we last spoke. The latest album sounds dope and has a different feel to the last 2. Are you satisfied with it and what inspired it’s direction?

Yeah, I’m happy with it as much as I’ll ever be happy with my own stuff. It was mainly written through the winter watching lots of fucked up Japanese cinema, probably why it is the way it is. That was just my vibe at that particular moment in time I think. I just get vibes in my head and run with them till its done.

How does your relationship with First Word work? Are they happy to put out whatever you come up with?

We’ve just grown up together really, Gilla used to book me to DJ round Leeds since I was a teenager, and then as I started thinking of releasing music he was setting up the label, so it just came about organically. Yeah, I can put out whatever I feel, nice and simple.

What are you working on at the mo?

Man, loads of shit! My main focus right now is a collaboration project with Foreign Beggars, which is gonna be nuts. I’m also doing an album made from kids toys and another project from Raymond Scott samples. Then just doing productions and remixes for various people and all that. Also got Basho Basho Remixed Remixed coming soon, confirmed remixes from Daisuke Tanabe, Tokimonsta, Illum Sphere, Blue Daisy and Daedulus so far, it’s gonna be really really dope.

You recently relocated from Leeds to London? Why would you do that? Can you get battered Mars Bars down there?

You can probably get a battered Mars Bar, but it’ll coast like a fiver or summin’. I’ve just lived in Leeds my whole life, was time to switch it up. Although I don’t leave the house much either way so who knows. I’m always reppin’ West Yorkshire though, flat cappin’ motherfuckers.

Have you been robbed yet? Or are you out straight jacking Motherfuckers?

My yards been robbed twice! Fools didn’t take much though, despite a studio full of goodies. We’ve got mad security now, ED-209 shit.

What does Minjo mean?

The album was heavily inspired by Hiroshi Teshigahara’s ‘60s film ‘Woman of the Dunes’. Kyoko Kishida plays the woman in question and Minjo was her haiku pen name, it means sleeping woman. Or at least I think it does!

What does Basho Basho mean?

It’s named after the haiku writer Matsuo Basho. He wrote a book called ‘The Narrow Road to the Deep North’, which is a kinda reflective travel diary meets haiku collection. The album functions in similar ways in my head so I just called it that. I thought it sounded dope twice.

Is there a new Stateless album on the way and if so how involved are you with it?

Yeah man, its finished. All mastered and sat right here on my laptop. Heavily involved this time round, the production is shared between me and Damian Taylor who does Bjork’s stuff. I’m really proud of it, looking forward to it dropping. It should be out in the autumn, we’re just sorting out artwork n stuff right now.

What label are Stateless with these days? You had a pretty shitty time of it with Sony back in the days from what I remember? Do you mind giving an insight into your experiences with a major label?

Unfortunately I can’t spill the beans just yet on the new situation, but the new albums coming out on a very dope label. A legendary label I grew up on actually, it’s gonna be pretty amazing. As for the majors, that whole thing is a joke, bunch of muppets. They make bullshit for radio 1. That’s it, that’s all they do, haha. I dunno what to say really, the Sony thing is a pretty epic story. I just put it down to a crazy learning experience. I can’t listen to that first Stateless album to be real, its so far from what I would’ve wanted it to be and was so old by the time it came out, I wasn’t even that involved in the end. S’all good though, I get my revenge with this new one!

Zo0o0o0p!!! is some heavy shit. How did the collabo with Oddisee come about?

I was a participant at the Red Bull Music Academy this year, that was recorded there. Oddisee just swung by and I got him to bless that beat and that was that. Oddisees real humble and cool. Does all his verses in one take. Rakim shit.

When you were starting out, what were your ambitions and did you expect to be at a point where you had released 3 full albums, not to mention the work you’ve done with Stateless, the remix album and the 12′s etc?

I dunno really, I’ve always just been working on music, trying to get better, trying to make something honest and dope. Releasing stuff just seems the thing to do when you finish something! I’m proud of some of the stuff I’ve done but most of it just makes me cringe, haha, so I don’t really look back too much, on to the next one!

How have your musical tastes evolved along the journey?

At this point I’m pretty much done with genre. It’s a less and less relevant idea I think. I’ve always just been drawn to honest music, I like shit that exists for itself, because the creator had to make it, and for no other reason. That’s why Dilla and Arvo Part are on a higher plane, they represent that with such incredible purity.

What is the last piece of vinyl that you bought?

Last bit of vinyl I bought was Special Percussions on Le Chant De Monde I think, dope French African percussion thing. In terms of new shit, I only buy things that are absolute must haves. For me my collection has become much more about quality than quantity. The download thing actually lets me do that, cos I can jump on boomkat or whatever and download a bunch of dope new shit just like that. But if I’ma buy the vinyl, it has to be something I want to ‘own’ as apposed to just listen to or DJ with. The formats not important to me on a listening level, as long as the qualities good. Though having said that I’ve never liked CDs for some reason, haha. At the moment I’m mainly bumpin’ rap mixtapes. Listening to this Cyhi Da Prynce mixtape right now, dope.

How is the live show looking? Will you be doing festivals this summer?

The live show is looking like me with a laptop and an MPD looping up beats and pushin’ lazers. Might get a novelty robot outfit, spice it up. Yeah, doing a few festivals, Croatia, Amsterdam, Poland, forget the others off the top. Excited about my new set actually, well looking forward to playin’ it out.

When are you going to do an album with Double D Dagger?

Oh man, I’d love to, I tried! But Dagger are Dagger, it isn’t necessarily that easy. Best emcees in the world though. Dagger, call me!

If Bonafide issue 04 was to be a UK special, who would you put in there?

Double D Dagger. Eliphino. Blue Daisy. Illum Sphere. Laura J Martin. Andreya Triana. Homecut. Foreign Beggars. Hudmo. Rustie. Mala. Om Unit. Jehst. Danny Breaks. Joker. First Word. Eglo. One Handed. LuckyMe. Ghostpoet. Bug. Terror Danjah. Hoya Hoya. Putmeonit blog. Man, there’s too many people, I’ma have to stop there!

Do you know any funny jokes?

Yeah man, loads.

Have you got any new mum disses or are you still churning out the same old?

Only same old I use is your mum at the weekend, ooooh shit son!

Ouch. Basho Basho Remixed Remixed EP is out now and you can grab it here at Boomkat for a few quid.

Filed under: Bonafide Exclusives, Dub-step, Electronic, UK hip-hop by P.A.