INTERVIEW: KWASI
In ‘Self Sabotage’, Kwasi delivers confessional yet complex lyricism that is elegantly intertwined with Congrats’ (Ben Stewart of Slowly Slowly) singalong-worthy hooks that are aching in their honesty. ‘Self Sabotage’ serves as the second instalment of the duo’s collaboration, following on from the release of ‘Overthink’ in March 2021 with both songs produced by platinum award winning Melbourne based producer Hamley (Stan Walker, Pania, Allday).
Tori and Kwasi caught up to chat about the new track, the pros and cons of being an artist and a producer and the go-to studio snack.
Self sabotage. Very cool track. It came out two weeks ago and seems to be performing pretty well. How does it feel now that you've shared it with the world?
Really good. It was the first song that us three wrote together. Me, Ben (Congrats’), and Hamley. I always really liked it. I know, there's something about it. Something about that energy in the first writing session. For a bit, I was worried it wasn't ever going to come out, so I'm just happy that it's out. It's getting some attention and getting the momentum it deserves. Yeah, feels good. Feels good.
You've released music, in the post COVID world. What do you think the differences are between, pre, during and post COVID in terms of people receiving your music?
I don't know if I can speak too much on the audience side of it. Internally, I wasn't that excited about releasing music through COVID. I was on a few features, and I did a bit of production work but the live aspect of it, for me, is where I get a lot of my energy from and just knowing that there's potential for that down the line. Through COVID I didn't have that same energy. I was creating and that sort of thing, but definitely didn't have that same drive I do when we aren't in lockdown.
You grew up in the pop punk/garage band era of Nirvana and blink? Are they still your influences ?
Definitely go back to it, for sure. But I do like a lot of the newer stuff that's been influenced by that stuff as well, which is really cool. Nirvana and stuff will always have a place because that's the stuff my mom used to listen to when I was young. Those droney baselines and that sort of feel, it's connected to my music DNA.
Potentially taking inspiration from Travis Barker's new stuff? He seems to feature on everything now.
Yeah, he's everywhere. There's some really good stuff there. Like the stuff he does Kenny Hoopla that I really like.
Yeah, we're big fans in his house.
Yeah, he's incredible. Some of it’s more processed. Some of it's a bit more poppy, I like some of it, but some of it doesn't really resonate. It just depends. He's iconic. I use this program called splice to do a lot of production and stuff. They upload sound packs, and he has all these drum sounds on there, and I've chopped up some of these drum sounds before. He’s so influential.
I want to ask you about that as well. So you run your own studio?
Yes, yes.
And you do all your own production?
I jump in between. I still work with producers. So sometimes I might sit back and do more of an executive production role, which I did for a lot of the stuff I did with Ben. I did that and Hamley did most of the production stuff. I might jump on every now and then, program a beat or something. But sometimes I chill back and try to sort of help on both sides to keep the momentum going. Sometimes a bit more hands on with the production sometimes I'm not, but I did mix and master self sabotage as well.
Do you think that there's an advantage in being on that production yourself? And having more understanding of the production and mixing process?
100%, at first it was tricky, trying to do everything. It's always great to have more of a team around you. It's really good being able to speak that language and be the middle person to make sure things are cohesive. Sometimes if you're too into making the beat, you won't notice that like the energy in the room is off. If you're too heavy in the lyric, same thing. The beat might not be hitting as hard as it could be. At first it was kind of tricky, trying to spin all those plates but as time goes on, I really appreciate being able to dip my toe in every area and bring everything together.
You've worked with ALLDAY as well, one of the bigger, I guess, hip hop artists. I feel like can't pigeon anyone into one genre anymore. What was it like working with him?
Yeah, really cool. It's funny, because like, I think, now he's almost probably seen as traditionally hip hop, but back then he was sort of on the outskirts of it. That's why I was when I linked up with him. I always enjoy the artists that are off to the side a bit, trying to push for something a bit different.
You give me that Post Malone vibe of having a little bit of every genre. You've got the strong vocals there that are really smooth. But you've took a bit of this and a bit of that and blend it into your own mix.
Yeah thats my upbringing because having such a diverse background. My dad's from Africa, Ghana, and my mom's Australian, and I would always hear such a mixed bag of music. I think it was only natural to be drawn towards a lot of different things and trying to mash them together.
Is this the first single off an upcoming album?
We have we have heaps of music together. I'm still not 100% sure where to go with it. I thought I was gonna do a Kwasi album. But I'm still I'm not sure. I'm so hesitant. I want to keep building momentum before I do an album or something. But we have music there. So I think I think I just want to start putting out more music and stuff.
And what about getting out on the road? Have you got much in terms of tours planned?
Nothing. No, I've got a band. I put a band together last year, because I did a support set for Congrats’. We played together last month as well. All the stuffs there to put on a killer show but I've got a few other things on my mind that have taken up a bit of my energy. If opportunities present themselves, I'll probably try and like put something together. Right now there's no sort of plans strictly in place to do a tour or anything.
Is there much more that you'd want any new fans to know? What do you need to know this about this guy?
Expect the unexpected.
In terms of my music, I guess we delved into the pop punk trappy fusion, I've got other stuff in the bag as well. I never liked to constrict too much to one area. I've always struggled to do that which is tricky, because then people find it hard to understand you, just sit back and enjoy the ride.
What was the last thing you're listening to?
Last track I put on was actually a local artists, Akosia. She just released a song, check it out, R&B flavours and I'll give you another one….this dude from LA's Diveliner - his songs Gaslight and Teacher.
Last question for you though. What is your go to snack in the studio?
Go to snack……does a cup of tea count? Early Grey, little bit of honey and some almond or soy milk.