KAI WHISTON
Kai Whiston, a UK producer noted for his work with Shygirl, VTSS, COUCOU CHLOE, Tommy Cash, and Dorian Electra. He has finally released his long-awaited album titled 'Quiet As Kept, F.O.G.' It's an excessively staple of symphonies and has been in the works for three years.
Kai was born into dance music in the late 1990s, a fact he addresses within the record more than ever. His mother and father were New Age Travellers who had spent their lives hopping between free parties in South England, seeing the emergence of Massive Attack, The Prodigy, and Orbital.
Helene Whiston, Kai's mother, was creative, making flyers and paintings for warehouse events during the trance, hardcore, and breakbeat scenes. His father was a wonderful bar pianist and grafter, but he was regrettably led down a darker road into the drugs and violence that so frequently decimate impoverished communities. Kai’s father died of a heroin overdose when he was just a year old; the album is about his resentment of growing up in an only-child, single-parent family surrounded by travellers and the risks that followed.
Kai has remained active since releasing his last studio album in 2019, as well as his collaborative album 'XYZ' with BABii and Iglooghost. He also released a short conceptual hybrid-alien-themed mixtape called 'Drayan!' His new symphony, 'Quiet As Kept, F.O.G.,' is a very ambitious and devastatingly beautiful composition. Kai's'sound' is never restricted by a specific sub-genre or scene but by a maximal approach to cutting and sound design that generates combinations that feel cross-referential and wholly unique.
Kai's work feels endless in its narrative and keeps you wondering what's next because of his unconstrained viewpoint and devotion to crafting sonic universes. In an exclusive Coeval interview, Kai discusses his identity and his position in the music world.
How did you get into music? Have you always wanted to pursue a producer career since being a youngster?
I was introduced to a lot of music by my mum and started a few bands in school, but I was more into computers at that point. I was making a lot of gaming videos on Sony Vegas & making art using GIMP which is this free Photoshop alternative. I got into music production tutorials just stumbling around YouTube when I was 12-13 and I started using Ableton Live to make parody EDM remix stuff. Started taking it more seriously around 15 after getting into weirder electronic music.
You have worked with a range of artists like Shygirl, VTSS, COUCOU CHLOE, Tommy Cash, Dorian Electra, and more. Name some of your favourite music moments so far.
I have a lot of talented friends! Grateful that they would want me to do some work for them. As far as a ‘music moment’ goes, I think my career has just been an amalgamation of small things built up through my output rather than having a big song or whatever. It felt amazing to work with Pussy Riot on the record though, someone I have admired for a long time.
And, what inspires your music? Personal memories, art, etc.
I suppose everyone just needs to wake up and do something to stop you from going clinically insane. Seems like there’s been good reception with it though. All I can say is I strive to create things that are both personal and relatable, and I hope that it inspires others to do the same.
You have just released your new album titled ‘Quiet As Kept, F.O.G.’ - what does this body of work mean to you and the sound you create?
It’s a really quiet album. I think the entire album averages about -19 dB if you look at the audio analysis insights. Everyone is always concerned about making really loud records so I wanted to take a twist on it and keep it quiet. That’s where the album concept comes from really, just music that is reflectively silent.
As fans have been waiting for this album for three years, how do you want people to feel when listening to ‘Quiet As Kept, F.O.G.’?
Exhilarated, impressed, shocked, appalled.
You have also released a self-directed music video for ‘Between Lures’ which visualises the album’s concept. Can you tell us about the creative process behind the video? And would you self-directed a music video again?
The creative process was being promised a lot of money by a distribution company and then they took too long to give it to me, so I had to pay for it myself. But have managed to stay afloat and it hasn’t left me vulnerable to any financial issues. All kinds of things and all kinds of things going on in that video. You got your caravan stuff coming up the hill. You got the dancing stuff. You’re the bit where I fall underwater. A lot of moving parts there. I will probably have to do another music video again, just just a catalyst of the annoying lane of audiovisual world-building twat music that I am in.
How do you see the music scene overall developing over the next couple of years?
More songs, more videos, more streams, more social media, more albums, more gigs, more concerts, more merchandise, more t-shirts, more hoodies, more courses, more beats, more instrumentals, more instruments, more genres, more subgenres, more performances, more concepts, more listening, more labels, more distributors, more publishers, more managers, more CEOs, more radio stations, more digital service providers, more money, more fame, more paparazzi, more show business, more underground, more communities, more mainstream, more album covers.
interview IZABEL ROSE
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