EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH : Kiskadee

UK-based artist kiskadee makes emotional electronic music capturing sounds from his surroundings to transform them into uplifting soundscapes that reflect his own experiences. Inspired by the nautical nature of his upbringing on the island of Jersey, he started the kiskadee project during lockdown in 2020 by collecting voice notes from friends and family to flip into bittersweet beats.

He spent 2023 working on his debut album, first traveling to Iceland to immerse himself in nature and develop the project. The result is A Room for Breathe, set to land later this month on respected independent label Another Rhythm. 

Ahead of the album release we spoke to this intriguing artist about creating this striking body of work. 

Welcome to Find Your Sounds, how’s the year been treating you so far? 

Thanks for having me! Yeah, it’s been a great year so far – so great to get these tracks out there after all this time.

Your trip to Iceland played a significant role in shaping your debut album. Can you describe a particular moment or experience during this trip that directly influenced a track on the album?

Yes, it’s such a beautiful and inspiring place! I think the main influence that the trip had over the album was encouraging me to put more space into my work (both sonically/conceptually) and to rid myself of some of the hang-ups that come with the London scene – this is what influenced the lyric on ‘Time’ – ‘There’s always time / let’s all waste time’.

The album captures nostalgia and personal growth, especially reflecting on your early 20s. How did revisiting old projects and collaborations help you articulate these themes musically?

Most of the vocal samples in the project came from old collaborations/projects when I was doing more writing sessions and productions for other artists from around 2017-2020. I’m turning 30 the day the album comes out, so naturally I began to reflect on the past decade in music but especially this time period where I was really trying to work out what I was doing in music and in life (!). I think there was a lot of anxiety around that time and I guess my ‘sound’ now is more expansive and chilled out so it was a nice mix of nostalgia/personal growth through recontextualising old ideas that went into these tracks. That’s probably the kind of thing that makes more sense in my head!

Starting the Kiskadee project during lockdown by transforming voice notes into tracks is a unique approach. How did this method of creating in isolation compare to your usual creative process, and what impact did it have on the album’s development?

Yeah, the original process of flipping voice notes came about in those first two weeks of lockdown in March 2020 (when livestream mania crept in, what a strange time). I was staying at my sister’s flat in a spare bedroom with just a little midi controller whereas usually I’m based out of my own studio with a mix of synths/acoustic instruments/various toys. Similarly, in Iceland I was based out of the beautiful Greenhouse Studios which had lots of unusual gear that I hadn’t come across before. I think pushing yourself out of your comfort zone whether that be through new technology or creative restrictions always leads to the most interesting results. 

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You are known for balancing electronic precision with human warmth. What techniques or strategies do you employ to maintain this balance in your production work?

Oof, that’s tricky to quantify! I’ve kind of had a bit of a mixed career, starting off more in classical music as a percussionist but then also playing in bands. Then when I moved to London I was doing the studio engineer thing before working at Spitfire Audio for a bit who develop software instruments for composers. Anyway! All of this is to say, that I think i’ve blended all those musical/professional influences in my approach to my composition/production work these days – so i’ll often layer acoustic drum sounds I recorded back in the day with drum machines and then creep in a field recording from iceland with some sampled strings that I also record my mate Dom playing live cello over the top. It’s a lot of layering, tweaking and definitely a non-linear approach to creativity etc. 

After your recent contemporary dance collaboration, how has your perspective on music as a medium for movement changed? How is this reflected in the album?

Yeah, that was such an interesting project (collaborating with dancer Alexandra Paal)! I think that it was also a big influence in how I approached space in the album (hence the title ‘a room to breathe’) and the idea of rhythm and repetition not being mechanic and fixed where I’d painstakingly tweak the grooves of the tracks so they were all slightly off-grid and were breathing themselves. 

Your collaboration with Michael Sebastian seems significant, especially on the track “Heda.” Can you discuss how your relationship has evolved over the years and how it culminated in this album?

Mike is great! We first met at the rattle which was an artist/music community that we were both members of, based out of tobacco dock. Mike has such a unique and improvisational approach to electronic music/performance which I’ve found super inspiring over the years performing/creating together. We’ve also just finished working together on his EP and will be playing a few festivals together this summer to support that (Green Man, SGP, Wilderness). 

You mentioned taking last year to reflect on your artistic direction. What were some of the key insights or decisions that emerged from this period of reflection?

Yeah, I’ve been writing a lot in the past year – both for my kiskadee project and the other film/tv work I do as a composer. I’d always tried to keep those identities separate and had seen kiskadee as more of a club-orientated project, probably because of the London scene being so prominent at the moment. I think the realization that both sides of what I do are all part of the same thing and that the cinematic soundscapes can feed more into the project and synth textures can be inserted more into my film work was a big breakthrough – ultimately it’s just about keeping exploring and being yourself. 

With the album set to release and a headline show and tour on the horizon, what are your aspirations for this album both live and in studio? How do you hope it will resonate with both new and existing fans?

Yeah, I’m just preparing for the headline show at the moment (at NT’s Loft on 23rd May). I definitely want that cinematic influence to be present so I am exploring the visual side of things as we speak and then trying to have a nice blend of organic/electronic in the performance. I’ve also been really influenced by my work with Mike and how improvisational he is so I am putting a bit of that into it too with various systems on the ableton push that allow me to rearrange the tracks live and on the fly. I guess at the heart of the album live and in the studio is that organic/electronic blend and making space for how I see the world and the energy I want to put into it. I hope the audience come away equally energised and meditative!

A Room To Breathe is out 24 May on Another Rhythm

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