In Conversation with: FLAWS
The British DJ and Producer FLAWS talks about his label, the creation process, and his views on life, spirituality and the current landscape of electronic music
It’s been a minute since the last editorial release on my blog, and as the year is coming to an end, I have some treats for you! A lot has happened in the past month.. Berghain reopened, together with most of the clubs in Berlin, and we have been enjoying dancing like ‘’the old days’’ for a bit. I have been happy to be able to see some favorite artists of mine perform again, and hopefully you did too! A lot of controversy surrounding the new rules posed on our culture certainly makes one think and reflect in the midst of these experiences, but as this is not the main topic of today’s article, I would leave those thoughts up to you. I would be happy though, if you’d reach out to share some of them with me!
After a couple of successful community and label features, it’s time to take a deeper look into an artist that has gained popularity in the recent years for his label Platform 22, and as of recently for being a resident of the Dutch Eerste Communie organization. Dear readers, if you did not guess already, it is my pleasure to introduce to you Kai Hickinson also known as Flaws, a British DJ and Producer based in the UK.
Kai is a prodigy in the modern electronic music scene. Having grown up in a supportive family environment, where his father has been an electronic music enthusiast for a long time, he had the chance to get in touch with music and particularly this genre from a very early age. Naturally, developing this interest and passion, Kai decided to dedicate his life to music and pursue a career. He is both a DJ and a Producer already at the age of 20 and I was wondering what came first, music making or playing?
‘’So, making music came within college. I went and studied for two years and on that course, one of my tutors was part of Shades of Rhythm, which were a massive rave prodigy in the UK. I wasn't necessarily too interested in the education part. I was more interested in going open-minded and learning all I could. Luckily, he was my tutor, and I have to give props to him for giving me that incentive and that inspiration. He would often take me away from the class and show me little bits of compression for example, and almost showed me how to break the rules. So, I wasn't really bogged down in the traditional ‘’this is how you mix and that’s how you do this’’. He was very much ‘’Just push the compressor until you can start to feel yourself, and that's the sweet spot.’’ From then on, I realized there are actually no rules in this, and I can just put my whole character in this music and see where it takes me. So, I’ve been doing that for 4 years already.’’ I quickly do the math, and I am staggered when I realize, that not only was Kai a producer at 16, but his tracks have been actually played in Berghain already at that time! For this age, I consider this to be quite an achievement, that demonstrates creativity and great skills.
Kai Hickinson
Formal Education versus the Creation process and the concept behind FLAWS and his sound
The first time electronic music was made was around the 1950s, but it did not become very popular until the 80s. Compared to other genres, one could say that we are a relatively ‘’young’’ culture, but with the technological advancement in the world, our music and the industry have grown exponentially in this short period of time. With that growth, the needs of artists have changed as well, and now 40 years later, we are at a point where this is a serious culture that also offers its own education in official institutions like universities and academies. Most of the artists that I meet and work with, have not undergone a professional electronic music-related education, but are rather self-taught. I am really interested to finally have a chance to speak to someone like Kai, who is from the new generation of producers that started their journey in music in a more ‘’traditional’’ manner through college and an organized curriculum. Kai shares more about the experience:
‘’I would consider myself as like a daydreamer, so I was at school, but I was not getting that creative inspiration from anything there. So, I was sitting there thinking that it’s either going to be science or music. Obviously, music sounds a lot more fun, and even though there were some discussions with my wider family about my wellbeing if I chose for music as a career, I just followed my heart! I must say though, I am a college dropout. I did spend two years and that third year, was just too formal and for me music had just started to really take off in my individual sense. I was really starting to get grips with what I really wanted, and I found out that I needed to let go of the education system to go and try and find it.’’ While I can understand Kai’s decision, I am curious to find out what were some good things that came out of these couple of years in college?
‘’Putting the negatives aside and looking at the positives, I suppose if you are in an environment, where other people also try to find something within music, you can always push each other in that sense – the collaborative work with people. You've got obviously expensive equipment that you might not have ever used before. Maybe you've got that space and that time to focus on it, you know, but obviously there's a counterpart. It’s still an education, so there's still a certain amount of conformity as in formal education, which for me was a negative, but for someone else that might also be a really positive thing as well.’’ Everyone learns and absorbs information differently, and in addition I think it matters what one’s goals are. In the end, there are people nowadays that really just want to learn ‘’the formula’’ and be a successful entertainer that earns generously, while there are others like Kai that are striving to become artists and to really translate their vision to something greater far beyond entertainment.
‘‘I was really starting to get grips with what I really wanted, and I found out that I needed to let go of the education system to go and try and find it.’’
The music production process is actually quite a complicated one. What can be often observed, is that people are very excited and motivated to start, they download Ableton or another DAW (Digital Audio Workstation), engage with tutorials and other educational materials, but as soon as it gets hard very early on, it becomes a rather discouraging experience that leads to a complete dropout. Having that in mind, I wonder would Kai encourage young producers to try out this kind of education in order to perhaps succeed more with that part of the process? ‘’Definitely! If you're looking at learning mindset Ableton, or Logic and learning the core basics of it and how everything works in an individual sense, then 100%. Once you've got that nailed, then the rest is up to you how you want to express it. I’ve learned about three DAWs during my time there – Ableton, Logic and Reason. I did learn different software and sometimes I can do a mixdown in Reason or Logic or vice versa working kind of between all of them. I would definitely recommend it in this sense!’’
Having gotten a primary insight into Kai’s music endeavour, I feel like it’s time to get deeper into finding out who is FLAWS as an artist, the concept behind his name and what does he want to achieve? ‘’The name actually came to me at 3 in the morning - the most random time! I was already making music and I thought I need to have a name – something that has a meaning bigger than my actual name. I wanted to be able to put a lot of light into that and keep it as a separate thing to me, because I never wanted it to be an ego thing. I woke up one night and I was just thinking..Flaws. I wrote it down in my notes and went back to sleep and didn’t think of it again. A week after, I was casually scrolling through my notes and it was at the same time that I was making a label as well. At first Platform 22 was going to be called Flaws Records, and I thought that doesn’t make sense at all, so I chose Flaws as my artist name and gradually over time the meaning deepened. For me, in this moment Flaws is to express the imperfections of life, which is in everything, but there is a beauty in that. For me techno is that, a real beauty in the imperfections and in the darkness. I guess it’s all of that put together. The meaning has definitely deepened from experiences going along in this journey. When I started, I was still young, I still am young, but in terms of my outlook on life I was still very young and almost vulnerable. This kid that is just wandering through this world and looking for his place. I’ve realized a lot though, that the place is literally here. I don’t need to look for it, it’s here. It’s like harvesting within and realizing that the external world is a counterpart of that, a feedback loop almost.’’
I can already tell that Kai is an old soul with a lot of sincere and genuine views on life, which makes him even more pure and easy to like! Going a step further to look into his sound evolution, I wonder if there was a difference between what he was making under his name and later on FLAWS? ‘’It’s actually nearly the same. My first release was an EP on the Brighton label Obscure. Sometimes I go back to that and I listen and I think to myself ‘’actually that sounds better than some of the stuff I am doing now haha’’. It’s always been this kind of music.’’ I decide to challenge him with the hardest question for most producers and ask the young artist to try and describe that sound in his own words. To help him out, I wanted to already exclude some of the most used words to describe him that we see online such as ‘’groovy’’ and ‘’uptempo’’, because I always felt like there is a lot more to his output. ‘’Maybe eclectic. That’s all that comes to mind right now. I just like to experiment with rhythm and different tones.’’ I guess to me as a listener the first thing that comes to mind would be percussive. ‘’Yes! Definitely percussion for me is what I love most in a track and what I am most drawn to. Those elements that keep the track interesting and keep the swing there. They keep the track almost humble if the percussion is right. You can have the best soundscapes in the world, and sometimes that can be great and taking you somewhere else, but then if you add a percussion, that can maybe ground you while listening. I think it’s rooted in all of us – the percussive elements, and you can definitely put your soul and character into it.’’ I actually agree with Kai here, but while I am a fan of this sound, I am also a really big fan of hypnotic and those crazy soundscapes that he mentioned. Hypnotic is a term, which can be interpreted widely and differently by everyone. In my case, I always link it to heavy and rich lows in combination with moving atmospheres and strange but comforting sounds. I do find Flaw’s music to be hypnotic as well, but the hypnotism comes from a different place. It comes from the repetitive rhythms, the loopiness and those minimal elements that are always present and change slightly and when you are fully immersed, a change like that can alter your entire experience on the dancefloor! I wanted to know what ‘’hypnotic’’ is for Kai?
‘‘Percussion for me is what I love most in a track and what I am most drawn to. Those elements that keep the track interesting and keep the swing there. They keep the track almost humble if the percussion is right.’’
‘’I think it’s a subjective thing. We can definitely get hypnotized even in our own thoughts. For me, I always get hypnotized by these exact minimal elements that you mentioned, that I can put my direct attention to, and maybe slight changes might change the perspective of the track. In that sense, hypnotic to me is something that can keep me present, and keep me in this state of wondering or induce me in a trance. I am definitely inspired by a lot of hypnotic artists.’’
Goals, recent memorable experiences and collaborations, and reflections on Global attitudes within the post-pandemic music industry
As a performing artist, one must have a certain goal when they get behind the decks. Nowadays that goal is often to make the crowd dance, others actually are aiming at ‘hypnotizing’ their audience. As Kai is still in the beginning of his path as a DJ, but I can already tell that nothing of what he does is random or without a proper reason, I wanted to know what does he want the crowd to get from him when performing?
‘’I think for me, I’ve always been compelled to being in an atmosphere like that and almost surrendering to something bigger than me that can alter my consciousness. The ‘bigger than me part’ is not the DJ, not the lights, it’s the music. If someone puts a lot of ego into the music you can never tap into that altering consciousness or trying to learn or discover something new. For me, based on performing myself, I definitely want to be falling into that category of not putting my ego in and letting the music filter through me and alter someone’s consciousness or mood or state of being, or inspire someone. Something as simple as that, sparks!’’ Food for thought! Those moments that provoke you to get to a place where you can think about yourself and life. ‘’This can be a powerful tool for real change and transformation. The people that are not seeing and doing that, it’s kind of disrespectful to the music and to what it should be about. Obviously right now there are a lot of politics, and money involved and the counterpart of everything, it’s all constantly being polarized. But this is what my mission and intentions are when going into playing or making music.’’
‘‘If someone puts a lot of ego into the music you can never tap into that altering consciousness or trying to learn or discover something new.’’
I am so humbled to be having such a mature and interesting conversation with Kai. His sincere answers make me smile and feel hopeful about the future generation of our industry. Being a producer and a DJ sometimes can be overwhelming, but on the other hand one of the processes always inspires the other and charges one with a lot of inspiration and energy to move on with projects. Hearing about Kai’s perspective on DJing and making music, I cannot help but wonder how does combining the two worlds go for him?
‘’Now there is no balance. It’s all been production for the last year or so. For me to balance it now, I would have to go and play, which would then inspire me again to produce. In terms of having that deep focus and deep relationship with it, that balance is needed in my experience. It’s definitely playing, feeding off the energy and inspiration and sparks, and coming into the studio to filter that all over again, recreate it, and that feedback loop is what really inspires me. It’s a weird moment for playing. You put years into something and then something like the pandemic happens and it cuts completely everything, and it shows you that it’s not as stable as you thought, not as straightforward, and it’s actually quite a fragile thing. Getting back into it, I am now really questioning the intentions of people, seeing through people. I am not really so susceptible to people, promoters. I am looking for those that are aligned with my kind of vision, passion, ways of appreciating music. I am probably more focused than I was before the pandemic, and in a way it’s a blessing.’’
I perfectly understand the lack of balance at the moment, but I also know that in these hard times we’ve grown to appreciate a lot more everything that we are given, and sometimes one experience can be already enough to charge us with enough energy to go on for months. I asked Kai about the latest such event that really charged him and helped him to get through the pandemic, while keeping his motivation high.
‘’Before the pandemic I got to play in Morocco. This was a crazy experience for me! I’ve never been to Africa before or Morocco, so to go and play there was wild. I had no idea what to expect in terms of a scene. It was truly humbling to be honest. Like you said, that really did get me and it still gets me through a lot of things. It kind of deepened my meaning towards music and myself.’’ How did it happen? ‘’I developed a really good friendship with Bidoben. He and his friend Sara also known as Saraait were creating the night. We did a lot of phone calls and the time finally came. When I went, I stayed with his family and it was incredible. I met some beautiful people. The artist that does all Platform 22 artworks, that’s Bido’s sister Sarah actually.’’
I am really impressed with the fact how yet again our music and culture truly have no borders! What a great experience, to be able to connect with likeminded people from across the globe, and contribute to each other genuinely. Flaws goes on to add ‘’What also helped me get by was getting or staying in contact with friends within the scene, trying to inspire each other. Finally reaching contact with some legends that I’ve been looking up to or speaking to them on personal level. For me that second part was also really insightful and helped install some morals. How to go about the scene, and how to keep myself grounded and balanced in terms of not getting polarized and lost by everyone else’s vision. Sticking true to myself, staying centred and not hiding behind a persona.’’
This is the second time in our conversation that I feel like Kai has reached a certain important conclusion about the current climate of the electronic music scene. Is it that the pandemic highlighted the attitudes of participants in the scene, whose passion did not manage to withstand the test of time and patience? Or is it that there was a shift in values and priorities on a global scale within our industry? Maybe it is the fact that some words did not translate into the same actions outside of the internet? I want to take a step back and understand what he is thinking.
‘’As I started to deepen within myself, I’ve realized how important it is to almost protect my own energy, my own integrity and not in a selfish egotistical way. It’s more in terms of spotting your own value, your own vision, just from within and then kind of within what you do. Instantly when I started doing that and changing my perspective, I also started seeing through people and seeing their intentions, noticing little things I never noticed before, because I was maybe too excited. I feel that it was the birth of myself.’’ Having said that, Kai smiles and continues on a more positive note ‘’This time, it's actually incredible, because, there's a real chance and there is a real opportunity, if we stepped behind the veil and don't get so caught up in this fear thinking. Because again when you're in fear thinking you can't think straight. When you actually step out of it, you realize, this is a time for real transformation. Things are starting up again, and maybe some people are getting in the mindset of ‘’we need to have it the same as before’’, but the reality of things is that it’s not the same timezone and we need to move on. We need to create something new to inspire people again, and create new ways of experiencing electronic music, because perspectives have changed completely. Not a lot of people are comfortable with confronting that reality. I think that is why it’s even more important to be critical and make your own decisions.’’
I couldn’t agree more with Kai, and I shared with him that throughout the past 2 years, I’ve been hoping sincerely that some serious stigmas surrounding club line up curations worldwide, artist and agency fees, or social media influence and popularity above all would be perhaps broken or reinterpreted. In reality, I don’t see this to be accomplished, but we are rather at an all-time high of ‘’consuming’’ instead of really contributing and developing our culture together. I wanted to know what are some of these stigmas in the music industry today, that he would wish had undergone some changes? Perhaps there are some that he thinks have potential for a clean slate?
‘’As I started to deepen within myself, I’ve realized how important it is to almost protect my own energy, my own integrity and not in a selfish egotistical way. It’s more in terms of spotting your own value, your own vision, just from within and then kind of within what you do. Instantly when I started doing that and changing my perspective, I also started seeing through people and seeing their intentions, noticing little things I never noticed before, because I was maybe too excited. I feel that it was the birth of myself.’’
‘’I think we need to change the way that these parties are curated. There needs to be a clear indication as in is it about music or is it more about selling tickets. I actually think it has got to come from people, who are experiencing and perceiving this music. And I think a lot of people need to start to realize what they actually enjoy, in terms of not being so susceptible to going along with what others think. Maybe even stepping a little bit away from their phone or Instagram or influencers. Start focusing on the sound! At a lot of those commercial events there are some great artists playing, but a lot of the people who are there aren’t listening to the sound. Then that artist is completely getting undermined, his or her vision as well because the people there aren’t listening, but are there just to say they were there. This is not a sustainable thing.’’ With excitement and some frustration built up inside, I step in to express how we are definitely seeing eye to eye here, and to add that in my eyes techno is not meant to be a fashion show, or a popularity contest online. It’s rather a culturally enriching experience that provokes thoughts, feelings, emotions within oneself while being able to confront you and comfort you at the same time. Surely, it is important that we are also creating a safe space for everyone to feel free to be themselves, and express it in every way they want through their look for example. We simply must not forget our core values, where we come from, or the fact that the music is the main thing bringing us together there. FLAWS goes on to add ‘’Maybe some of the people that are clinging on to bringing back what we had, will start to realize that actually that time is gone. And we're in a completely new timezone, and it's going to take something else to push this to the next level.’’ To make a full circle and end this chapter of our conversation, I expressed my hopes that the future is actually with young people like Kai. It is with those, who have their own vision, organizations, labels, the people that are really in it out of passion without a commercial interest. The power is with us – the creators, not just with the individual. We need to find a way to get promoters to notice, appreciate and book more upcoming talent. It’s up to us to express opinions, exchange views and keep this conversation going. It’s easy to agree on these things online via an Instagram post, but what would bring the real change in the long term are the choices that the participants in our scene would be making day in and day out.
Platform 22, the vision of the label and the forthcoming split EP premiere with Minneapolis Underground prodigy Lonefront
Zooming out of our deep thought, I want to take a turn towards FLAWS’ label Platform 22. Having one’s own imprint is actually a difficult job. It’s not only the curation and realization of every release from idea to final product, but a lot of administration in the background too, which can certainly be overwhelming at times. Being the youngest label owner I’ve gotten the chance to talk to, this is yet another side of Kai that truly amazes me. I want to explore this topic in depth starting with the story and his concept.
‘’Basically as I mentioned previously, it was about the same time I was trying to come up with my artist name Flaws that the label happened. One reason why I wanted to create it was to showcase some of my friends, who are making amazing music. Something about that, so I can almost build a liberal platform. I started with an EP from myself. I was putting a lot of stuff out on Badncamp only and stuff that I’d really resonate with as well soundwise. I always had an idea about the stuff that I’m attracted to soundwise, it’s always percussive-based, always stripped, very organic moody and just stuff that is functional for the dancefloor. At some point, I did a split EP with Lee Novell also known as Xono and it was great. We collaborated really well together in terms of how we both vision this music in the long term, our roots in this. He learned really young in his life about it all as well, and we shared a common interest. At that time, I was kind of thinking whether to start a new label or do I stay and put all my energy into Platform 22. I was having this discussion with him and he actually shared that it has always been his dream to have a record label, and I immediately asked if he wanted to help. It was a bit difficult at first to find our roles, because I was used to doing everything myself from start to finish. Now he is more responsible for the showcases and the vision behind that, making it happen, and I am more addressed on the general vision and sound of the label.’’
‘‘Having Xono on board has added a whole different dimension to the vision that has always been there’’
From what I am hearing, Xono and FLAWS have a perfect synergy. Kai goes on to add ‘’For sure! Obviously Lee’s got his radio show. At first it was like anyone that released on the label, we would ask if they wanted to go on the radio show and slowly we started adding a bit more. Now we’ve got the showcase, we can add to anyone that releases on Platform 22 can get an invite to play there for example. Having Xono on board has added a whole different dimension to the vision that has always been there.’’
Hearing the word ‘vision’ quite a bit, I get the impulse to dig deeper in that and understand better what exactly is it? ‘’I think the vision is based on combining the notion of Fine Arts with fine music or classic music. To me there's stuff that I want to push out, and it is that classic kind of sound like timeless pieces. I always wanted to keep the notion that these are pieces of art, it's not just music, it’s a whole package. We've got a concept designer that I go through, who is studying philosophy. We have really deep chats about what’s the message I want to put out to this. We also invite the artists into that chat to ask what’s their message, what deep revelations they’ve had recently? We put it all on the table and he makes a concept based on that through philosophy, and so it is always about putting everything together to become a whole piece. For me that goes past the point of just releasing music and putting out digital copies, it’s the whole thing! Now we are in a timezone, where we are stepping into putting this intention into trying to get something physical, which is going to start from the next release coming up.’’ Was that a direct announcement to a vinyl release? ‘’Yeah! Our friend Roger also known as TWR72 has been doing some releases on the crowdfunded vinyl platform Diggers Factory. If people want to see this on vinyl, they will commit and they will pre-order it, and if it reaches a number of pre-orders say 200-300, it instantly gets pressed. There is no waste. If people want the vinyl, now there is this option to give it to them. It’s been an interesting process and I really like that idea!’’
‘‘The vision is based on combining the notion of Fine Arts with fine music or classic music. To me there's stuff that I want to push out, and it is that classic kind of sound like timeless pieces. I always wanted to keep the notion that these are pieces of art, it's not just music, it’s a whole package.’’
As a vinyl lover all of this is music to my ears! I love the fact that nowadays, there are alternative ways for young producers and label owners to try and put out more than just one format out there, without being financially burdened! I understand and respect the choice of Kai to realize this project in this way. He goes on to add ‘’Keeping up that there are a lot of collectors, constantly digging and collecting. I am also one of them, even though I don't play vinyl in a live setting, because for me, that kind of takes me out of a rhythm, because all I've learned is digital. But I do play vinyl when I can in my own comfort setting. I don't necessarily like to actually buy techno on vinyl to be honest. I buy a few bits, but I definitely am more into Underground Resistance stuff that still manages to keep its vision, after all those years. For me that’s what I want to achieve – I can put out a vinyl and maybe after 10, 15, 20 years it would still have that same vision and same impact. To me that’s incredible and it goes beyond words!’’ I wish nothing but the best for Kai to be able to actually achieve this beautiful goal! As we briefly touched upon the artwork of Platform 22 earlier, I want to get deeper and complete the picture of the imprint’s vision by learning more about the beautiful and clean visual representation.
‘’At the start, I was just making these little red rectangles out of .. something, it was all me. I’d say from Kian Gast onwards the art kind of took on a different dimension. I went on this trip to Morocco met Sarah, and her work was incredible. It’s all hand painted! I spotted her talent right there and then, and we started that initial excitement about possibly working together in the future. The vision and the passion just matched, and ever since we’ve supported each other.’’
Actually, one of the reasons that me and Kai were having this conversation, was an upcoming split EP between FLAWS and Lonefront, who is an up and coming talent from Minneapolis, on the mighty Platform 22. It is my honour to be able to premiere the first full length track of the release by FLAWS himself. Check the link below and listen to the amazing music, while you get to read about the story behind it all.
‘’His name is Ross and he is coming out of the Minneapolis underground scene. His stuff speaks for itself. It’s a 909 modular expression – done! I heard a lot in his sound, and we started a dialogue and got to know each other based on more personal presence. I was sending him some of my unreleased stuff and get this pure coincidence, he actually heard some of that live in DVS1s live set. All of that synchronicity started to take place and ever since then we’ve been sending each other music. It was always at the back of our minds that one day we will work together on something, not sure what it is yet but we will! Now this opportunity has come up and we are putting an EP together, and I am really happy with the result!’’
Earlier in the conversation, Kai described a bit of the conceptualizing and creative process behind the releases on the label, but making a split EP is something else. I want to know how does he approach such projects and if they differ than the rest of the releases? ‘’Obviously, I am also collecting and digging music for my own sets and I also reach out to the artists to tell them ‘Your stuff is incredible’! I tend to be really selective in what I play, so if I am playing that person’s music it means I really resonate with them or their output. It’s kind of a mutual thing being built, and a split EP is based on me thinking what artists would sync together harmoniously in terms of sound. We speak about the concept, and things other than music and get to know each other a bit deeper. It goes beyond the release and you just put it all into one thing – a split EP and put it out and hopefully that triggers someone’s imagination and sparks. There are a lot of releases and a lot of things that get pushed, it’s easy to just put functional music out there. By doing this, I think for me anyway, it instantly adds way more depth to it. It’s not just a digital release, it’s about the whole thing that got created!’’
So basically, when you put everything together and start a conversation taking things beyond the release, this also helps with curating the tracks on your side and those on the side of the guest artist, so that when combined together, they can tell the full story of both of you, your relationship together and how your sound compliments each other? ‘’Definitely, it’s true! The split EP for me is about telling a story within the sound. There has to be a deeper meaning to it. It might be amazing music, but for me if it doesn’t have that spark then it’s not it.’’ I instantly wanted to know what is the deeper meaning behind this specific release that we are premiering today? ‘’Originally, it’s based on observing things. Taking an observant approach to reality before jumping into things. ‘’ This is actually the record that will be crowd-funded in the near future, and you can already put in your pre-order while still enjoying this powerful EP digitally.
Label Showcases, thoughts on the current landscape of electroninc music in the UK, the healing properties of music and special announcements
Slowly approaching the end of our conversation, it’s time I asked about the first showcase of Platform 22, which happened at the end of August in one of London’s most renowned clubs FOLD, featuring some of the usual suspects, as well as dear friends of Kai – Xono, Yant, and Hitam. I wanted to know what value does Kai attach to having label showcases in the future and how does it link to the vision of the label? Does he find it essential to create these experiences to connect with artists on another level and give them a platform to perform beyond the release, or is it maybe something that will happen as it happens and when it does it is welcome? ‘’The event was definitely a success, but we did not sell as much as what we hoped for. There was obviously a lot of money that we put into it and there was also a loss, but that's fine. It was not quantity it was quality. It was a really intimate vibe, and the people that were there, some were even following the label since when I started it! For me that was more valuable than anything ever. Having our first Platform 22 showcase at FOLD was just incredible. The sound system, the line up! We are a tight friends collective, and it goes beyond the music. It was a really nice evening! From that, the club saw that the people that were there were quality and came for the music, so they gave us some dates for next year. It’s really nice that the club has given us a chance, beyond the money.’’ With a big smile on my face I realize, that as we are speaking about the needed change, it is already happening! I guess FOLD is a good example of a club, that is acknowledging the importance of fresh young talent with their own vision, and instead of moving on to selling tickets, they are actually investing in the local potential and youth by giving them the space to unfold.
Yant, XONO, Hitam and FLAWS before the Platfrom 22 Showcase at FOLD in London, August 2021
‘’I feel London has developed from that whole same kind of line ups and same kind of sound. Maybe this is really a catalyst to change. That decision caught me off guard too, as I thought that this was it since we did not sell enough tickets, but there was none of that!’’ Kai goes on to add ‘’As for the label, I mentioned earlier, the showcases add a totally different dimension to the vision. We can directly take what we have experienced, plan and put it out there, express it in a physical form and connect with our community.’’
Having mentioned the development of the London scene, I got triggered to ask about his general feelings towards the overall UK techno scene. To me Flaws is definitely a main figure in it right now, that plays a crucial role into shaping a new generation of artists and even an entire subgenre of techno. ‘’If you would be to ask me a couple of months ago, I would have probably said that I have no hope, because there is nothing going on here. Actually, I was just in Manchester for a party, and that for me was also a really good incentive into the fact that there is potential, and there are people here that like and want the music and would travel through the country for it or even outside. Here there is a certain amount of conformity, but I am seeing a lot of positives as well. This potential needs to be in the right hands and this is the question I’m asking myself ‘’Is it in the right hands?’’ ‘’I guess a part of Kai would always support this scene no matter where he is, as it is his roots, and we as humans are built in such a way that we cannot deny that cultural connection. I believe, that with his platform, his pure heart and great ideas about the culture and the music, he will be able to contribute greatly to the development of the music scene.
I want to conclude our lovely conversation with asking about his future plans and thoughts with regards to both Flaws and Platform 22. ‘’Looking at the future, I want to take this to the next level when it comes to my own stuff, the label and there will be a few releases that will be an expression of that. I want to keep myself inspired and that’s the main thing going forward. I’ve realized not to be so fixated on how my expectations are, how things are going to develop or a certain outcome. That only creates a certain level of suffering, and all I can do is just keep myself around people that resonate with what I do, and people that also inspire me and push me. Again, if you’d ask me a year ago maybe I would have said ‘’It’s to have a showcase in Berghain’’ or something like that, but it’s not it, it’s bigger than that! I want to grow.’’
Just when I thought that we have reached the end, I remembered something really interesting that the young artist shared with me in another conversation, and as we are speaking about the future it was kind of the right time to ask! A while ago, Kai shared with me that he is looking into taking on a more scientific approach to music making, that involves the consideration of energy and vibrations. Obviously, by now you can tell that he is a person that appreciates spirituality and is highly observant and involved with reflecting and thinking in depth about everything. Nevertheless, I was still not completely sure what this new approach is?
‘‘Going into this next stage, that is my mission now - to be doing this based on healing intention. I am really aware of the fact that within our scene, there are a lot of parties and this lifestyle can be so unhealthy. That's not a positive thing for me. Being a part of this, okay I am a creator, but I also need to be leading with some sort of compassion or empathy for people.’’
‘’We go around life and we are so fixated on our physical bodies and reality, but actually everything is vibration and there is science behind that. Therefore, music can be a tool to actually change people in terms of inner vibration. Then it’s down to the person behind that vibration to put good intentions behind it. I’ve been working with some frequencies lately, that alter certain energy in the body. The scientific approach can only explain so much, but that the rest is down to what you feel and how you feel after listening to the music on a sound system for example. They are called Solfeggio Frequencies which based on, you can take out different resonances out of sound and they can heal parts of the body, even enhance your mental state, your emotional wellbeing, or physical! For me, going into this next stage, that is my mission now. To be doing this based on healing intention. I am really aware of the fact that within our scene, there are a lot of parties and this lifestyle can be so unhealthy. That's not a positive thing for me. Being a part of this, okay I am a creator, but I also need to be leading with some sort of compassion or empathy for people. I can’t just be rocking around just doing my thing and trying to ignore it instead of confront it. So, perhaps this is another way where maybe I can do something that can actually transcend this music for the potential of healing people. There is a lot of taboo around this, but for me that is the next level. There is a lot of music out there, that has a certain healing presence to it.’’ To me, this certainly is ambient music, as it is a genre where I can surrender to the frequencies and experience them differently - kind of in full. I’m so interested and curious about the outcome of this challenge that Kai has posed on himself! ‘’I'm still keeping myself in touch with the sound that I produce, I am just embodying a more compassionate approach to how I go about this. A lot of it is down to good intention. If you are a good person and you embody compassion and you care about people and are not removed, then naturally the stuff that you are playing is going to have a direct effect on the people. They can feel that through the music and it’s just a tool to express yourself!’’ I think you all have experienced this exact thing that Kai is talking about. Be it with your favourite artist, or with someone you heard for the first time in that very moment… that connection between artist and the audience is priceless and frankly one of the most enjoyable aspects of the night experience for me.
‘’Last but not least, I want take the opportunity to announce that in addition to all of that, I will be starting a new label together with Fixon, an artist from Mexico, that will be called Ceiba and will focus on deeper more hypnotic music. We will start with a 4-track VA compilation, which we are currently preparing. Some details that I can reveal are around the meaning of the name. It means ‘the descent into the underworld’. The cyclical life of the Mayans exists in a cosmic space surrounded by branches, trunk and roots of a monumental ceiba or sacred tree, considered by its culture the axis of the world. The ceiba is the communication bridge between three levels of existence: heaven, earth and the underworld.’’ Positively shocked by the bomb that Kai just dropped, I immediately asked what was the underlying desire to undertake such a big project now? ‘’I guess I’m seeking something new and interpersonal to my new perspective on life!’’ This for me, was certainly a big highlight today - a new hypnotic label being born!!!
With that, we concluded our conversation, even though I felt like I could talk to Kai for hours! What an interesting insight into a young artist equipped with integrity and strong values, who is constantly expanding his horizons and is constantly looking for a way to be a good presence in this world! I am really humbled that we had the chance to connect, premiere some amazing new music and announce very exciting news about the next steps into his musical development! I hope that you feel as positively charged and content as me after reading this piece!