[vc_row el_class=”interview”][vc_column][vc_column_text el_class=”intro-text”]Recently, we caught up with Kairo from now London-based two-piece The Curious Incident. The duo is made up of Kairo and Diaz who hail from South Africa and Indonesia respectively. After meeting in the Netherlands, they now reside in the UK writing and performing their African inspired pop-rock. They have played shows in the UK, South Africa and Canada and have had multiple songs played on BBC Introducing. Last month, they released their single Behaviour Saviour as part of their “3 Songs, 3 Months” plan which aims to, as the name might suggest, see them release one song every month over 3 months. Kairo tells us more about the band, their upcoming single and what we can expect from them in the 2017.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]
- Hey Kairo, thanks for taking the time to chat to us. How was 2016 for you?
- Hey MC! 2016 was all kinds of up and down but for songwriters that can be a good thing. The year was full of songwriting inspiration in conjunction with lots of hustling to get the music heard.
- When did you first know you wanted to start focusing on music more seriously?
- A few years ago, I moved to the UK from South Africa in order to pursue music more seriously. It’s been great-kinda-crazy so far and recently I’ve started to feel like there is some traction under my boots which is making the climb a little easier.
- Do you come from a musical background?
- In terms of being a massive live music fan, yes! In terms of learning music as a kid, no. I decided at the ripe old age of 20 to start singing and join a band and I picked up a guitar a bit after that to help with my songwriting. Now I’m learning piano and production and I feel like I’m still at primary school level in my musical learning curve but I love it.
- What can you remember being your first real musical influence?
- My mom had me swinging my hips to Elvis when I was a kid. She’s got a stellar record collection which is certainly making a comeback now. It only hit me that music is what I wanted to pursue whilst watching bands perform at a festival. Some of them didn’t look like they wanted to be up on that stage. I wanted to swap places with them and have loved being on stage ever since.
- Are there any musicians you’d like to work with in the future – perhaps even from the past – dead or alive?
- It’d have been a trial by fire to have been able to work in one of those Motown songwriting offices back in the day and have to write songs day in and day out – with brilliant songwriters in the room next to you trying to get their song picked over yours. I’d also happily spend some time in Max Martin’s studio; He’s one of the most successful modern songwriters.
[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text el_class=”large-quote”]I wanted to find a theme that I could use for inspiration in my songwriting and I’ve always had a huge love for worldly music so Caribbean and African beats naturally caught my ear.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]
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- How did you meet Diaz and decide to start making music together under the alias ‘The Curious Incident’?
- Diaz and I overlapped at primary school in the Netherlands for about a week. He was arriving as I was leaving (for South Africa). We stayed friends and eventually (almost a decade later) decided to make some music together and both moved to the UK to do so.
- What is your songwriting process like – either solo or with the band? What works best for you?
- Usually, a melody creeps up on me whilst I’m doing something random: walking to the tube, grocery shopping, washing the dishes, brushing my teeth (that last one can get messy). Then I try and find the chords to fit the melody and lyrics to follow suit. Other times I’ll just freestyle over a chord progression until something original sticks.
- Did the ‘Pop-Rock with a Caribbean Twist’ vibe develop naturally from your different musical backgrounds or was it something you set out to establish?
- Our earlier music was unfocused and it took a while to figure out what sound we were looking for. I wanted to find a theme that I could use for inspiration in my songwriting and I’ve always had a huge love for worldly music so Caribbean and African beats naturally caught my ear. Hopefully, we’ll be able to carve out a unique “Curious” sound over time.
- Was there any specific event that made things start to snowball for ‘The Curious Incident’ and gain you guys more traction?
- I like playing in the snow but the snowball effect has yet to come into effect for the band. We’ve got loads of songs that we are planning on releasing this year so the goal is to get on some good festival line-ups and playlists to get the music heard.
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[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]What has the feedback been like at your shows? Does the atmosphere tend to depend on what you play or who to?
The crowd is a huge factor in playing live yet we always aim to give every performance our everything. I’ve learnt the (very) hard way that stage-dives are not always appropriate. Playing live is our favourite part of being musicians and I particularly love interacting with the crowd and making the show an experience.
What is your live setup like? Have you ever considered using any electronic equipment during your live performances or when recording – or sticking to a more classic approach?
Currently, our live setup has me on vocals, playing the guitar and using some electronic equipment such as Ableton Push whilst Diaz gets freaky with the drums and other samples and loops. We’re working on bringing more keyboards into the mix too.
What can we expect to hear from you and the band in 2017? Have you got any exciting projects coming up either solo or together?
We started with our “3 Songs, 3 Months” campaign in December in which we release a new single each month. In December we released “Behaviour Saviour” and will be releasing the next one at the end of January with the 3rd being launched at our gig for Independent Music Day in London in February. In terms of my solo stuff, I post a clue every Tuesday (on my solo Facebook page) as to what cover I’ll be posting on Thursday.
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