Q+A: 5 minutes with Kinobe

Kinobe is heading toward the launch of their newest album, Over The Horizon, on the 4th of August. And with that, the much-supported band has given listeners a fragment of the greater whole that is yet to come. Their recently released single, ‘Falling Star’, is precisely what you might expect from the creators of the well-known single ‘Slip Into Something More Comfortable’, which featured on several Café del Mar’s music collections. It is a well-knitted composition in which synths form a unified harmony with glimmering ebbs and flows, that is, various nuances come and go, to guide listeners from subtle verses to cinematic, string-driven choruses. 

Stream / Download: Kinobe – ‘Falling Star’

We had a few questions for Kinobe, and the band obliged. They had fun with the answers. We enjoyed them, and hope you will too.

Set the tone for us. Why the arts?

Music takes my mind to places that nothing else can reach.

Which comes first when you’re producing – the sound or the idea?

The idea always comes first; it’s the Eureka moment.

Does your material feature any collaborations?

On past Kinobe albums, I’ve worked with some wonderful singers, string arrangers, pianists, nutters, criminals, and vagabonds. On this album, it’s just me, myself, and I.

What’s on your current playlist?

Mozart, Modest Mussorgsky, Frank Sinatra, The Bar-Kays, and J.J. Cale.

Tell us about the chemistry you have with your fans on stage.

I haven’t played a full live show for many years, although plans are afoot to get the band back together when they get parole.

What techniques do you experiment with to get your original sound?

There’s no technique to what I do, other than to let the music flow the way it wants to.

Take us through a day in the recording studio.

Every day is different, but most usually start with the burning of incense and drinking strong coffee. After a few minutes of praying at my shrine to Jimi Hendrix, it’s time to listen to the song I’m working on. The first listen of the day is the most honest, and reveals what I will be doing for the rest of the day.

Was there a specific moment in your life where you thought, “this is what I want to do”?

Seeing Brian May playing guitar in a friend’s living room when I was 10.

What do you keep close by while you’re playing a set?

Tequila and a Roland Chorus Echo RE501.

Any emerging artists on your radar?

Alex Valentine.

What gets your creative juices flowing?

Hearing a great song for the first time. There is so much amazing music just waiting for you to discover.

Take us through your collection of gear, tech or software that accompanies your creative expression.

Lots of guitars new and old: acoustic, electric, bass and lap steel. A few nice old amps. Piano, Fender Rhodes, Space Echo, Chorus Echo. Various old synths: Juno, Jupiter, Moog etc. Technics 1210, Tannoy Monitor Gold’s, NS10’s, A computer.

Any side projects you’re working on?

Another Kinobe album.

How have you refined your craft since you entered the industry?

I learn something new every day both musically and technically, which is wonderful. The first Kinobe album was recorded to 2-inch tape and mixed in an amazing studio in London in 1999. The latest album was recorded and mixed in a beach house in Australia in 2023 and most of the studio was in the computer. Good songs are still good songs, but the way we record and release them has changed a great deal in the last 20 years, and we’ve all to a greater or lesser extent gone with the flow. We may be inspired by the past but we must embrace the future and find the balance.

Break down the news for us: what can we expect from you this year?

Over The Horizon will be released, and at some point I will be back in the studio working on something new. Do what you love. Touring next year.

Famous last words?

I told you I was ill.

 

Out via SGKL, watch the official music video for ‘Falling Star’ below:

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