DJ Interviews: Kandemic

 Here's my interview with the band Kendemic

How'd you get started in music?

Well, all of us have been playing, singing and making music since we were young. What makes Kandemic so interesting for me is the fact that musically we all come from very different backgrounds. Killabase's roots are in old school rap coming from the streets of Milan. Zar earned his chops as a guitarist studying metal and rock, but later his musical experiments have taken him to acoustic finger picking, where he is building a strong reputation for himself. Nick's roots are in Rock and Metal drumming, but he has also spent a lot of time studying and performing word music percussion. Nick and Zar also play in a great acoustic band called the Headtrip Acoustic Project, which is a completely different style from Kandemic, but you should definitely check them out. And my background started with Rock and punk, but 26 years ago I moved from Finland to Ireland and got really into Celtic music. In a way, I suppose there are elements in Kandemic's music that are bringing me back closer to my musical roots.

   As a band, as the pandemic started to close down the world, we were all left thinking what now. And when the boredom got too much to deal with. Me and Killabase decided to try to make some music together. And we both knew Zar and Nick, so it was kind of a natural thing to bring them onboard. So in the midst of the pandemic my small apartment became our bubble where we spent endless hours making music. It was a real lifeline through these confusing times. 

Who are your inspirations or influences?

Individually that list would take us a day to write down... But when we started making music, we did listen to a lot of Sublime, but the list is endless from punk, reggae, rock to rap and hip hop. Actually, on Kandemic's Spotify page, we have quite few playlists, which probably would be a great insight into some of our influences.

What advice would you offer aspiring performers?

Make and release music, and lots of it. If you sit home or in a studio trying to polish your first single to perfection, that music will never see the light of day. No one's first release is never going to be "the best ever". You will learn by making a lot of music, putting it out for the world to hear, and get honest feedback. Collaborate with a lot of artists, producers, engineers and even artists in other fields, like photographers, dancers, videographers... Not only will this bring your music to a new audience, but more importantly you will be exposed to new ways of working by the people you collaborate with. If you record at home, consider getting someone else to mix your work. It's always a great idea to get a fresh set of ears in when you have listened to the track already over a hundred times. There are no shortcuts! Music is a hard grind. If someone offers you a shortcut, no matter how good their intentions are, it's more than likely not going to get you to that magical "next level". No one will ever care about the success of your music more than you. Career in music is not about "making it", it's about the journey. Learn to love the journey and stick with it. And lastly, remember who you are making the music for. If you think it is for you, then your music will never be anything more than a hobby. It is about the people who listen to your music. And if that is only one person outside of your friends and family, make them feel like royalty! They will be your biggest advocates. This is actually something I feel very passionate about, so if anyone want to talk about it more, just reach out and we can share some ideas. 

How do you set yourselves apart from other bands or singers?

The thing is, we are not consciously trying to do that. We believe that the band's members' individuality will naturally do that. But when it comes to the creative part, we see music very much as building blocks, and we are happy to borrow those blocks from our heroes. Like early rock n' roll had its roots in blues and folk, music should be a naturally evolving organic product. 

Any new gigs or albums in the future

We have been releasing a track every full moon for the past year, and collectively those tracks are our debut album. We are currently in the process of finishing our second album, which we will start releasing later this year. And now as the restrictions due to the pandemic are starting to ease off, we definitely will be working towards live shows as well. 

And before I leave you, can I just thank you for doing what you do. It is so important to us musicians that the people take the time to talk to independent artists and share our story. And for the readers, if our story resonates with you, do go check out our music on Spotify :-)