Alex Martin talks shop with Mount Kimbie ahead of their New Year's Eve show.
Leftfield electronic act Mount Kimbie shot to the world's attention in 2009 when Maybes, their debut EP, became the toast of dubstepforum. Released amidst a maelstrom of demurral from commentators inside the scene and out that innovation within the genre was waning, the record seemed to stand as conspicuous testament to the contrary. It became an inspiration for all sorts of musicians and producers taking a more subtle, less orthodox approach to making dubstep, and seemed to shine a light on the various then-unexplored avenues the sound could go down.
In their debut album, Crooks and Lovers, Mount Kimbie were responsible for one of the most successful electronica albums of last year, and have spent the last year touring internationally.
Alex Martin caught up with the pair ahead of their hotly anticipated live set at Eastern Electrics this New Year's Eve.
How would you describe your music to someone who was unacquainted with your work?
MK: I would usually shy away from an in-depth description, instead opting for “It is electronic music influenced by hip hop, pop and indie”, or something along those lines.
What would you say were your musical backgrounds in terms of taste? Were you always into garage and 2-step and that sort of sound or did you just find it rhythmically interesting?
MK: Both of us have had a love for guitar based 'band' music from as far back we can remember. But we started making tracks together through a mutual interest in dubstep and other types of underground dance music. Since we have released music and actually get sent other artists' music, our tastes have become far more varied.
I've read you discuss William Basinski as an important influence. How did you first come across his work? Are there other artists you sample heavily?
MK: Kai had heard some of his material, I can't remember when exactly, but, we both saw something in the way his recordings sounded and wanted to sample them. To be honest, there are not many other people that we have sampled as consistently.
What about Pierre Schaeffer and musique concrète? You seem to have been influenced by that approach to sound production, particularly in terms of field recordings and other sonic idiosyncrasies. Were you into that stuff before you started producing?
MK: I personally have never heard of Pierre Schaeffer. Field recordings are useful as they offer an inexhaustible supply of drum sounds and I like finding small bits of tone in them and using those as natural synth notes.
I find your music very emotive, trading in nostalgia, remorse, and melancholy on the one hand and redemption, bliss and euphoria on the other. Are you very emotionally engaged in your work?
MK: I've never felt emotionally engaged to what we do to be honest. Making music is now part of my everyday life; I don't see it as a way of consciously channeling my emotions. Although, it is great to hear that it has an emotional effect on the people that hear it.
What is the division of labour like between the two of you?
MK: We are very free about how we work, mainly separately, coming to together weekly to listen to what the other has been working on and swapping files. We have our own studio now though, and we work with live instruments a lot of the time together.
How did you first get in touch with Paul Rose and Hotflush?
MK: Paul emailed us saying that he had seen a track that we had uploaded to dubstepforum and that he wanted to discuss releasing something. One thing led to another and we ended up working a few releases on Hotlfush, which is fantastic.
Where did you get the photo from for the album art for Crooks & Lovers?!
MK: It was taken in Peckham, South London by Tyrone Lebon. We gave him a short brief of the type of photo we were looking for and he went out and took hundreds. The woman in red stood out from the rest.
You had an incredibly prolific 2010 but have been more quiet on the release front this year. What have you been working on over the last twelve months? Is there another LP in the pipeline?
MK: We haven't been working on anything up until two months ago. We've been touring really hard, going to the US, Australia and all through Europe and the UK. It's been amazing, but we're looking forward to writing a new album now.
I loved the Peter Van Hoesen remix of Carbonated. Did he approach you or vice versa? How does it feel to have your creations tampered with and re-imagined?
MK: I'm not sure who approached who as it was through management but we are fans of Peter's work and were honoured to have his take of the track. Its interesting to see what others make up with the samples we give them. We are always fans of the people we have had remix us.
Which releases have really stood out for you in 2011?
MK: I can't give you a full list but have been really enjoying new releases by Anstam, James Blake, King Krule, Traams, Pangaea.
Eastern Electrics is on New Year's Eve at the Coronet.
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