Interview: LA Based Musician/Filmmaker KS Discusses His Brand New Album "Arepa"
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“I think visually, my music sometimes is seen as experimental...the structures are not typical, it does have a feeling of various genres thrown together within a song...”
Congratulations on the completion and release of your new album "Arepa". How would you say that "Arepa" differs from your last project, "Quarantronic"?
I released "Quarantronic" right at the beginning of the pandemic, early 2020. Things were so tense, gray and depressing, so I wanted to make a lighter, more fun album. Something sunny and not too deep.
The tracks on that album were bouncy, upbeat and a contrast to what was happening around me. That album came out and was very well received. Throughout the rest of that year I started writing more complex songs, the tone was darker, so I knew the new album would be a little different, yes it has a few funky upbeat songs but the rest are more complex, longer songs.
About the title of the album, the term "Arepa" is a very popular Venezuelan dish (I am Venezuelan), it is kind of like our sandwich, and we put all kinds of things inside of this dish, so..I feel my music is one big sandwich of multiple genres within a song.
How long did "Arepa" take to complete, and were there songs that you recorded that you decided to not include on the final version? If so, why did they not make the cut?
It took around 3 months to complete the project. And I always have left over songs that I didn't include because they didn't fit the theme or style of the album.
I am sure those tracks will be released as either part of a new album or released as singles.
How would you describe your creative process for the development of the album's 14 tracks?
Once I had the basic foundations for the songs, I started asking a couple of female singer friends to help me with a few vocal phrases that I needed for the new songs. I had the melody and key for the vocal "textures" in my mind so I would send notes on how a particular particular piece of vocal should be. I also used my own voice through a vocoder or sped up. I also tried new keyboards sounds I had not used before, that inspired the direction of the music for most tracks.
This album has more vocal textures than the last one. It also has more intricate instrumentation.
I am a huge vinyl fan and buy lots of funk and prog albums and studied a lot of the amazing grooves by 70's and 80's funk artists (The Gap Band, Dazz, Kool and The Gang, etc), those artists inspired the grooves a lot of times, and prog Jazz bands (Weather Report, Brand X, etc) were inspiration for keyboard solos.
Because we were still on lockdown while making this album, it really helped me stay sane.
As someone who is an award winning filmmaker and a musician, in what ways are film-making and the creation of music similar, if at all, to you?
I think visually, my music sometimes is seen as experimental (something I don't think it is), but I get it, the structures are not typical, it does have a feeling of various genres thrown together within a song, and there are solos! (that comes from my love of metal and Rock music).
I see the songs visually in my mind, kind of like a script, this section goes first, that other section there needs more color, etc. So, yeah, I think mostly as a filmmaker so I guess that transfers to the music.
With the "Arepa" album now released, what are some of your goals musically for 2021?
I am already sketching more songs ideas, I am hoping I can do something with more acoustic instrumentation. I play acoustic guitar and a lot of the songs I am working on are guitar based so the new music will reflect that. I will still have electronic backgrounds here and there.