In our latest Artist Spotlight, we chat to world-beating alternative electronic artist, Kanga.
S] How are you today?
Busy but good, thanks!
S] How are you looking forward to coming back to the UK and touring?
The UK is probably my favorite place to play shows as a whole. You guys seem to have caught onto me the fastest so my shows there have always been pretty next level. There’s something about the integration of your club scene and your live music scene that seems to really vibe with what I do which is cool. I can play a 300 cap venue then head to Slimelight and feel at home in both environments.
S] What are the biggest challenges you face as an artist now?
I’m really lucky to have a small group of dedicated fans who seem to really understand what I am doing so I will never take that for granted. But being a solo artist without a label can be difficult in terms of when it comes to the physical amount of work it takes to do all this. At least bands have several members to distribute the labor between. It’s all me, everything I do. There’s no filtering system. The positive of that is that my work is pure and honest. The negative is that it takes a long time to get anything done and if I falter then my mistakes are pretty apparent.
S] How do you define success?
Success seems to be a moving goal post. Often the amount of money you make, your social media following, and the amount of heads you can draw to a show don’t always reflect each other, but when it comes down to it just being able to make music consistently and play shows for enthusiastic fans is all I want and I’m pretty much already there so I guess I don’t really have too much to complain about. I really like touring though, I’d like to be on the road more consistently.
S] What advice would you give to other emerging artists on how to gain a profile, as you have done?
Work all the time. Become so good that no one can ignore you. Focusing on gimmicks will only get you so far.
S] How do you look back at 2016’s ‘KANGA’ record now?
That was sort of an anomaly. It really was just a collection of songs thrown together that ended up getting a nice push behind it by some big names but I don’t really look at it as a cohesive piece of art. To me it’s more like a glorified demo that went further than expected. It’s taken me so long to come out with another release in part because I really had to reassess what I want to say as an artist. I felt that I really needed to focus becoming a great artist wholistically and not just being one thing or another. But when you’re a solo artist and your own producer growth happens slowly and I didn’t feel comfortable putting myself out there again prematurely. But I think I’m re-emerging now and I couldn’t be more excited…
S] Thanks for your time!
Thank you!
