Interview: Mount Kimbie on inspiration, experimentation, and feathers

Mish mash musical duo Mount Kimbie hail from London. Their musical output is a result of a road trip through eras and genres, where one track can encompass a number of different riffs, drops, loops and the like.

Brits Dominic Maker and Kai Ca join a growing group of anti-dance floor, post-dub step creators, and have garnered more than enough hype to share between ‘em.

Fortunately for this duo the ‘hype’ was well placed, but the band that combine live acoustic elements with electronica and bass aren’t content. Having released debut Crooks and Lovers in 2010, Maker and Ca are on the road – already thinking about the follow-up. 

Straight off the plane from Coachella, with Dom Maker speaks to Jasmine Phull whilst he’s on a bus - a bus heading straight for inspiration.

Mount Kimbie formed in 2008. What were you doing before then? Were you in any bands you’d care not to admit?

Kai was making hip hop and electronica and I was making pretty much the same sort of stuff but I was singing on some of my stuff.  When we first met we wanted to use my vocals on some of his tracks but we never actually got round to it. That’s pretty much how Mount Kimbie formed.

Mount Kimbie has just arrived back from playing Coachella in the US. How was that?

It was super hot. We didn’t get too much time to hang about but it seems to be a fantastic festival, not only in terms of the music but the venue.

How was the audience reception in the US?

Obviously in the bigger cities we’ve got stronger fanbases but I’ve got the same amount of satisfaction from playing to 100 people as I have from playing to 600. It’s nice to hear people’s experiences of listening to the album and it’s nice when you find out people have had first experiences from listening to the album.

You’ve just come off an extensive tour. How have you found the global audiences?

We were pretty shocked at how good the Australian crowd was. In America it varies from state to state, in some places they’re a lot more ‘British’ as opposed to going crazy.

Is visual aesthetic important to Mount Kimbie?

Yea definitely. I feel as time’s gone on we’ve found that the way the stage looks and the lighting really does affect how we are. Where we are is another influential factor; we’ve played really mundane places that are really quiet and it can be difficult to feel energetic. If we play somewhere with a light installation or something, it just makes it a lot more interesting. It adds more to the show.

Will you be integrating your own visuals into your stage shows?

I think so. We’re a bit wary of hiding behind visuals. If we use them sparingly it’s definitely something we’ll look into to. We’ve got a show coming up in London where we’re going try it all out.

Is it safe to say you won’t be going as far as face-paint or anything like that?

(Laughs). We haven’t quite lost our minds just yet. But who knows what will happen in a year’s time? We might be coming out wrapped in feathers. (Laughs).

Feathers and glitter? Sounds very London. Mount Kimbie’s music is a mix of all sorts. Was there a particular type of music you listened to while growing up?

I liked anything with a lot of energy. Also I like quite big sounds, which is one of the first things that attracted me to dub-step. Aside from that, I like a lot of rhythm; I was listening to a lot of bands that were a bit different in terms of their set-up. You’d have the singer as the drummer as well, and they’d use interesting techniques on stage. I was really into that but not from a technical perspective, it was more about my interest in the ways the sounds were produced. I used to listen to a lot of Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd – I loved that whole kind of ‘that riff is incredible’ thing. I had a really varied musical interest and as time’s gone on it’s only broadened.

Mount Kimbie’s known for swapping and changing a number of musical instruments while on stage. Did you know how to play the guitar and what not prior to forming the band or is it something both of you have learnt along the way?

I had a couple of guitar lessons... (laughs). I’ve always mucked about on the guitar and the drums and even with singing. It’s very basic but I feel like I can sort of express something. I suppose the thing that I think I’m best at is producing. It’s quite nice to use those instruments as a kind of back-up. Overall it’s a lot of keyboard work and just feeling the rhythm of what I’m making.

Listen to some Mount Kimbie below:

You recorded 2010 debut Crooks and Lovers in a remote cottage. Will the next album be written in a similar environment?

It’ll be all over the place. There’s so many places that I want to write, I just have to find a couple of locations that really work.

One thing that inspires you?

At the moment my whole life revolves around travelling. In terms of inspiration I’d say the natural world. In America we saw beautiful landscapes – a lot of mountains. The whole feeling of a place really inspires me.

One thing that doesn’t inspire you?

Probably trains. Although I’m on a bus now, hopefully heading straight to inspiration. 

Mount Kimbie was involved with Channel 4's 'Abbey Road Debuts'. How was that experience for you?

It was great to get make-up and get all the bags under my eyes removed (laughs). I got to be a superstar for one day. Seriously though it was an interesting experience to try and adapt to being deeply scrutinised. It’s nice to show people what goes on behind the scenes.

Interview by: Jasmine Phull

Twitter.com/j_fool

Mount Kimbie play at Parklife Festival and Hideout Festival this Summer. Tickets and more information are available here:

Parklife Festival tickets

Hideout Festival tickets

Tickets are no longer available for this event