SC: Yo Kissy what’s happening?
KSO: Suuuurp! Just got back from touring the USA and been working on new tunes and DJ mixes for my KISSY KLUB :: BADLANDS podcast in between DJ gigs. Had a good time DJing alongside Goldie the other day which I’m still smiling about – they all came to my hotel room afterwards for an afterparty which was hilarious. Right now, I’m super hyped about this Saturday’s Kissy Klub night at Bloomsbury Bowling Lanes!
I’m knee deep in studying for my second degree in Astrophysics at the moment because I have an exam in polynomial sequences and complex number theory next week. Trying to find time to write another article for my “Kissy Sell Out’s Astrophysics Lab” column in Sick Chirpse too, but right now it looks like I’ll be carrying a load of text books onto the plane to with me to DJ in Malia on Sunday because I’m a little behind with my work from partying too much haha!
SC: How was your recent USA tour? Anything go down worth telling us about?
KSO: My USA tour was really cool! My latest single “The Promise” was at #25 in the US Billboard Charts last time I looked, so I’ll be over there a lot this year.
In terms of funny tour stories, I discovered that in Oklahoma state it’s illegal to stock beer that is over 3.2% alcohol in supermarkets, it’s also illegal to refrigerate any of that 3.2% beer before people buy it, and 7 years ago it was illegal to get a tattoo there! Don’t worry though, you can buy a gun when you’re 18 – so every cloud eh!
When I got to Springfield I joked about this to the promoters who assured me that despite the prevalence of gun ownership, the streets were perfectly safe. Then that night after the rocking gig at College Bar & Arcade, there was a loud bang outside, and some guys got into a stand off with the police holding shotguns at each other just 2 blocks up from us! “No guns on the streets eh!” I said, the cool guys from the club just stood there, slightly shocked, laughed, and then got me another beer – a cold one thankfully!
SC: What happened to your Radio 1 residency? It was always a fun show and always brought in new talent. It was a shame to see it go.
KSO: That was quite a while ago now. I was there for around 4 years and that show was always recorded live, so it’s been a lot of fun traveling around across the globe without the need to be back in London every single Thursday night. The Kissy Klub show still runs on Pioneer DJ Radio. I do a lot of stuff with Pioneer these days, helping with the development of the new CDJ designs and other pieces of software like Rekordbox 3 which just came out.
A lot of old shows from my BBC days are available to download from my podcast, so anyone missing the old days should check it out because I release a lot of free tracks on there as well.
SC: What was the story behind ‘Get Ready For The K-Hole’?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4PgwoTjFDI
KSO: Wow, now that was a reaaaalllly long time ago Lol! The funniest thing about that bootleg I did was that it’s just an acapella of “K-Hole” by Ali Love over the top of 2 Unlimited’s “Get Ready” – it took me about 10 minutes to do it! Ableton didn’t even exist back then, so I remember lining up the sound files on some mp3 editing program. Next thing I knew, the track had about 60 thousand hits on Z-Share or something?! I met Ali Love at Glastonbury a few years later, and thankfully he was very good humoured about it. I thought the original “K-Hole” was one of the cleverest indie songs I’ve ever heard and was quite shocked when my bootleg new rave version became the more famous track!
SC: Your last few podcasts have been full of pure speed garage/bassline bangers. Is this what we can expect from a Kissy show these days?
I’m having more fun DJing right now than ever I think! Back when I was part of the world-takeover of electro, dance music wasn’t so global. I remember doing gigs in certain countries and just having people staring me in confusion haha! These days, I’m pure speed garage and deep house through and through which, because of the recent rise of deep house v2.0, connects with everyone no matter where I am. My DJ style has become a lot smoother whilst being just as furious and technical due to my work with Pioneer as always – I love it! The second I stop loving it, I’ll quit immediately – music is about passion and should never be a chore in my opinion.
SC: What’s next on the agenda?
KSO: Looks like I’ll be releasing a sequel album to last years “San City High All Stars” in Decemberish time this year, I have two more USA tours before then however so, as usual, I’m taking every week as it comes.
SC: Big ups Kissy! See you Saturday.
Catch Sick Chirpse and Kissy Sell Out at Bloomsbury Lanes this Saturday. Info here. To get on the £5 Sick Chirpse guest list (tickets usually £11), e-mail [email protected] with the subject Sick Chirpse Concession and don’t forget to submit your viral image below.
*** Sick Chirpse and Kissy are currently running a viral competition to win a £200 party package for this Saturday’s event. Below are a handful of the best images that have been submitted so far. To enter, head here. ***
