Insight Interview: KISNOU

We caught up with the one and only KISNOU recently to discuss his career and upcoming projects.

Hey KISNOU, thanks so much for agreeing to an interview. Where are you based? Do you tend to travel a lot, or are you firmly rooted at home?

Hi! I live in the south of Italy. At the moment I’m staying close to home since I’m studying at my music academy in Bari. After finishing my studies, I’d love to travel and visit my friends around the globe. I’ve always been a bit scared of travelling alone, but at the same I’d really like to give it a try.

Can you recall your first real exposure to music? 

My first release was in summer 2015 with my tribute to Koda named Cold Rain City. Listening to it now makes me think how bad it sounded, but it also brings back memories.

How and when did you first begin writing and creating music?

I started around April 2015. I was inspired by a close friend who started making music on FL studio, so I decided to try it out too. At first I was really, really bad, but I had so many ideas that kept me motivated, so I didn’t give up. I didn’t even know how to play the piano, I didn’t know how to build a song, but I could see the improvements every day. Thanks to the people and friends who supported me, I never lost the spirit to keep on creating.

How did you decide upon the name KISNOU?

I remember I was at my last year of high school, and I was writing names on the desk to find my alias. While I was doing that, I took a look at my book and I found this word: kismet, fate.
I decided to take the first 3 letters and add 3 others that were the initials of a name, a verb and a noun, all of them related to my being and to who I am.

Have you made or released music under any other name?

I’d say yes, since I had another alias named Blue, but it was all private stuff, so no official releases.

Can you describe your music for us?

I have always wanted to make music that can make you remember something: feelings, memories, people, happy and sad moments. Nowadays there’s so much music that doesn’t express anything. I love songs that make you imagine and travel while listening, and that has always been my purpose. Actually, that should be the purpose of music, but sometimes we tend to forget about it. 
I want my listeners to drown in a universe of atmospheres, feelings and imagination. So I will give my best to never fail it.

Have you played live recently? Would you like to do more shows or tours in future? Anything coming up soon you’d like to tell us about?

I never played live. I probably won’t be doing that for a while, since I consider it something I’d like to do once I’ve achieved my real identity in music. I’d hate to see myself playing live in a way that is not unique, and personal.

What have been your biggest influences?

I’d say Koda thousands of times. Even if my style is not that close to his, I still love what he creates. I remember years ago I was literally dreaming with my eyes open while listening to his music, and I think that is the most beautiful thing that music should cause. Back then I knew every song he made by heart, and I can say that he’s made so much more music apart from the songs we hear on MrSuicidesheep or on other music promotion channels. I’d recommend having a listen to his “hidden” songs to completely appreciate his art.

 

Do you think producing electronic music requires technical or creative skill? Or both?

Technical skills are a plus, in my opinion. Right now I still receive so many good words of feedback on my very old songs. Well, there was almost no technique there, but there was a lot of creativity and most importantly personal emotions that I wanted to translate into the language of music. Creativity is the key, but once that you acquire the right technical skills, you reach your “identity” – and no one will be able to replicate that.

Do you tend to find the creative process a cathartic or therapeutic experience? Has creating music helped you cope with difficult times in your life?

Absolutely. I strongly believe in music as a therapy, since sometimes you discover how some vibes can flow through undiscovered patterns inside of your brain, helping you understand more about yourself, something that you would never discover in any other way. Music is the translation of our beings in sheets, or melodies if you prefer, and that is why I can definitely tell you that it has helped me as I hope it has helped many other people.

Any collaborations, remixes or joint projects on the horizon? 

I’m constantly thinking about my Fireplace project. It is something special to me, that I decided to create and that I will keep working on. If you don’t know it, it’s the fusion of music and art: I make the music while my designers (3hil, Servane Altermatt and Nathan Pierce) make the related artworks, and we try to tell an adventure, like an audio-book. I hope that one day it’ll become an animation. So far we’ve received so many positive feedbacks, and that just makes me more and more excited.

Any new genres or musical styles you’d like to explore in future?

I’ve always thought about it! I’d like to try some lo-fi, vaporwave, electro-swing or epic music. I actually tried already, but I miserably failed at it. Anyway those are some really interesting genres in my opinion.

Do you have any thoughts on the future of electronic music? Do you think the scene will evolve further?

For sure, we live in the era of discovery: as we keep developing new techniques and exploring new horizons in other fields, I think that music too will keep evolving. I just hope in a good way, sometimes evolving is not always a positive term. I wish that indie artists will have more weight in the music field, since it hurts me to see so many talented people undiscovered and underrated.

Any new releases coming our way?

Yes! I’ve released my new EP, Madre Terra, completely on Chinchilla. It’s my first time there, but after the release of Legion (the first track) some weeks ago, I received many positive opinions and I’m excited to see how people will react to the remaining songs. The next release is out this Monday, November 6th. I’ve also added a little bonus ambient track for those who buy the EP on Bandcamp!

Any artists or other individuals / collectives you’ve not worked with yet that you’d like to work with in future?

Oh well, the list is so long I would need pages for that. Just to mention some of the artists I’d like to work with: Tom Day, Finding Hope, Myst, Izzard and so on. I’d also love to work again with my dear friend Blure (hi Luis!), not only because our song Falling Deeper was a success, but also because I honestly never get tired of his music.

Do you have a favourite track / song of all time? Favourite artist?

Mhhh, tough question.. I have so many songs that hold a dear place in my heart. My favourite artist is definitely Koda though, I’d recommend listening to his track Creaking Bones… brings back memories. I used to listen to it after I broke up with a special person, so yeah, it still makes me cry a little bit! But that is why I love his powerful music.

 

It’s been said that a life in music can be a hard one. Would you agree with that? 

I would agree, yes. At the moment I can’t complain, I’m 20 and I have a couple of jobs in the music field. Anyway, I think there is not a great balance between famous, enormously rich artists and truly talented indie musicians who are constantly having hard times to achieve a stable situation. It kinda reflects our society if you think about it. Personally though, I’ve learnt that with hard work, good music and passion (a bit of luck, as always) you can get anywhere.

Do you have any words of advice for aspiring young producers?

From what I’ve learnt, despite what many people say about working lots of hours per day on music, my advice is to take your time. Personally I think that by doing that I would have ended up hating my own passion. I reckon that we are different, we think differently and each one of us has a particular way to work on music. But from what I can tell, don’t get sad if you don’t achieve your style, it takes a lot of time. Don’t force what you don’t feel, because music is the mirror of our emotions. If you feel like you are out of ideas, don’t worry. Do something else, explore, learn, listen and read (or even just relax). The right inspiration will knock on your door sooner or later, but surely it won’t happen if you ask for it to come to you.

Any other projects on the horizon that you’d like to tell us about?

At the moment I’m thinking about working more and more on my Fireplace project. It’s what I’d love to do for the next few months, so you can surely expect more tales. Apart from that, I’d love to work with people I’ve never worked before while also learning anything that may be useful for my production.

And finally – are there any tracks / artists that are relatively unknown that you’d like people to know about?

Too many tracks! But I’ll just shoot a couple of them: Ohly – Shade is the first one. I discovered this guy just some days ago, and he’s really good. He’s just released his first album so be sure to show him some love!
The second one is She’s Asleep by Jameson Hodge. He makes ambient and electronic music, combining them in a really cool way. Hope you’ll like them!

Thanks so much KISNOU!

Thank you! 🙂

KISNOU’s music is available here and here. His new EP will be available tomorrow. Read more interviews just like this one here.