Kinnara : Desi La = a musician/visual artist/graphic designer etc++ residing in Tokyo, Japan. Founder of Dark Matter, a net label releasing only black experimental music from across the diaspora (an extension of AFROVISIONARY (afrovisionary.tumblr.com), 1st website devoted to the black avant garde) + also organizer for BEAUTIFUL MACHINE multi-media event.
In this interview spotlight, I chat wiht Kinnara : Desi La about the latest project, challenges, phases of the musical journey and more.
Full Q&A along with links and music below.
Who are you:
I’m Kinnara : Desi La. A creative. A musician, graphic designer, visual artist, creative coder, event organizer, multilinguist, the creator of the first black experimental music label “Dark Matter” and Afrovisionary (both now defunct).
Where are you from and what style of music do you create? (In your own words, not necessarily in marketing terms or by popular genre classifications.)
I’m a New Yorker. Born and bred. Lived only one town over from where chuck D gave birth to public enemy so something must have been in the water. The best way to think of my work is electronic music. Namely because “electronic” and electricity bare no prejudice to how it’s used. Sometimes I also use electronic techno but even that makes me weary. I produce what I want depending on the time in my life. Unfortunately, most people who produce anything experimental or any such events are immediately labeled as “noise.” I love noise and always have but I follow no strict guidelines toward creating.
Current Inspirations : Parametric design, biomimicry, bladerunner, Architecture, and sex.
What led you down this path of music and what motivates you to keep going?
1st wave : I grew up as a child hearing noises and melodies. I imagined music and sound but had no way to record it or notate it. I was young (elementary school), there were only basic computers around, and I had no idea how to reproduce the sounds in my head.
2nd wave : from a young age, I have had eye floaters. Having this often made me feel that I could see things others could not.
3rd wave : summer was always library time for me and during a trip to get summer reading, I found an interesting looking book about surrealistic poetry. I knew nothing of surrealism but intrigued, I took the book home. While reading one of the first poems I turned to, I jumped up and literally screamed eureka. A complete cry of joy. I finally found my world I belong.
4th wave : I have never wanted to be a musician. I create music and listen to music because it is the most natural thing for me. Even when I am not thinking about music, melodies come into my head and I notice sounds.
5th : after being romantically rejected from someone I wanted to potentially have kids with, I decided to become serious about music. I was considering giving up any interest in the arts for the relationship.
6th : while still living in nyc, while the downtown scene still existed, I saw a performer creating crazy sounds from electronic equipment and I became interested in utilizing tech to create. More so than traditional instruments, electronic instruments seemed to have the potential in unlimited sound creation I was interested in pursuing.
7th: the Japanese underground scene is not band based like America but electronics based. It is very forward thinking in this way. Hence I had more peer encouragement to look for tech that would suit me.
8th: My first concert as Kinnara : Desi La was on a MacBook Pro and it crashed during the concert. From then on, I decided that performing on computers is incredibly dangerous so I looked for more emotional, malleable to will tech, and most importantly, computer tech that utilizes touch software.
9th: the Japanese scene often has many underground concerts where you can hear dance music and various types of noise or experimental music together. Because I like both, having them both side by side makes most sense. Most people like dance music and experimental music is a release for dance fans.
On persisting: The Japanese scene is responsible for many good musicians, many talented people, and lots of hype overseas. Many foreign acts love coming to devoted fans in Japan and fairly large audiences. However for local musicians, the scene suffers from constant low attendance, group-ism or clannish behaviour, ageism, and general indifference. Often the same acts perform constantly in numerous events basically shutting out other musicians. There also is zero govt assistance in the arts. This makes for a very difficult situation for myself. I keep going in Japan because I can create in peace, music is what I want to do, and as I get older, my vision gets clearer and more adventurous. It’s obvious to me that touring other countries is better for my career and I hope to pursue that. Fundamentally though, playing and touring is communication. Communication with myself and with the audience. Something unique. Better than any drug.
Describe your release :
My new work is “Hologram/Neon Architecture,” an over 2 hour work of 17 songs. A library of music. Neon Architecture is an intense collection of parametric music covering techno vibrations to hip hop based bass beats. Hologram, like the title indicates, is an abstract representation of rgb reflections.
How is this new release different than previous ones? Were you trying to accomplish anything specific?
Only in two respects. First, I wanted more orchestration. More integration of electronic and non electronic instruments to create a distinct sound balance.
Second, there is more a focus on keeping danceable rhythms in the music. Not a complete success but a goal nonetheless. The last release was Architecture (2018) and this work being “Hologram/Neon Architecture” should hopefully be obvious in being the continuation of Architecture. Both releases are incredible steps forward in sound, sound quality, direction, and emphasis.
“Neon Architecture” was the only title til late spring of this year (2019), when I started working on music that was much more abstract than what I wanted for “Neon Architecture.” I felt a different direction bubbling up so I put those new sounds as “Hologram.” This gave me mental freedom to imagine both worlds together.
Towards the end of the creation of Architecture, I also while simultaneously learning code by myself, began work on a visual component for my live concert. My initial visuals created for Dead Machine (2017), were not as satisfactory as I wished. I decided to create a complete new concert piece which eventually became called “Neon Architecture.” After Architecture was released, I had songs and various ideas left over which I couldn’t finish on time. As “Neon Architecture” the new release developed, the AV performance also naturally evolved.
I also realized that “Architecture” was much more abstract than I had planned so I tried to focus more on beats which also had an effect on refocusing the direction of my live performance toward dance. Neon Architecture AV performance has become much edgier than I could have anticipated.
A new shift this year from Neon Architecture to Hologram provided me with a way to vent my abstract self and keep my focus with more danceable music. Since both works are two sides of the same coin, I put them together as one release.
Name one or two challenges you face as an indie musician in this oversaturated, digital music age? How has technology helped you (since we know it does help)?
First the positive : I can create, design my work and get it out on the market in less than a week if I want. I can communicate with anyone who takes an interest in my work and I have numerous platforms to show my work. I can create on digital devices such as the iPad and send that work directly online to be listened to without having to care about additional costs like mastering, etc. Costs that debilitate most musicians. Basically I have total control. Good right?
The negative : if I can do it, then so can 10 million other musicians. The over saturation means that despite the freedom, the way to get known and listened to has not. People still need word of mouth, radio, ads, music videos and genre specification to be pushed to listen to something. Many festivals in America and Europe often invite the same people ( not as much as Japan but still) and focus on the same genres. If you break out of that, then the climb is higher. Do I have a greater edge in the game of creation and self promotion? Yes, but because people are more reluctant to spend money for the hard work musicians do, the fruit to bear becomes harder to harvest. Numerous people over my career have listened to my work. Previously I created two sun ra remix/reworkings that were very applauded and downloaded many times for free from SoundCloud many years ago. But the CD that work appeared on was ignored. I have sold almost nothing.
What was the last song you listened to?
I listen to a lot of different music.
Which do you prefer? Vinyl? CDs? MP3s?
If I had more money, I would buy cds and vinyl but my current living and financial situation doesn’t allow for that. So right now, most of my music is digital.
How about this one…. Do you prefer Spotify? Apple Music? Bandcamp? Or something else? Why?
Streaming services are financially evil so I don’t use them. I use bandcamp and iTunes. When I like a song, I want that musician to know financially.
Where is the best place to connect with you online and discover more music?
Bandcamp : https://kinnara-desila–afrovisionary-creations.bandcamp.com/album/hologram-neon-architecture
Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/kinnara_desila/
Twitter : https://twitter.com/kinnaradesila
Facebook : https://m.facebook.com/bubu.lalala.3
Email : aimaidebakuzen@yahoo.co.jp
YouTube : https://youtu.be/xfDuQl5poAI
Anything else before we sign off?
This year (2019) marks my 10 year anniversary creating music as Kinnara : Desi La. Please help me celebrate it by purchasing my current and past work. In addition, I would like to tour Europe next year. Interested promoters, please contact me.
Peace
