What is the power of performing LIVE?
Edem: Well, it’s always great to see musicians actually in the flesh. Gives us a sense of community and shared humanity. Not to mention playing loud is always good. The interactions of musicians on stage and their music then connecting with an audience is great symmetry. In this new paradigm we are forced into (separation/isolation), live venues where musicians and audiences can interact is crucial.
Brett: For the Musician, nothing is better than performing live music. You get instant feedback from your audience which in turn enhances your performance. Music is sonic emotion, and without feedback from other people feels like you’re speaking to deaf ears. Receiving feedback helps in the creative process which makes the Musician better. That said, live is always best but should not stop Musicians from putting out their best effort given that “live” may currently not be an option. My point being, one should never consider just one way of doing things; never stop pushing content, no matter what the medium.
Where are you set to perform soon?
Edem: In our studio. I’ll let Brett answer this…
Brett: KinderCrowdControl is a community of Artists separated by great distance yet able to create music through modern technical means. Our audience is 100% online, like we are, because it’s somewhat impractical for us all to get together physically in one location.
How are you performing at your best lately?
Edem: Focus, dedication, commitment, and belief. Practice helps too!
Brett: I think it helps us to do our best to focus on the end result.
Is there something that you’re performing at your least?
Edem: Hmm…
Brett: Plenty, but we prefer to focus on what we’re performing at our best. Being an expert in all things means that you’re master of nothing.
Do you ever feel like you lower your expectations when it comes to creating or do you always raise the bar? How does this help you keep moving forward?
Edem: Creating is our penultimate event in life. When writing and recording for KinderCrowdControl, Brett and I are always on our best game; this doesn’t mean every track is a keeper, but every track could be. We are conscious that these are moments in time that will ripple through eternity. At this point, we are aware of our eyes and ears, and we rejoice in the challenge of up-ing our game every time. We love what we do. Boom.
Brett: We never strive toward mediocrity. Sorry, that question was hard for me to comprehend. The concept has never occurred to us. We’re always moving the bar forward in a positive direction, and what it yields is what you might consider under the guise of “beauty is in the eyes of the beholder”. We love what we do. We love what we create. We leave the rest to our fans to decide.
Do you ever look back on what you used to create?
Edem: Yes. It’s all good. Some tracks could benefit from a remix using our latest interface and software, but I stand behind it all. If you do your very best, at any given time, with the tools at your disposal, and considering all factors around you, there are no regrets.
Brett: Always. You can’t know where you’re going until you know where you’ve been. The famed inventor Thomas Edison worked on thousands of different theories before developing the modern light bulb. To become a master of any craft requires examination of past efforts as well as the fearless pursuit of the unknown.
Is there a difference on HOW you create NOW?
Edem: We’re definitely collaborating more from start to finish than we have done in the past. From the initial starting point, Brett and I discuss a conceptual approach before a single musical note is committed to. Our production skills are growing by leaps and bounds with each new track too. This means being conscious of new creative recording and production possibilities we might not have been able to consider in the past.
Brett: Thankfully, professional recording studios have been shrunken down to fit inside a computer workstation. There used to be a day when musicians required brick and mortar buildings along with massive mixing & recording equipment plus a slew of professional Engineers just to craft a recording. Fast forward to 2022 and now all that is compressed into a single workstation which can be easily managed by the Musicians themselves. It’s Freedom!
Congrats on Electric Sheep! Tell us how the single came about?
Edem: Thank you. So last month an important music business personality was wowed by our track “Yes”. He reached out to us and we had an hour long phone conversation regarding what we do, and what we need to do, in the new musical climate we all create in. His suggestion was to release as much material as often as we could. This included remixes. So I had always loved our track “Hold” off of our 2016 release “Songs To Saadet”, and decided to revisit this track with our new, improved, production techniques and hardware/software. We added Sandra Ban’s vocal soundbites, and a great friend (and client of mine) Susan Bacich’s whistling skills. We love this one. Check it out: https://kindercrowdcontrol.bandcamp.com/track/electric-sheep
Give us your favorite line from a song and why it’s so special to you?
Edem: “Freedom Is A Punk Philosophy”. Sandra Ban’s brilliant musings off of our track “MMXX/Romans”. Freedom comes from the people questioning the status quo. The voice of the Counterculture is an absolute necessity to a free society. With the rampant censorship we are seeing in today’s media giants, being aware of this is more important than ever. Shake that tree people!
Brett: “FREEKA!” from our previous single. The meaning of the word is purely creative and means whatever you want it to mean. Freedom without bounds is what we intended with this word. Perhaps we’re just a little bit “Punk” ourselves, eh?
Socials?
kindercrowdcontrol.bandcamp.com
FB: https://www.facebook.com/KinderCrowdControl
End of Interview