From an Australian Dance Music perspective, there isn’t really any award this guy hasn’t won or at least been nominated for. Named Australia’s favourite DJ, acknowledgements through ARIA, released HUGE tracks and remixes while even getting a CD series names after him. With this impressive list of achievements and tunes, he feels his career has barely begun. Kid Kenobi has been playing about the scene for 13 years and since 2007, he has been taking it in his own direction. The soon to be released Dub Step Invasion mixed with Glove Cats is a collection of tracks that is ‘Dub Step’, however one for those who may not have given the genre a chance. "It is Dub Step, not quiet ‘doof doof’," Kid laughs, the CD is trying to "capture the kind of tunes people know" and rediscover then in Dub Step form. The Album Kid describes is "an introductory CD into Dub Step, it’s not just about unreleased tunes, it’s about trying to capture the whole scene."
The new album will be taking the country by storm with a huge tour in early 2011, it "will be cool to travel around Australia, going to places we’ve played before that we haven’t done straight up Dub Step," Kid says. He looks forward to seeing "how it goes. It will be a really interesting experience." The chance to put the album together through a genre he’s not specifically associated and touring under the ‘Dub Step’ umbrella for him is "important, it’s the drive of musicians to do something new."
Kid Kenobi has been around for a long time although the career "hasn’t blown up" until the last few years. "I’ve always been a part of what I do – now I’m just a bigger part of what I do," he says in talking about his movement in music and development of his record label (Klub Kids). Now being part of a holistic package in music is "not far off what I’ve done before," he laughs, "it all part of the same big family of music. Same roots of the music I’ve always played," and connections he’s built, "it’s a natural progression."
"When I first started DJ’ing was when I was playing breaks. Back then it was just breaking through and people didn’t always do it." With the movement over to and growth of Dub Step, "it is almost more satisfying (now) to be moving towards something," although he admits that "getting people to like it is always just as hard. People they tend to like and associate certain things to certain people but we don’t stay the same, music always changes, ideally it is what we all love about it."
Talking openly about his progression through the styles of music, Kid explains; "I went on a tangent through electro for a while, took the influences on board." With his sound turning now to the flavour of Dub Step, "that’s the thing," he says "when I DJ and tour I’ll be doing a Dub Step ‘set’, but when playing away from that I play a bit of electro and breaks. It’s all in a big melting pot and it makes sense. As I DJ I’m still paying a lot of the old breaks, but people would need to listen to the CD first – it’s not that foreign to a lot that many people would have listened to," with a lot of the tunes a blend of almost commercial tunes, just translated through Dub Step.
Away from changing the minds of dance music fiends alike, it’s all hands on deck for almost every other aspect in Kid’s life. "At the moment I’m very busy, I’m a dad to be!!!!" he sings with delight. "So busy just doing all the things that it requires at the moment like spending the day cleaning out the office / studio to turn it into the babies room, getting the kitchen renovated, crazy getting all our stuff together." In the few months since a break away with his girlfriend "it just has not stopped. So I haven’t had any time to just do ‘normal’ stuff. I don’t even know when I’ll ever get the chance really, unless there is no touring, studio and then the baby." In an attempt to compensate, he cannot wait to take "a month off when the babies due, but that won’t be down time," gloating "I’ll be on call for baby crying time!"
Looking seriously over the situation, "all my friends are saying it’ll be crazy but I’m hoping for a few hours to just do normal home stuff. At the moment, away from the CDs I’m starting to become a real home body. I travel all week, all weekend; it took 10 hours to get to Rockhampton the other week. I don’t get any sleep and then walk into your house and know why you keep doing it," if he could sound anymore like the clucky father to be, "it’s so nice to come home to a soon to be family," admitting, "away from the CDs at the moment I’m probably becoming more of a a boring old fart." Laughing, "I’m loving it, it’s so nice."
Outside of all things baby related, there is still a little bit of work crossing Kids path. He’s "working a lot on my record label," he said, "I originally did it to put out my own music, but now it is becoming a vehicle for other people’s music." Learning all about the finer points of royalties, APRA "and all that. There is so much for the music business!"
With the constant demands on Kenobi and "4.5 months to get everything sorted", he’s just "trying my best to prepare myself NOW," he laughs "I don’t sleep for a living, so I’m used to no sleep but it’s the studio deadlines are the hardest thing, sucking up the time. Then being in the studio as writing music takes a lot of time," sighing, "it’s so time intensive, so trying to have all the music written, studio needs met and just be ready on call for the baby. I should be ok."
"I always wanted to be a dad although now becoming a reality it’s like ‘what the hell’!!
Until then, Kid Kenobi will be celebrating 10 years working together with MC Shurshock and finishing a tour with him, "then BDO, then Dub Step tours then we are into to April. It’s nonstop, but that’s just want you do. That will never change. "
"It will be nice and just go hard in the next few months and then take step back and be a boring old fart dad." 2011 includes the personal developments too of an all pink baby room, "I’m going to get into the spirit of this and am getting really girlie about this." Over the years his plans a set by ensuring he’s spoiling his daughter with tutus and getting himself a shotgun, laughing "I know what all these boys are about."
Looking to the future, he could not be happier. Content in the idea of accepting his children follow in his footsteps, "sure! Then I can just manage them, they can put the music out of my label and I won’t have to do the touring! I’d be happy; as long as they are passionate about what they do," he says, "I don’t care what they do as long as they are following their passion. As long as they are not good at something but then not pursuing it, then crack the shits. My younger brother is on my case constantly wanting to learn to DJ. I just hope my daughter doesn’t think I’m too daggy saying ‘oh dad no one DJs anymore’." He laughs, "who knows where it will be in 20 years. Like now, it’s all plugin a laptop. It used to be all about vinyls... How times have changed. In 20 years’ time, no knows, you might be able to just think about a tune and it’ll project into the system," joking "telepathic DJ’ing!"
In saying that however, Kid started 20 years ago, "things have changed but a lot but a lot has also stayed and it is still going off," his only hope for his sound is that in 20 years it will "still sound contemporary... maybe."
ONELOVE PRESENTS DUBSTEP INVASION
MIXED BY KID KENOBI & GLOVECATS
In stores this Friday & on iTunes December 10
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