Feature Speak No Evil
We catch up with Leeds' DJ/producer kid kanevil
Feature: Speak No Evil
Unlike a lot of Leeds musicians who were attracted to the city to play their music in hope of fame and fortune, First Word Record’s kid kanevil is actually Leeds born and bred. Indeed, kanevil’s time growing up in Harehills had a massive influence on what he’s doing today.
“My dad’s side of the family are all musicians and record collectors,” he says, “so I was kind of born into records, music and stuff. I grew up in Harehills, so when I was growing up, hip-hop was what was going on. At the same time I had every genre of traditional music that you could think of at home from jazz to folk and whatever.”
The variety of different sounds in kanevil’s upbringing has had a clear influence on his music. His forthcoming second record, Back Off Man, I’m A Scientist, blends hip-hop, soul, afro-reggae and beats with a passion for crate-digging and sampling that shows off the variety of records in the man’s collection.
“I really got into how sample-based music was made,” kanevil says. “I’d always been into collecting records, so it was a natural step to start sampling things. The nice thing with sampling is that you can just get into your own little zone and have complete control over it. It’s a really nice, creative way to work. You can be watching a 70s kung-fu film and think ‘oh the flute sound is amazing,’ run upstairs and play with it. It’s good to be able to create things on the fly like that.”
A common comparison that’s been thrown in kanveil’s direction is that of the legendary DJ Shadow - a man kanevil recognises as a big influence (alongside Vadim and many others). It was something of a dream fulfilled, then, when kid kanevil’s band, Stateless, were handpicked by Shadow to support him on his last European tour. “I must have watched his show so many times,” kanveil says. “It was fascinating to watch what he was doing and how he was doing it. But a lot of his shows are to do with the visuals, and I don’t really have any money to do that. That was amazing inspiration though, and quite a learning experience.”
So while kanevil’s music has taken off around Europe - both in his solo work and with Stateless - he still has a lot of time for the Leeds music scene he was born into. “Leeds has got some of the craziest talent out there,” he says. “Especially jazz and funk musicians, they’re some of the best in the world - New Mastersounds, Haggis Horns, people from the College of Music. The hip-hop scene in Leeds is cool. I think Double D Dagger [who guest on kanevil’s new album] are the best MCs in the UK right now. Eliphino and his crew are really good. The music scene as a whole is really nice.”
kid kanevil’s new album Back Off Man, I’m A Scientist is out on 20 October on First Word Records
Posted on Wednesday 1st October 2008
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