In anticipation of this week’s Subculture we caught up with KiNK and Neville Watson to discuss what’s been going in their world since a certain debut live show in our basement back in 2010. We also talk about their favourite production gadgets and what it is that brings them back to the Sub Club.
Word on the street is that you guys met each other on MySpace; tell us a bit more about this?
Yes, true. I saw a photo a friend had taken of Neville playing my first ever release and I contacted him on MySpace to say thanks. We got talking and decided to collaborate on a track sending files back and forth and that track was Inside Out, our first release on Rush Hour.
Would you agree that social media and sites like Beatport and Soundcloud have had a major influence on how you and fellow ‘underground music’ peers get their product out to the masses?
Definitely. It’s a lot easier to reach the right people and to get your music into the hands of specific people and makes promotion a lot easier. Having said that vinyl will always hold pride of place in our hearts.
Since we last spoke in 2010, what has been happening for Kink and Neville Watson?
We have been travelling extensively, both together and solo. And that’s the same with production work.
Is there an album on the way, or are you mainly focused on touring and putting together the live shows right now?
The live shows are what we’re concentrating on at the moment because they’re easier to focus on given the physical distance between us both and our separate workloads. Whereas remote working was great for us in the beginning, as we’ve both gotten busier it’s become less practical. There will be an album eventually and I shall be visiting Kink in Bulgaria in the autumn to work on that, once we’re in the same room together the writing happens really quickly.
When it comes to the remix work, how do you collaborate on this? – Do you manage to bounce off each other’s individual strengths?
We try not to take on too many remixes as a duo, focusing mainly on tracks that really interest us and we feel we can offer something to. There’s no real set way of approaching anything we do, be that remix or original work. Sometimes we will both have equal input and sometimes if one of us comes up with a great idea we allow that person to run with it.
Since you came to work together in 2010, things have really taken you both on a roller-coaster journey rather quickly- what do you think you would be doing now if things hadn’t materialised back then?
Neville: I’d still be at it, music is a compulsion I can’t help myself. Without exaggeration I can honestly say that music takes up about 90% of my thought process. Back in 2010 though I was still doing removal work to bolster my income so it’s nice not to have to do that anymore.
KiNK: In the best-case scenario I would try my luck in the visual arts / design direction, as it`s related to my education and I would continue trying to do sound design and music.
What’s the story behind the research experiment with your music and the BBC news, where you involved in this? Either way, what’s your take on the whole thing?
Erm…. God bless the Internet there’s always some weird randomness on there to make you smile. We’ve never seen that before but it looks quite interesting, at least he wasn’t looking at something a bit fruitier. Maybe the BBC will ask us to write a new theme for Newsnight. I’m sure Jeremy Paxman would be down with that.
A lot of technology and music equipment is used in your live shows, what is your favourite/most important piece of kit?
Neville: For me it’s the 707-drum machine, considering it wasn’t made for live performance it’s incredible how perfect it is for that environment. It’s just a shame it doesn’t play other sounds. We’re always looking to introduce and take away things from the live shows and don’t ever really want to be tied into one specific set up, we both get bored too quickly.
KiNK: We really like the combination of Novation Launchpad and Akai LPD8, those compact controllers lets us play, record, overdub and modulate things live, which was not so easy in the pure hardware days. On the analog side – we have some nice machines; we still wonder how to fit them in our hand baggage. I will try to bring a weird Italian box this weekend, its called LepLoop and its a little analog beast. Lets hope I can make it through the check-in desk without problems.
The Sub Club was one of your earlier bookings as a partnership, since then what other venues/places have stood out for you? – Anywhere in particular that you look forward to playing or partying at?
The Sub Club was our first live booking! And for that it will always hold a special place in our hearts. Berghain /Panorama Bar is always a fantastic gig as anyone who has been there will tell you. Bob Beaman in Munich was completely (and unexpectedly) off the scale. Rote Sonne (also Munich) also great. Wow, too many to mention. Dancity Festival in Foligno, Gewölbe in Cologne. The list goes on.
What are you most excited about this months booking at Subculture, alongside Harri and Dom?
Getting to hear the residents play!
KiNK and Neville Watson kindly gifted us an exclusive promo mix ahead of their live set at Subculture.
Catch these guys alongside Harri and Deomenic on Saturday 8th September