‘Kinetic’ explores movement through the human experience — can you walk us through how that theme shaped the sound and structure of the EP?
K: As I get older, more things keep happening in my life to suggest that everything around me is constantly in motion. I presented this idea to Connor when approaching him with the idea of a collaborative EP, and he was on board straight away. I think the titles do a great job of referencing the music, with Swell being on the chipper side, Oscillate constantly bouncing between moods, and Pirouette being the full circle moment within the EP where there’s plenty of easter eggs and references to those previous songs.
You both have distinct playing styles. What was the process like blending your techniques without losing your individual voices?
K: Despite Connor and I having a very similar play style, I’ve always admired Connor’s lead playing and ability to produce orchestral scores which gelled well with my heavy and rhythmic tendencies. It really was a very seamless process, I didn’t feel like I was losing my individual voice at any moment. From the start it seemed like we complemented each other’s playing and productions’ styles very well.
C: I think what was important for me with this entire project, was to be completely unapologetic with our voices. I wanted to lean into both our strengths, which in turn, lended itself very well to constructing an EP that comes full circle. I’ve never worked with another person on this kind of music before, so it was utterly important to me to have a completely open space where we could both suggest musical ideas, without consequence. The result is “Kinetic”.
“Swell” has a cinematic, expansive feel — what story or emotion were you aiming to capture with that track?
K: Just as the song title suggests, I wanted to have a slightly happier sound while still remaining true to my love for heavy music. Those with keen ears might also recognise all of the volume and pitch swell scattered throughout both the rhythm and lead guitars pretty much over the whole song. As I release more music, those concepts of push and pull, ebb and flow, are very important to me. I want the listener to feel good when they listen to the track, I want the story of every song to feel like it starts and ends exactly where it should be. No more, no less!
How did the collaborations with Adam ‘Nolly’ Getgood and Jack Gardiner come about, and what did they bring to the project that surprised you?
K: Having insane players like Nolly and Jack were always a part of the plan and they were brought up very early in the writing phase. We purposely wrote songs around their parts to make sure that they had a platform to show exactly why we wanted them on the track in the first place. One thing that surprised me was Nolly’s bluesy solo and how well it translated within that section of the song. When originally recording scratch takes on my own, my style of solo was completely different before we sent it to Nolly. Hearing his takes for the first time, I was immediately smiling from the first note because it was something that I never would have thought to play.
C: I can only speak for myself when saying that I feel incredibly privileged to be in the position that I am. I used to walk home from college every day listening to Periphery II on my iPod touch, never really imagining that not only would I come to know Nolly personally, but be able to feature him on a track. It’s all a little bit crazy to me. And Jack is well… Jack! The dude is a beast, a lovely guy too, and we wanted him to contribute exactly what he did. The whole process was a dream.
Connor, you recently released your signature .strandberg* guitar — did that influence any tonal or compositional choices on this EP?
C: Absolutely. I’d just received the early prototype (which is still my main guitar to this day!), and Oscillate just sort of happened on that guitar. I think that song almost *needed* to happen. The very first riff was a result of me messing around with the fuzz and octave pedals on Archetype: Rabea. That “messed” up sort of guitar tone actually ended up being layered with a more traditional one, which was a pretty consistent decision for the entire EP. A lot of my leads were tracked with that guitar too!
KEYAN, your background in creating viral content has made you a massive presence online. How do you balance that fast-paced world with crafting music as detailed and technical as ‘Kinetic’?
K: Honestly, it’s not easy! As time goes on I think I’m starting to almost reject the idea of extremely fast paced socials content. Of course I still post and still remain active, but the content is much more fulfilling now. I definitely had more drive for all that “content” social stuff previously, especially when it was all kicking off 5 years ago when I was 20 years old. Now at 25, I think I just want to go back to my roots, writing music that I like! That’s what got me into all this stuff in the first place, I’m very cautious of not wanting to lose that part of my love for guitar.
What were the biggest creative challenges you faced during this collaboration — and how did you overcome them?
K: This might be a bit of a cop-out answer but honestly, the creativity between Connor and I flowed so effortlessly in the making of this record that I can’t recall any time that was a creative challenge or difference. Connor and I were constantly innovating off each other’s ideas and would basically finish each other’s sentences in music-form.
C: It turned out it was more like creative benefits. I’ve never really had someone to bounce ideas off before, so it was that much easier to half bake an idea and pass it over to let Keyan do his thing. With the insane UK-Aus time difference as well, it worked out even better as I could send him an idea as I went to sleep, and he would just be waking up! So we sorta hacked things and worked 24 hours round the clock.
If you could describe ‘Kinetic’ in just three words, what would they be?
K: Energetic, Vast, Potent
C: Experimental, Expansive, Expressive.
For fans of instrumental prog — how does this EP expand or evolve the genre, in your opinion?
K: The world of instrumental prog is always changing and evolving on a very familiar formula. Connor and I both have a great appreciation for familiar things done the best that they can be, whether that be culinary, architecture or music. At this point in time, Connor and I believe these are some of the best songs we’ve ever written. After both releasing music on our own, we feel that at this point, the music is the truest representation of our ability to write the music we love to write.
C: I think it hopefully shows everyone that no matter where in the world you are, you can collaborate, you can work together, and you can create something that you would never be able to on your own. So I hope this collaborative EP inspires other people to do the same, reach out to their friends, and work together to make cool music.
Lastly, with the release on May 16, what do you hope listeners walk away feeling after their first playthrough of ‘Kinetic’?
K: I always hope that listeners walk away feeling inspired to write their own music. That is always a major goal for me, in anything I do that’s related to music.
C: What Keyan said!