KAYO DOT (Eng.)
– Hello, thanks for answering to our questions. What’s currently going on into the KAYO DOT’s camp?
We just digitally released our new album, Gamma Knife, on our kayodot.bandcamp.com web page. We’re planning a U.S. tour in May, with a vinyl and CD release of Gamma Knife at that time. Hopefully, we’ll get some good offers to play in other countries later this year, too.
– First of all, what does KAYO DOT mean and what meaning does it hold personally to you?
The band name has no meaning, it’s just something I came up with that had no other meaning other than the band’s music. The letters in the name are just a combination of clues from my past that give the name a nostalgic meaning to me and no one else.
– You have recently released your latest “Gamma Knife”. How do you feel about it?
I think it’s great! Haha… what kind of question is this?
– To start getting a bit deeper into this new release; what does the title “Gamma Knife” refers to?
Technically, a Gamma Knife is a medical tool used for zapping brain tumors. In our case though, it has a different spin – the song “gamma Knife” is about a ghost who hates being a ghost, so he tries to kill himself, but he can’t because he’s a ghost. So “Gamma Knife” in that context would refer to the invisible knife he tries to use to kill himself.
– What does the cover artwork represent?
Well, the “cover artwork” you have seen is not actually cover artwork at all. It’s just a placeholder for the internet. I wanted to put the album up for sale on iTunes, but they don’t allow you to put an album up there for sale unless there’s some album artwork. Really stupid… the idea of “cover artwork” when there’s no physical version of the album. And not just iTunes – review sites across the internet as well. Everyone witlessly requires you to represent your music with a little square. I hate it. Anyway, when the vinyl version comes out, there will be some real cover art to accompany it.
– And what do lyrics on the album deal with?
Well… I would prefer if people would just read and listen to the lyrics to try to figure that out!
– I have always thought everything (music, lyrics, perform, artwork, etc.) in KAYO DOT work as one and everything is really well-cared and though-out, every album is a different “experience”. What’s the “concept” behind this piece? What do you want to express or what have you channelled with it? What’s the main feeling on it?
Thanks very much. For this album, in general, I was becoming frustrated by modern metal bands whose music is generally bullshit but for which they receive huge accolades. With Gamma Knife, I wanted to use metal aesthetics and devices in a more sophisticated way, and try to show an example of metal’s potential. That aesthetic can still go so many places, and I think bands are often pretty lazy about how they use it. So the album is really expressing frustration… even in the quiet songs.
– There are a lot of things going on in your music, and due to this it has to be listened carefully (at least to value it properly). Nowadays that most people seem to listen albums just as plain background music, do you see this as a handicap?
This is something I’ve been interested in exploring lately… I also listen to music a lot as background music these days, too. So, I’ve been thinking about music that works in those types of contexts. There are some bands, for example, that I really love listening to in the background but I totally am not interested in listening to close up. Music colors our lives and our experiences, so it’s totally OK for it to just exist where it needs to, for different people. Kayo Dot’s music is still mostly close-listening music, in my opinion, but Gamma Knife also works pretty well as distant music. The production is so weird, that if you have the record on in another room and you hear it sort of in the background, it takes on an even more abstract and evil quality, which is something I love about this album.
– Anyway this is a shorter effort, with shorter songs. Is there any concrete reason behind this?
I’ve decided to release shorter albums from now on until the foreseeable future, because it allows me to write more music. I used to take years for each record, but that actually was not very satisfying for myself, because by the time an album was finished, I was already tired of the music. In releasing shorter albums, I can put an idea out there in the world closer to the time that it was conceptualized, allowing the music to remain relevant to my life at the time that other people are hearing it.
– It also sounds more Metal, more aggressive as well; was this something planned? If so: why?
Yeah absolutely, but I already answered this question above.
– And finally, what are your near-future plans (musically speaking)?
I’ve been spending a lot of time touring with Secret Chiefs 3 as their bassist. For Kayo Dot, we’re still really struggling to get people to listen to us, come to our shows, and buy our music, so it’s much harder for Kayo Dot to do all the things we want to do. We are planning a tour now, so hopefully it’ll go well. Outside of Kayo Dot. I’m in a metal band called Vaura that just released a new record. Also, I’m composing some more “classical” type music for small ensembles in New York City with a few performances coming up this spring, collaborating with Timba Harris, Michelle Morinaga, Sondra Sun-Odeon, and others.
– That has been everything from my side, thank you once more for your time. If you now want to add some final words, last lines are all yours.
Thank you Tania!
