Kashmir Kid used to dream of being an elephant back when he was knee high to a grasshopper. Today he lays down dope tunes, so heavy, his bass-weighted, fidget-led drops land harder than Dumbo.
Piecing together genre-defying, funky, dub-step inspired, Future Garage sounds, electronic artist Kashmir Kid litters his trademark sound with eastern subtleties. Signed to prodigal grime producer Goldies’ homegrown record label, Gut Instinct, this Bethnal Green based, track-suited, turntable-fixated don makes music based around the relentless pulse of London life. Kash is going HAM on his new material with Rinse FM and Gaslamp Killer and i-D online behind him! The Bollywood loving boy grabbed a samosa and brought us up to speed with an exclusive spicy mix.
What influences your sound? All different stuff, sometimes it’s something quite personal like a memory or a feeling and sometimes it can be something more current, like the scenes from Tahrir Square or the Occupy movement.
What are your creative processes? Obsessional, ritualistic and all-devouring. I get lost in it sometimes and I encourage listeners to do the same. I want people to feel the worlds and characters, whether that’s on a dancefloor or on the tube or whatever. Listen to my mixtape ‘back in 4023’ on the London Underground, that’s some dope shit.
What equipment do you work with? I play all sorts, from percussion parts on a glass ashtray to synths to drum machines. I do love older bits of hardware though and I try to bring something musical back when I travel, like a drum or a flute.
Where does success lie for you? I just wanna make music, as long as I can do that I’m cool. I try to resist the general idea of success as much as I can, it’s so staged really. You see in Running Man there are these guys that are shown on the big screen as ‘last week’s winners’ sipping cocktails on an exotic beach and all that, then later in the game Arnie finds their charred remains dumped somewhere….I need to watch that film again.
Which artists would you like to work with in the future? Gravediggaz.
What has been the standout moment of your career to date? Every session, each beat, every live set, I’m always hyped, everything I do. I’m amazed when people I respect show me love, like the other day I heard Gaslamp Killer playing one of my tracks, I was amped. That means way more than a mainstream radio play… I get them too ;)
What new DJ’s/bands/ artists are you excited about right now? Ninazu, a project that has come together out of nowhere but the music has immediately found a place and sound, I can’t wait to show you.
Where are you off to now? To buy a samosa from Sweet ‘n Spicy on Brick Lane, catch me there in the afternoon, watching some Bollywood on mute and discussing the latest cricket scandal.
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