There are some artists who have this buzz about them from fairly early on. I clearly remember Mount Kimbie contacting me on Myspace around 2008 and sending through some early sketches of their tunes.
There are some artists who have this buzz about them from fairly early on. I clearly remember Mount Kimbie contacting me on Myspace around 2008 and sending through some early sketches of their tunes. Then, seemingly overnight, they were signed to Hotflush Recordings and their star shot into the atmosphere to shine brightly. It was as wonderful result for the UK duo of Dominic Maker and Kai Campos, who first met when they were at university in London.
Starting with their Maybes and Sketch On Glass EPs in 2009, the Mount Kimbie vibe was slowly born. Although they were adopted by the Dubstep community their sound was nothing like the heavy bass and snare we were so used to. Instead, they shared the aesthetic of other Hotflush artists – a distinct minimal approach, with the use of field recordings and ‘real world’ sounds. If anything their approach resembles a band more than an electronic dance act. And that fact was transported to the world with their live shows. Instead of DJing like so many other artists they took their guitars and samplers on the road to play in everything from art spaces to clubs and bars. In Melbourne, they are playing at the Revolt Artspace, and then they are back in Victoria for the Golden Plains festival. On the line from London, Maker explains how the soul of Mount Kimbie has evolved.
"We stumbled on our sound initially. It was bizarre having someone come back and say that they wanted to release our songs. Since then, we’ve gone through times when we over think what we should or shouldn’t sound like, however, recently I feel that we have gone back to not being to bothered about direction. I mean, we have a vague idea about what sound we want to achieve but getting there is totally sporadic. I like it that way."
The ‘someone’ who wanted to release their songs that Maker refers to is Paul Rose. Under his artist name Scuba (and more recently his techno alias SCB) he has garnered great praise. But it is through his long running label, Hotflush Recordings, which he gives back so much to the musical community. "Paul has been massively influential," says Maker. "It has been so important to have a friend that has experience in music. I truly respect him. Our managers guide us through life, they know what we will be doing tomorrow before we do, we owe a lot to those two."
The duo have been so absorbed in their schedule that there has been little time to reflect on their success: "We have had very little time off in the last two years. It’s been a very busy time but I feel so fortunate to be in the position that we are in, we never expected to be playing all over the World. We recently spent three weeks in a country cottage writing some new music and that was the only time that we have sat back and reflected on all the good and bad times."
However, their partnership is based on a strong foundation: "We have been great friends for ages and have always been into some of the same genres. Writing music is very personal for both of us and I guess giving each other the room that we need to be creative individually makes us work well together. I’ve never liked working with people on anything but its so good when you are both on the same page in every way."
"We have played some challenging live shows recently in front of big crowds. Neither of us like being in spotlight so standing in front of thousands of people singing is certainly a challenge. Recently we played a couple of support shows with The XX. Obviously, the crowd was massive and we had never played in front of more than 300-400 people before, now it was 3000-4000. Getting on the stage took bottle, but as soon as we got going it was an incredible feeling. "
Now those shows are taking them to the other side of the world: "I have never been to that part of the world before. I’ve been to India and that’s about as far east as I’ve been. We are preparing at the moment, buying shorts, vests, suncream etc. We can’t wait for this tour!"
In contrast to some other shows, this trip will most likely be quite safe: "We landed for a gig in Lithuania and found out we had to drive three hours to the gig from the airport, we were driven there in a beaten up Renault with no windows in the front, insanely loud happy hardcore and all at up to and around 220 kph through Lithuanian wasteland!"
As for what’s around the corner, Maker sees a busy year ahead: "All i can see ahead of me is travel, travel and more travel, with a little bit of production on the side. We just want to keep doing what we are doing and get our heads down after this tour and write the next chart topper, perhaps squeeze into that coveted Christmas number one slot in December too. Fingers crossed!" he says with a sardonic laugh.
Mount Kimbie [UK] play Espionage alongside Lorn [USA], Dizz1, Mike Kay, Rambl, Nam and more on Saturday February 5 at the Revolt Melbourne Artspace and Golden Plains Festival at the Meredith Supernatural Amphitheatre on Saturday March 12.
