By now you’re hopefully all up to speed with Perth musician Kaikobad.
Fresh off the release of his heavenly double-single release with Cornsilk and 14c clear, the bedroom producer behind Kaikobad stopped by Happy Mag to dish on his 70s disco influences and quest to exist “outside of the typical ‘four white bros in a surf-rock band’” music scene.
But like any great artist, there’s always more to uncover. Below, we caught up with Kaikobad for a run-through of the tracks that inspired his double-single, from cuts by The Avalanches that remind him of a “shampoo commercial” to the “fun, light disco” sounds of Patrice Rushen.
Scroll down for full list of musician who influence Kaikobad, and listen to his new single Cornsilk and 14c clear below. Head here to find Kaikobad on Spotify.
The Avalanches – Over the Turnstiles
This song is like a shampoo commercial, or maybe what it feels like to wake up and you actually had a decent night’s sleep. It’s a concise, 40 second track that plays before ‘Sunshine’ on their Wildflower record.
But I find myself always playing the 40 seconds over and over. It’s so warm and natural evolving and bright. This record means so much to me – there would certainly be no Cornsilk without Wildflower.
Patrice Rushen – Haven’t You Heard
This is just such a fun, light disco track. All of her songs are full of energy. I’d be shocked if anyone didn’t move when this came on. Also, it there’s a really great use of space in the track as well.
I think a lot of disco can sound a little same-y or predictable, but this is definitely not that. I love the percussive elements and how things fall away on the verses, letting Patrice’s voice shine through. It’s just a wonderful summery track.
Lucy Pearl – Trippin
Track three is ‘Trippin’ by Lucy Pearl. I think there’s a lot of crossovers between a lot of early 2000 R&B and dance music. So, we’ve all heard TLC or Destiny’s Child remixes at the club, but the tracks themselves, (like, listen to Brandy’s Angel in Disguise) and this one, you could play them in the middle of a club set, and nobody would bat an eye.
The drums are crispy and it seems like there’s just enough going on – something I really try to make sure is happening in own songs.
Daft Punk – High Life
Track four is Daft Punk‘s Highlife on Discovery. On Discovery’s dancier tracks, Daft Punk do this thing where no matter how many, or how loud the sample(s) that the track’s built off seem to be, the drums are just smacking, always. They’re loud, clapping and sound great every damn time.
And I think that’s what people love about them so much. It’s a very recognizable sound. Sometimes, I’m insecure that my drums aren’t loud enough, like my songs aren’t danceable. So, definitely something I try to emulate.
Taylor Swift – You Are in Love
A lot of the songs of 1989 have a great ambient sonic balance to them. I know Jack Antonoff gets a lot of shit from music dorks and regular fans alike for his production (see: The Jack Antonoff Production detection game, play along at home) but the one thing he does do is make deep, moody pop songs.
This one one’s no different. The reverby arpeggio at the start that loops throughout the song is amazing. If I could just play that over and over again forever, I definitely would. I’m in love with it (sorry!).
Brian Eno and Harold Budd’s – An Arc of Doves
I found out about this track through Harold Budd’s work with the Cocteau Twins, and I was already a Brian Eno fan. Then once I had put two and two together and realized they had done a lot of stuff together, it was like Christmas.
This is just a really beautiful, fluttering, ambient piece. This song honestly plays in my head a lot. Like, when I’m not listening to it, I can just hear it. It’s got a very memorable, spaced-out melody.
I remember Brian Eno writing something like when he was creating the first tracks for Music for Airports, he wanted to make something that was equally interesting and ignorable. That influenced a lot of what I was trying to do with 14c clear.
Burial – Shadow Paradise
When I first listened to Burial, I was in love with the music, but also really relieved to hear it because it turns out I’d been ripping him off subconsciously for like the past four or five years without ever hearing any of his tracks.
His production influence shines through from modern music (see – track 2 on Rosalia’s Motomami album sampling ‘Archangel’, to Disclosure discussing how his production influenced the finer details of ‘Latch’),with pitched up samples, clickey drums and cloudy atmospheres, it was something I’d been trying to do really poorly for ages.
This song is a long, dreamy, mushy experience, something that you could fall asleep to. And I’ve done that many times. It’s just a really wonderful sonic experience.
