Killa Kela feature – Serie B 2006

Killa Kela feature – Published in Serie B magazine 2006

Beatboxing is often referred to as the fifth element in hip hop – the one that is most easily forgotten but which has always played an integral part of the culture. From the days of Biz Markie and the Juice Crew to groups like Foreign Beggars, Spit Kingdom and Saian Supa Crew via Rhazel and the Roots, beatboxing has always been with us in one form or another. And when you think of beatboxing and Europe, chances are the name Killa Kela will be the first that springs to mind, or mouth. Since bursting onto the scene in the late 90s, Kela has fast established himself as the continent’s most talented beatboxer, or multi-vocalist as he once remarked. Be it solo or with crews, the man has brought an entirely new dimension and perspective to an art too often ignored or relegated to the back. With a second album about to drop (officially), non stop live tours and bags of music forthcoming it was only right that we catch up and find out what 06 has in stores for him and the Spit Kingdom crew.

If there’s one thing Kela is, it’s busy. Like Vadim, he seems to always be on the road, bringing his music to places far and wide. Christmas saw him in Honk Kong, swiftly followed by L.A for NYE, where he rocked a show with Z-Trip, while the monthly Spit Kingdom London residency has now become a pan-European affair with regular appearances in Romania, Paris, Germany and Gothenburg. Add to that more live dates, an early release of the new album through his own channels, a new series of podcast through the site and you can see why he is where he’s at today. Isn’t all this relentless touring hard though? ‘Well it’s a mental state for me really. I want to try and stay original – which isn’t always easy! But I like to think that I do it and that I always bring something new every time I go on the road.’

Kela’s second opus, ‘Elocution’, was a big affair for a few reasons – one of which was his move from small indie label Jazz Fudge to major label Sony, no mean feat for any UK artist. Talking to him about the move, what becomes clear is that it wasn’t a case of luck or wanting to ‘sell out’ for money. ‘I can’t speak for everyone but I believe that as an artist there’s a certain amount of conditioning you go through. I’ve been on indie labels, and it’s not easy. You might want to shoot high, and so if it happens it’s good. And that’s what happened to me. Jazz Fudge did a hell of a lot for me, I wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for them. But you can’t just rely on the label to make it happen for you. You want, need, to, survive past any label you’re signed to’. So has the move thrown up anything bad his way yet? ‘Personally I’ve not really had any bad experience with labels so far. It’s all down to how you present yourself to people I think. I already had a lot of backing when I went to Jazz Fudge so all they had to do was like the product, manufacture it, and get it out there. I was already doing the groundwork to let people know who I was – especially live. This is where you can make a lot happen for yourself. It’s a big vehicle, and if you connect it right with your marketing, manufacturing and label it’s already harder for you to fall. If you come ready, it’s easier for all involved.’ A sound logic that loos like it’s already paid off.

With the album out in October, on ‘a low level kinda thing’, how has the reception been so far? ‘It’s been good to be honest. Especially as this album was an opportunity to try things out, do something different to my previous work. At the same time, because of how things are today it’s also meant that in a way it needs to be ‘explained’ again because it’s so different. Music wise the LP isn’t just one thing, it’s varied and so that’s been both good and bad I guess. Though personally I’m really happy with it.’ If you’ve had the chance to catch the early release, singles or see Kela recently, you’ll probably know what he means. This musical shift has also meant that while new fans discover the man every day, there has also been some that have left. After all you can never please everyone, but there’s a feeling for Kela that maybe there’s more to that than just the music having changed. ‘I think in the UK there’s a tendency for fans to snub things that go big. So when an artist who’s ‘underground’ makes it to a major a whole portion of his fanbase may snub him, and I think that’s a shame.’

And what about the dnb collaborations with Dillinja and Zinc? Well the Zinc is being kept by the Bingo boss for his own needs and since then Kela’s been working with a bunch of other dnb artists, namely SS, Skiba and Photek, who’s also doing some production work for the Spit Kingdom crew – a tasty prospect for fans. The next single will feature remixes from across the board with Freeland on the breakbeat tip, Wiley keeping it grimey and Clipz holding it down for dnb. But what’s it like for a beatboxer to work with producers? Do people just look at him as a soundbank? ‘It depends on the people, but there can be some misunderstanding as to what I can do. If you go in, talk and work with them you can come to an understanding. Producers will have their own ideas of what you do, but it’s a good exchange and learning process. I like to work with them so that my addition to the music is more of a feature than just adding to their track. The Photek collabo for example was all vocals, no beatbox.’

You can also expect to see and hear more of the rest of the Spit Kingdom crew this year. MC Trip is ‘coming with some seriously heavy stuff for his album’, Rockwood is also working on a self produced LP while the crew’s main producer, Badlands, is hard at work too. The DJs, Beni G and Go aka The Mixologists, aren’t resting on their laurels either. Beni’s been locked in the studio with Plus One for a joint project while doubling up as Kano’s scratch DJ and Go is still busy setting up and debuting his own dnb orientated label, TORQ – which was to originally debut with the massive ‘Duppy Man’. Still don’t be counting them out either.