There must be something in the water in Dublin, Ireland at the moment with a number of remarkable talents emerging in recent years the latest of which is Kaily. The up and comer has a deep appreciation for the underground elements of house music and his venerable skills in the booth have ensured a constant stream of appealing opportunities both home and abroad with a stellar performance at Life Festival last year the crown jewel in year of exciting touring and performing.
As producer Kaily has used his experience and wealth of knowledge to create sound that typifies everything that is exciting about the house music scene at present, his energetic form of deep tech makes him one to watch for the WWD team and someone we were delighted to have on board for our podcast series. With releases on the likes of Lapsus Music (the moniker of Supernova) and Beatdown Music (allied with staunch support from Sonny Fodera) the Dubliner has begun to carve out his own indelible niche in the underground scene as well as achieving chart success with both releases via Traxsource.
With a big upcoming release on Zurich based Deeptown Records coming out this Monday (complete with a remix from the legendary Terrence Parker) and a host of other releases planned for the Autumn there can be no doubt the man renowned for his pinpoint musical taste is due a big year. We caught up with him recently to find out just how he plans on making the jump to the next level this year.
WWD : What an amazing few months, a big release on Lapsus followed by a summer smash with The Mess Up which got support from a host of big names. For those who might not know, can you give us a little info on your new moniker Kaily and how it came about?
Kaily : Yeah its been hectic, Have barely had time to take it all in. I’ve been DJing and promoting in Dublin for a long time and had been playing in some really well known clubs week in week out, developing a good reputation for myself and when my first track was released it had been a long wait – almost 8 months before the debut release came out on Beatdown. My sound had changed alot in that time and I felt it was right to try move away from my name & start fresh with something fresh. Thats where the initial idea of “Kaily” came about. That and the fact nobody can ever pronounce my surname properly so decided to make it easier haha
WWD : Your track Acid Trip was an early summer indicator of the quality to come. Talk us through the track and that trippy sample you used!
Kaily : Myself and Blandy (Hollywood Hills) were messing about with some Acid basslines on a really cool plugin Audiorealism Basslines and we were just having so much fun manipulation the sound for hours we decided to make a track and so we started with the drums, fairly basic drums we kept the hats and snares really open…The acid bassline is what carries the track and we wanted it that way as we love that acid sound that DJ Pierre made so popular with Phuture. We stumbled across an interview with a hippie from the 60’s who was being interviewed about her experience of taking LSD, it was like it was a light went off in our heads. It just fitted perfect. We chopped up the vocal and maniupulated it to make it even more creepy and “Trippy”. I sent it on to Emiliano from Supernova and he wanted it straight away for Lapsus Music
WWD : Lapsus is a label that has been increasingly sighted as a great place for proper house music, what attracted you to the label?
Kaily : I’ve always been a big fan of the label & of Supernova who created and run it. The guys are very cool and house music purists, which I also like to think I am. They have a darker side & they also have a fun, lighter side which I also think i have, and I think that shows in the diversity of my releases. They are passionate about House Music and so am I. I’m very happy to be part of the Lapsus Music family
WWD : The Mess Up was undoubtedly your biggest success so far but its a little different from the deeper, techier side of you that we see in your sets, how did the track come about? Kaily : I had been digging for Samples for a while and came across a really cool Sunshine Anderson vocal. At the time my main residency was in a very popular club in Dublin called Sin, I loved it there and it was really good to me but my more underground, techy sound wasn’t always right for the venue so I wanted a club track that I could play in Sin that was carried by the vocal and bassline and thats where The Mess Up came about, along with No Love which was finished around the same time.
WWD : What’s the plan for the winter season? We see the calender is already getting pretty full!
Kaily : The plan is to find more time to get into the studio…I’ve been trying to juggle Djing 3-4 nights a week, promoting & organizing my brand Strictly Deep and finding time for the studio, which is hard as I love all of those things…Sometimes there arent enough hours the day haha I’m planning to drop out new music every 3-4 weeks from now til December. 2014 has been bigger than I could have expected but I am never happy, I always want to take things further and see how big things can get. I’ve some tasty gigs coming up and some even tastier releases on some really good labels
WWD : Give us a little insight into your studio work, is it a long process or can you usually get everything down in a few hours?
Kaily : I usually work pretty fast. I see things develop in my head and generally within a couple of hours the drums, bassline, vocal and riff’s are laid down. I just mess about with the arrangement and eq’ing for the next few hours and see how things develop. Once I’m happy I work on the mixdown and mastering. Usually everything in a day or two.
WWD : For the production geeks reading, whats the one plugin you can’t live without?
Kaily : The Lexicon 224 reverb plugin is insane, I’ve been having alot of fun with that lately putting some crazy reverb on some of my newer stuff
WWD : It’s no secret you like to encourage those around you in your home scene in Dublin, who’s making waves right now in Dublin?
Kaily : There is so much talent in Dublin right now its ready to explode…There are so many talented DJ’s in the city who I love but if I had to pick anyone in particular on the rise it would be Dan Stritch. He works hard and is always solid, his style is very similar to mine and I’m warming up for Flashmob for the guys at Jack with him very soon, really looking forward to it. On the production front I’ve got to give a serious shout out to Jamie O Reilly & the Hosey brothers Andrew & Paul. I know all of them a long time and they are so talented. Also Colman Buckley & Ray Taff as Dog Days have been producing some amazing stuff for a long time. Deep Future is another one i’ve been supporting for years. And Kobhi is bound for big things….So much talent over here right now
WWD : We’ve been tuned into your radio show (Strictly Deep) on various occasions over the past few weeks. Give us your top 5 tunes right now!
Kaily : Its so hard to choose…i get bored with tracks very easily haha I play them for 3 or 4 weeks and then I need to switch it up, I suppose 5 tracks from the mix would be a good way to go 1. Moderat – Bad Kingdom (DJ Koze Remix) 2. Hot Since 82 – Somebody Everybody 3. Maceo Plex – Conjure Superstar 4. Flowers & Sea Creatures – The very next day feat Wrong Jeremy (Eric volta navigate the untold cosmos mix) 5. Afefe Iku – Mirror Dance (Just like in my sets & my mixes, I couldn’t resist throwing a classic in there)