The QR Network
  • Interviews
  • The Label
  • News
  • About
    • Contact
  • Privacy & Cookies

The QR Network Presents

EDM Interviews, Experiences, and Everything in Between.

Interview with One of EDM's Most Recognizable Voices: Kris Kiss

10/1/2018

0 Comments

 
Picture
Kris Kiss is a singer, rapper, and songwriter from the UK who has been featured on tracks by Hardwell, Steve Aoki, Chocolate Puma, Don Diablo, Toby Green, Fedde le Grand, Merk & Kremont, Vato Gonzales, JustLuke and many more. He's currently working to release his first solo album in 2019. 
What have been some of your biggest inspirations?
The first musical memory I have is my mum listening to singers like George Michael, Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder among many others. I guess I always had a natural interest in music as I would spend hours and hours learning the songs word by word and then I would sing them at the top of my voice around the house. Eminem was the one and only reason why I fell in love with rap. When I came across the "Marshall Mathers LP," my mind was just blown. I never considered myself a "singer" in the beginning. I mean I used to write a lot of stories, poetry, and rap lyrics before I started writing full-on songs.

The first time I realised I could sing was when I was studying music technology in college. We had an assignment that involved recording a male singer so we went round the room and various people gave it a shot. Eventually it was my turn and I belted it out. I got such a great reception and people came up and told me how impressed they were with my singing. That was when I decided to merge rapping and singing together.  

As far as other true inspirations go, it's not so much musicians I look up to, rather it's the people in my everyday life. My mum is my main inspiration as she's worked extremely hard to get to where she is today and I know that bringing me up on her own was not an easy task, believe me! â€‹â€‹
How did you go about honing your talents? 
I've been a relentless lyric writer for almost eighteen years, if you can believe it! I wrote my first set of lyrics at the age of ten which was back 2000. That's actually how I got my nickname of 2K because of the two K's in my name as well as the year of my writing career. Music has been my main focus in life ever since I started. I have two hard drives in my cupboard with literally thousands of song ideas, rap lyrics, productions and recordings from over the years. I've have just been trying to perfect my craft and find my musical identity through each and every project I've worked on. I have a home studio setup that I built myself and I write, record, mix and master all my own stuff. I was never taught how to sing or rap, it just came out of nowhere honestly. Even still, I always try my best to keep pushing the boundaries of what I can do.
View this post on Instagram

Ain’t no writers block, on this writers block.. □□□□□□□

A post shared by KRiS KiSS oFFiCiaL (@kriskissofficial) on Jun 17, 2018 at 11:02am PDT

You've been featured on so many classic tracks like "Step Back" from Chocolate Puma and "Anthem" by Hardwell and Steve Aoki. Could you give us some background on how you have established yourself as one of the most recognizable voices and talents in the EDM industry.
The first big break I had was "Step Back" back in 2013. I have my first ever manager Aaron Ross from Infinite Future Management to thank for that. Up until then, I had always been writing purely rap and R&B songs but Aaron suggested that I try to sing over house music. He had a lot of solid contacts in the industry and gave me a chance to work with some amazing names like Chocolate Puma. Although we no longer work with each other, I will always be grateful to him and wish him the best in everything he does. Anyway, back to the track, Chocolate Puma sent the beat over to him and I think I wrote and recorded the whole song in the space of two hours! Once I sat down with it, it all just flowed so naturally. A few months down the line, I hadn't heard anything about the track so I assumed it hadn't done well. Then I got a call from Aaron saying I've gone Gold in the Netherlands!

My plaque arrived and I couldn't believe it. Off the back of that release, I have had had pretty regular interest from DJ's and producers worldwide asking to work with me. Although it's not the initial musical direction I was intending on going, it's been a great journey and I feel very humbled by all of the love I've received.
View this post on Instagram

A post shared by KRiS KiSS oFFiCiaL (@kriskissofficial) on Aug 27, 2018 at 7:23am PDT

Walk us through your creative process. Chocolate Puma said you had the vocals for "Bump" in just around an hour! 
I don't really have a process to be honest! It's strange, but the music takes me where it wants to and I just ride the wave. I get a feel for the concepts based on the instrumentals I am listening to. Generally speaking, learning how to let go of my inhibitions is key if I want to improvise and create a solid melody or idea. It's important to be fearless while taking into consideration what the target audience is looking for. It's a balancing act of knowing those assumptions but not becoming defined or limited by those expectations.
What have been some of your favorite projects to work on?
Well my favorite project I've worked on is unreleased! It's my debut solo album. Each year, I tell myself the time is right, but then I get a load of feature work and push it back. I think I have enough solo material to create ten albums by now! I love having absolute creative freedom and starting with a blank canvas. Even when I'm not making music for work, I make music in my downtime; it's just what I do. Generally speaking, everyone I work with has there own unique gift and I just feel blessed to be connected with such talented people.

You often go out to MC for some of the DJs you've worked with. Tell us about some of your favorite memories from those events.

My favorite performance ever has to be Tomorrowland in Belgium a few years back with Laidback Luke and the Chocolate Puma boys. That day, I was off to a rough start because I had an absolutely horrific car ride to get there and I was extremely sleep deprived! We were scheduled on the SuperYou&Me stage and we were all asked to dress up like superheros so I dressed up as Superman. I walked out on stage in front of thousands of people and the energy was simply electric! When the beat dropped, I looked into the crowd and saw flags flying from all across the globe. It was a very special moment for me to be there with all of those people and sharing music together.
Some other events that stick out was doing Pacha with David Guetta in Ibiza and SW4 with Fedde le Grand on the Heldeep Stage. Pacha was such an incredible night and being on stage with a legend like David Guetta is an unparalleled experience. However, SW4 was held on Clapham Common in London which is around where I've spent most of my life so I felt right at home.

I can't explain how much I love performing live because that's when all the hard work comes together with people who have the same passion for music as I do. Such an amazing feeling!
View this post on Instagram

A post shared by KRiS KiSS oFFiCiaL (@kriskissofficial) on Aug 26, 2018 at 9:09am PDT

Every industry has its own unique set of challenges to be overcome and you're in the incredibly unique position of being one of the few EDM vocalists that many people would recognize. What sort of challenges have you had to overcome as you've moved through this industry?
This industry is an assault course at the best of times! I've had DJ's get my name wrong on primetime nationwide radio. I've had people steal and release my ideas by getting other singers to record it without my permission. I've had people tell me that I'll never be a rapper because I'm white and I'm not from "the ghetto." I've had people not pay me for my services. I've had countless amounts of people listen to my stuff and promise me the world and never follow through on any of it. I feel like if you have a weak will, this game will eat you alive, but if you can learn to have no expectations, it makes the goal a lot clearer and more manageable.

What sort of plans do you have for the future of Kris Kiss? Tell us what you've got coming up!
Solitary Enlightenment - Kris Kiss

In 2019, I will be releasing my first ever official solo album independently. I already have 4 of the music videos shot and the final tracklist. It's primarily rap-focused with tons of melodic hooks! I'm very excited to finally show everyone what I'm really about!
A huge thank you to Kris Kiss for taking the time to answer our questions. For all of the latest updates on his upcoming projects, be sure to follow him on social media using the links below!

INSTAGRAM FACEBOOK SOUNDCLOUD 

RECOMMENDED

Picture

PREVIOUS

Interview with Ben Wing from Sunday Swerve

OTHER INTERVIEWS

Picture
Picture
Picture

Chris W. Lao

DJ, Writer, and Student.

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Interviews:

    Adventure Club
    Axollo
    B3RROR
    Birthdayy Partyy
    Cat Dealers
    ​Chad Kowal 
    Chester Young
    Chocolate Puma
    Conor Ross
    ​Corx
    D'Angello & Francis
    Dannic
    Damien N-Drix
    Debris
    Declain
    Dirty Ducks
    DJ Brooklyn
    Drop Department
    Fabian Mazur
    Folded Dragons
    Foxa
    Herobust
    High 'n' Rich
    ​Husman
    Ibranovski
    ​Jex Jordyn
    Jimmy Clash
    ​Jonth
    ​Jordan Jay
    Justin Mylo
    KAAZE
    Kage
    Kompany
    Krimsonn
    ​Kris Kiss
    ​Leah Culver
    Loca Recordings
    ​Loris Cimino
    DJ Luane de Lima
    Luca Schreiner
    Lucille Croft
    Maddix
    Magnificence
    Marauda
    Maurice West
    Merzo
    ​Micah Martin
    ​DJ Natalia Moon
    NEVERGLOW
    Nino Lucarelli
    Olly James
    ​OUTRAGE
    Pessto
    Peter Rijpkema
    Pharien
    Pro​tohype
    Retrovision
    Riot Ten
    ​Roy Orion
    RudeLies
    SaberZ
    ​
    Salvo
    Sativ Records
    Seth Hills
    Sophie Francis
    Steven Vegas
    Stisema
    ​Sunday Noise
    SWACQ
    Syzz
    ​TBR
    Teminite
    TNO
    Todd Helder
    Tom & Jame
    Tom Wilson
    Tommy Jayden
    Triple M
    TV Noise
    Valy Mo
    Wasback
    Yuki-San
    Zubah
    9lives

    Tags

    All
    Armada Artists
    Axtone Artists
    Bass House
    Big Room
    DJs
    Dubstep
    EDM Adventures
    EDM Industry Professionals
    EDM News
    EDM Spotlight
    Future Bass
    Future House
    Imagine Festival
    Interviews
    NCS
    Progressive House
    Quartzo Artists
    Revealed Artists
    Site Updates
    Spinnin' Artists
    STMPD Artists
    The Music Elk
    United
    Vocalists

    Archives

    March 2025
    October 2021
    June 2021
    March 2021
    September 2020
    July 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018

    RSS Feed

Ventures

FACEBOOK
Instagram
​TWITTER
Soundcloud
Youtube

QR Network

About
​Privacy

© COPYRIGHT 2021
. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
  • Interviews
  • The Label
  • News
  • About
    • Contact
  • Privacy & Cookies