Exposed Vocals Interviews Les Kayos
Les Kayos is a DJ/Producer born in Botswana and currently based in Mafikeng (North West Province, South Africa), home of the annual 60s party. His stage name, he says, describes his character and his music…although at times he does bring the chaos on the decks but, as he puts it, “it is then still controlled chaos!”
His musical influences date back a while. He remembers his mother having and playing LPs of Billy Ocean, Lionel Richie, Boney M etc. Classical music also forms part of what made this musical being. While still in his early school days he underwent formal lessons for the piano and the recorder.
He says his sound varies according to the mood of the environment his performing in, but he favours the deeper side of house, with a touch of soul, jazz and afrobeat. “I’ll basically play anything with a phat bassline!”
His past achievements include: holding residency at upmarket clubs in Centurion (Pretoria) and Mafikeng respectively. Serving as the Deputy Chairperson and the Chairperson of the NWU DJ Society. Establishing ‘The DJ Stock Exchange’ where he sells quality pre owned DJ equipment. His mixes have received airplay on internet radio, NWUfm, North West fm and MotswedingFM. He has shared the stage with acts like Ganyani, Amon Mokoena, Adil (MetroFM), Finzo (LesediFM), KB (MotswedingFM) and prominent Mafikeng DJs as well.
Les is also into producing his own music. ‘Maya’s Rising’ the latest single he has coproduced, is a house mix of Maya Angelou’s famous ‘Still I Rise’ poem. He hopes to go deeper into producing his own music by starting his own label soon.
He is currently a mix DJ for TransAfrica Radio’s ‘Street Dreams’, a show that airs on Saturdays 1400-1700 CAT
WEBSITES AND CONTACTS
leskayos.podomatic.com
www.soundcloud.com\leskayos
www.twitter.com\LESKAYOS
www.facebook.com\leskayos
BOOKINGS : [email protected]
Exposed Vocals: So tell us your story. Where did you grow up? What made you decide to become an artist?
Les Kayos: I was born in Maun, Botswana. A year after that my family moved to South Africa, where I grew up. I decided to become a DJ/Producer as a result of my pursuit of happiness actually. I have done a number of 9 to 5 jobs in my lifetime, all which did not work out, so at the end of the day it came down to what makes me the happiest. I had a long good look at what it is that I’m passionate about, what I would enjoy doing for a living. At the end of the day, music was the answer.
Exposed Vocals: How did you come up with that name? What was your inspiration behind it?
Les Kayos: Hehe…well, I mostly produce and play house music, so ironically, my stage name was inspired by hip hop. It was conceived at a time when I was co-running a production company that would host events aimed at providing a platform for underground hip hop artists and poets. I was hanging around a lot of hip hop cats at the time. The name actually has a double meaning: the first being wordplay based on my government name. The second being ‘less chaos’, which not only describes how I choose to live life in general and thus my character, but also how I DJ and make music.
The lesser the chaos, the better! J
Exposed Vocals: What do you think about online music sharing? Do you ever give your music away for free? Why?
Les Kayos: I think it is a huge dilemma! How are people going to buy your music if they don’t know you as an artist or know your previous tracks? How is the artist going to be able to produce music if they endlessly spend money to do so without getting anything in return?
Fact is a lot of musicians have profited from the publicity that came from their songs being played and known because of music sharing. The best option for the artist in this day and age is to be strategic about the whole thing. Rather than fighting it, use it!
I have given away all the tracks I have produced so far but, I will start selling some of them soon…otherwise it stops making sense.
Exposed Vocals: Since everyone was a start-up once, can you give any smaller or local bands or artists looking to get gigs and airplay some tips?
Les Kayos: It is tough! Especially if one is still starting out. Other artists have done it before though, so it CAN be done. Networking is key. I think everybody knows this but I think upcoming artists often forget this: for any relationship to last, it has to be mutually beneficial. Make sure that you bring something to the table as well when looking to form these relationships. The guys who are at the top are also facing fierce competition, it is lonely at the top, so if it helps them to help you then they’ll gladly do it.
Another dilemma when it comes to gigging: ‘How many free gigs do I have to do before I can get paid bookings?’. It is tricky! However, if you are going to perform for free, make sure that you are actually building your brand. Only do it for exposure if the exposure is good exposure, something that might even give you cold hard cash in the future, let it be a wise investment. Be careful, it is possible to throw all your hard work of building your brand down the drain if you develop a reputation for free performances.
Exposed Vocals: Where do you usually gather songwriting inspiration? What is your usual songwriting process?
Les Kayos: It all starts with a concept. I have to have a vision of the type of song I’m trying to produce. I hardly start working on a track without having a clear vision. It is almost like I have to feel a need to produce the track, it has to feel like the industry needs it, for me to do it. I usually gather inspiration from God’s creativity, how He has meticulously designed everything and how He has created me in His image, to be a creator. I also gather inspiration from life in general and the music industry itself.
SoulWinner, who is actually my biological brother, is the most reluctant, most talented musical being I’ve ever worked with. (Hehe…sorry about that bro…still got mad love for you!) When I do get it right to get him to focus on making music, it is magical. When both our creative juices are flowing, it is very inspirational to me. Having someone to bounce ideas off is awesome. Teamwork.
My general framework for creating an instrumental is usually the drum pattern first, the bassline then the melodies.
Exposed Vocals: Do you have a band website? What online platforms do you use to share your music?
Les Kayos: I hardly ever go to websites of artists I like. I find it boring and tedious to do so. It is also so impersonal. It has thus never really made sense to me to have a website.
I mainly use soundcloud, podomatic, facebook and twitter to post updates about my music. This way I can get immediate feedback.
Exposed Vocals: If you were given half a million dollars and a year off, what would you do? How would you spend it?
Les Kayos: Yaowza! That’s like around R7,5M! Hehe…I would immediately say a prayer of thanks! I wouldn’t stop working for a whole year though. Three weeks, tops! An overseas vacation with ‘my people’ would definitely be on the cards. I would however want to do at least 2 DJing gigs during the same period. It would be a great opportunity to do so…in a country I haven’t played in before. I would then take about 30% of that cash and put it back into my music…studio equipment, collaborations with superstar musicians…strategic moves to elevate myself to the next level as an artist.
The remainder I would invest and treat some of the dividends as a lifelong salary while trying to multiply the initial investment.
Exposed Vocals: How do you find ways to promote your music? What works best for you?
Les Kayos: I combine the DJing and the producing. I put whatever I produce into my DJ mixes. The mixes I then try to promote world-wide, at least as much as I can. I also aim to find people that genuinely like my music (with no hidden agendas) on different social media platforms. When I do find them I treat them like gold. Word of mouth is golden.
Exposed Vocals: So, what’s next? Any new upcoming projects that you want to talk about?
Les Kayos: Following up from ‘Maya’s Rising’
(https://www.soundcloud.com/leskayos/mayas-rising) SoulWinner and I have cooked up an Afro House track which features a talented young poet who goes by the name of Basie. It is basically a banging house jam with conscious poetry on it. The single should be out in the next two months or so. I am quite excited about that.
Exposed Vocals: If you weren’t making music, what would you be doing?
Les Kayos: I would probably be running a different kind of business. Something related to creativity probably.
Exposed Vocals: How do you juggle the rest of your responsibilities while trying to stay ahead in your music life?
Les Kayos: I do a segment called ‘Street Mix’, which comprises of mixes of house jams from across Africa, for a show called ‘Street Dreams’. ‘Street Dreams’ plays on Saturdays, 1400-1700 C.A.T. only on TransAfrica Radio (throughout Africa via DSTV Channel 872 and world-wide via taradio.mobi and other platforms). Not only does that require me to source the music I play there, I also do graphic design stuff to promote my segment and the show itself, plus a bit of social media marketing as well. This, combined with constantly trying to develop myself as a DJ and a producer gets tricky sometimes with regards to time.
I am one of those people that wish a day had 34 hours.
Time management is key. Not only that, but goal management as well. I am constantly monitoring the time I spend on activities, and checking whether that fits in with the goals I have set for myself.
Exposed Vocals: What should fans look forward to in 2016?
Les Kayos: Awesome contemporary urban African music on ‘Street Dreams’, every Saturday, 1400-1700 CAT, hosted by ‘Africa’s boy’, GameBoyWavy!
Of course, while listening to the show on Saturdays, at 1500 CAT, you get to hear a soopah doopah DJ mix African bangers for you on the ‘Street Mix’ ;-).
‘Les Kayos & SoulWinner featuring Basie – S.H.E.’ is in the oven, getting ready to be served as well.
Let’s connect in Twitland…@LESKAYOS…for gig guides, mixes, radio shenanigans and further updates.
Thank you and God bless!