July 29 2017

Exposed Vocals just caught an exclusive interview with ‘SIDDHI KID’

SIDDHI KID is unleashing a wild blend of electronic, ghostpop, and r&b/soul that is quickly gaining excitement across digital platforms. Building upon his recent number one collaboration on Monstercat Records (lauded as: “vocals that are the cherry on top of a masterful tune” -By The Wavs), his forthcoming debut album, “Animalism”, showcases his unique voice, songwriting and production style.

”Animalism” peers into the battle between the mind’s emotions and primal urges that define our very nature – perceivably human, but not so far from animalistic. His first single, Deep in You, released Summer 2017, evokes an electronic soul vibe with influences from artists such as Daft Punk, Chromeo and Prince.

SIDDHI KID derives from the ancient sanskrit word siddhi, meaning “supernatural powers attained from spiritual enlightenment through meditation” and kid, a Fellini-inspired reminder to “never lose your childish enthusiasm”. Keying into the experience of generating a loyal following from magnetic performances throughout Southern California, SIDDHI KID’s upcoming live show/DJ sets will coincide with additional single releases and music videos from “Animalism”.
@siddhikid

Music Review

Great production on this piece, creatively the music builds an intense and detailed soundscape within which the core ideas of the song can really stand tall. The way in which the audio evolves offers listeners a little of the now fused with a little of the retro vibes from the 90’s and perhaps earlier. There’s an experimental element to it all, but not so much so that the strength and style of the song suffocates from it. Style is the key word, the song has character, a certain mood that passes through to its audience with every beat and every snippet of vocal melody.

The building blocks of the song are far from average in this case, or far from what may be expected for dance music or this sort of meeting of pop and EDM. Again, that vocal snippet concept is similar to track that made it big in decades past. There’s a definite level of soul to the vocal parts that can be heard and that repeat throughout, but it’s merely a teaser, a touch of variation and alternative, human energy to brighten up the somewhat darker corners of an otherwise entirely electronic piece of music. The fact that it’s the almighty hook that is repeated throughout empowers the title and concept of the song and makes certain that this is the key idea taken away after listening.

The whole thing has both a fresh and nostalgic energy, the perfect kind of vibes to see you into (or out of) a long weekend. This kind of music, when produced so professionally and with so much variation instrumentally, is ideal for any number of situations. There’s also a lot of potential for remixes or further collaborations that would expand the song’s reach even further.

By Rebecca Cullen

Rebecca is a Musician and writer from Manchester, UK, with an MA in Song Writing

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

Exposed Vocals: So tell us your story. Where did you grow up? What made you decide to become an artist?

I grew up with music in my blood and always knew that I wanted to be a musician. I was born in St. Louis, Missouri to a mother from croatia and a father from india, just bombarded from cultures on all sides! I was first introduced to music at the age of 5 whenI took piano lessons, which lead me to being an alto saxophone player in middle school, all while writing poems about baseball and my other childhood memories. I grew up in an abusive household and also a bizarrely judgmental city, and music became my outlet from escaping loneliness and having an outlet to express … eventually I picked up the guitar, started singing and writing original songs at 13 years old, which was when I was bitten by the “performer bug.” Got a mystical urge and intuitive calling to pursue my passion for music is what landed me in L.A., but also got into acting, which landed me in a few network TV shows, films and commercials, until I finally decided to dedicate myself to music full-time, in 2012. Ever since, I created a variety of musical projects such as Brayden and the Bandits, Thieves Like Us, Pierce The Arrow, KINGDØMS, and now SIDDHI KID.

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?

I’ll repeat what I’ve heard many times before that I found to be helpful – keep practicing and creating new material that inspires you, and eventually your artistic voice will come forth. I’ve noticed this happen quicker for others, though I’ve been playing and writing since I was a kid, I think it took a while for me t0 develop my artistic voice. And that’s OK. It’s an artist’s journey, and everybody is different, it’s not about comparing – it’s about taking pride in your uniqueness and individuality – that is the quality that needs to be fostered and explored. For me, I am passionate about so many styles, I found it hard for me to choose – and so I’ve danced around in many genres. Some people come out and they’re like I want to rule deep house or folk revival, and that’s great. When you know what it is you want to do, create music, and then then create a brand, an image, a story about who you are as an artist. There are soo many people putting things out these days, that a cohesive thing, whatever that may be goes a long way. But don’t be afraid to fail. You won’t know unless you try, and most likely will fail a few times, but that’s a part of success. Ask anyone who’s achieved high levels of success – they’ve failed countless times, it’s the process, key is to keep at it and evolve and refine.

Exposed Vocals: Do you ever make mistakes during performances? How do you handle that?

Definitely ha! Live performance is about doing something live, and that’s raw and organic and human and humans make mistakes. But I’m also really good at covering it up 😉 … that comes with playing a bunch and listening. I don’t ever let it trip me up though, you’re performing and I believe the show must go on!

Exposed Vocals: Do you tour? Anything interesting happen on tour that you think our readers would enjoy hearing about?

Yes, but no great stories just yet ha… maybe next interview lol

Exposed Vocals: Any planned studio upgrades? What are you working with now?

I work on ableton, with neuron kh120 monitors and rme babyface interface, share mics … and a shit ton of vets haha … I use everything from silent, omnisphere, serum, spire, massive, artura, and a bunch others. I also have a Roand Handsonic I use to make custom beats – I’m not necessarily a drummer but I am a percussionist, and this gives me flexibility and response without living up to a drum set and without being limited to little square pads.

Exposed Vocals: How do you find ways to promote your music? What works best for you?

Ha, I’m not sure what I do for promotion is groundbreaking just yet, but this becomes a more and more challenging question as the internet expands and gets more crowded with music (a beautiful thing btw, to be empowered as an artist and release content freely) … that being said, I give myself time to set things up before a release … I make sure I have catchy visuals that connect with my artistry, look to social media to share my updates, my email newsletter (which is great) … but what’s best is seeing people face to face, telling them about it, texting, calling … it’s more and more challenging to request people’s time, but when something personal is attached to it, it becomes a greater sense of purpose for people, I think, to see what it is you’re about. I’ve spent recent years working in the Experiential Marketing world helping to put on events, so I’m looking for ways to incorporate that into the SIDDHI KID experience … tbd on that!

Exposed Vocals: If you could perform anywhere and with any artists (Dead or Alive) where and who would it be with? Why?

I think it would be with John Lennon at Woodstock! (The OG woodstock ha) … That seemed like one of the most magical times for music, and to perform with one of the most magical artists. I meaannnnn lol! If not Lennon, then Michael Jackson, but I’m 99 percent certain I’d look like a fool next to him lmao — he was the best of all time, and prob will ever be.

Exposed Vocals: So, what’s next? Any new upcoming projects that you want to talk about?

I just released my first original single, Deep in You ..! I’ll be releasing a new single every 2-3 weeks … ongoing – they’re all a part of my forthcoming album, “Animalism” … a thematic exploration into the carnal appetite of humans. I have so many songs built up though, I’ve been talking about starting a couple other projects, including releasing under my alternative synth project, KINGDØMS. But for now, my goal is to share SIDHHI KID with every one.

Exposed Vocals: If you weren’t making music, what would you be doing?

Thinking about music 😉 … haha … I would be doing some type of exercise activity, or hanging with friends … or planning my other non-music-related ideas … there’s just not enough time in the day to do it all! Music is life tho.

Exposed Vocals: What should fans look forward to in the next year or so?

If you enjoy Deep in You, then get ready bc it’s going to be exciting. You can look forward to music that I made that will sometimes be great to turn up to and other tracks will be introspective.

Exposed Vocals: Any Shout-outs?

YES. SO many. Shout out to Vanity Shades — best friend and brother from another mother, we’re bandmates in my other project, KINGDØMS, share a music studio together, and just share a passion for music, it’s great. Christopher Rockwell — my kindred music spirit bud whom I’m sure I’ll do big things with, like co-write for dope artists (something we already have been doing), Bentley Montes (half of heavy bass duo, Pixel Terror) who helped me finesse and mix these records right, learned a lot from him, James Kennedy who gave me crash courses in Ableton 3 years ago that empowered me to be a producer – something I never thought I could do — now I can do it all bwahahaha. Anna Hollis is a beautiful soul for Portland, and I’ve connected with her art, we’ve collated on my artwork for SIDDHI KID – it’s been fun to exercise my graphic design skills! Justin Gariano and Dusty Schaller for engineering my vocals at their dope studio in LA (treehouse recording). And to my brother, Nevin Millan, whom I talk to almost every day about the mania of the music world and how to improve our selves and my friends Betsy Usher and Collin st Dic who’ve been such caring friends as I’ve grown confident in my artistic choices.