Having recently been featured on the latest round of compilations from the long standing Fabriclive series, Bristol based Richard Main aka Kalyde has been making waves in the underground domain of techno music.
Hailing from the motherlands of house music, Kalyde’s humble beginnings started in Detroit, then moving to the UK aged 11. When asked about his connections with Detroit, he mentions that he wasn’t really exposed to the dance culture there, playfully joking that “it wasn’t like I was getting babysat by Richie Hawtin”.
After signing his first deal in 2014, Kalyde has now released tracks on MadTech, Nurvous, Avotre, Zoo and Lost records. Having remixed the likes of Sidney Charles and Philip Bader, he has cemented a profile of putting out high class productions with an essence of industrial, bass heavy techno & house.
“Monki is one of the sole reasons for the growth of Kalyde”
Having presented mixes on Rinse FM, he has also been tipped off by friend and BBC Radio 1 host, Monki, as one to watch for 2015. Now kicking off an international tour, headlining festivals, playing at Fabriclive in London, and providing an official remix of Star 69 for the 15th anniversary of Fatboy Slim’s album ‘Halfway Between The Gutter And The Stars’, It seems like a perfect time to catch up with Kalyde during some downtime.
Jenny: Hi Richard, cheers for joining us here at Cone. So let’s get straight into things, what was it like growing up in Detroit, cited as the birthplace of techno and how did it influence your sound?
Kalyde: It was fun, the education system was very different out there in comparison to the UK but I was quite young. I was back in the UK by the age of 11. I’m not going to lie and say I was being babysat by Richie Hawtin, because I didn’t even know who he was, nor anything about dance music. I would say my sound is soley down to living in Bristol a few years back.
Jenny: What are your other influences?
Kalyde: Most of my influences are very impulsive. Mainly going out for a big night in a new city sparks up fresh ideas.
Jenny: What led you to music? What would you do if you weren’t in music?
Kalyde: I learnt several instruments at school including the Piano and Tennor sax, but fairly unsuccessfully! It picked up more when I was at uni; I bought some decks with some spare cash when I was ill with glandular fever, and then that turned into running nights and starting production. The only other thing I could remember was wanting to be an architect.
Jenny: Why did you come to Bristol and what are the similarities or differences to your home?
What is your favourite Bristol haunt and why?
What is your favourite Bristol haunt and why?
Kalyde: I came to bristol originally to go to university and study business, which turned out not to be for me and so I started a music production course at Access To Music. My favourite night was a Run which was held at Native; a 200 capacity club (now Big Chill Bar). It was a drum & bass night but the vibe there was so good and it was my first experience of being involved in a scene as a punter. There was a real sense of community there too and you would see the same faces each week (if you got in!). You would get DJs like Andy C and DJ Marky turning up and playing for nothing to the smallest crowd, and of course everyone was on vinyl. Sadly that night is at Motion now, which is probably my favourite club ever but that sense of community seemed to dissipate. There is a new night in town that is called ‘Who Cares?’ which is said to have the same vibe as Run at Native, but I still haven’t managed to head down. I don’t actually live in Bristol anymore but I still consider it home.
Jenny: Tell us about the work you are doing with Applebottom?
Kalyde: We recently exchanged remixes. He remixed my track ‘Switch‘ on Madtech and I remixed his track ‘Licked‘ which we still haven’t put out yet! Maybe a free DL this year….
We are also heading to Red Bull Studios in London to make a track together for the Monki & Friends EP, so expect a Free DL from us this summer!
Jenny: What else is in the pipe line?
Kalyde: A track on Black Butter and a 4 track EP on Huxley’s new Techno Label. Plus a Remix of Fatboy Slim!
Jenny: You recently told Thump that what gets you excited about music is a cross pollination of influences which in turn leads to something new. How is this reflected in your recent work?
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Kalyde: Cant you tell haha!? Well I love mixing it up a bit, my track Switch is a Techno track laced in Jungle risers and ‘This Joint‘ is a Tech house warehouse beat with a hip hop lick over it. I don’t go too crazy with it but its the little things that people notice. Its very easy to get caught up in doing things because it has been tried and tested and to some extent ‘works’. I’m the opposite, I have several projects of finished tracks that sound great and are club ready but none of them will ever get heard as they are just a bit too generic for whatever reason.
Jenny: Annie Mac recently featured ‘The Layout‘ on her Radio One show. Has it changed anything for you? What has the response been like?
Kalyde: My Followers have gone up a lot since that one! But the general response for this track has been really great, with a huge DJ support. It was a track which was almost heading for the trash icon, but luckily I went back to it and gave it a large dose of viagra.
Jenny: What can we expect from ‘Infected Ear’? It was released on Monki’s label, Zoo Music. Tell us a bit about the Zoo music family?
Kalyde: A week of pain and potential antibiotics? The track was also another one I did which I half liked and was almost ready for the trash, but then went back to it, started over with the core elements and created something new which I instantly liked. Its a slightly different one from me, maybe verging more on the bass music side of Techno, but the general feedback was that it had character and it does damage in my sets. I don’t know a huge amount about the Zoo family, but Monki is one of the sole reasons for the growth of Kalyde.
Jenny: Where would you like to play in the future?
Kalyde: Fabric, Berghain, Watergate, DC10, Time Warp Festival!
Jenny: How would you describe your sound?
Kalyde: Tech House with a twist
Jenny: What other artists should we look out for?
Kalyde: Loving Beesmunt Soundsystem and Fjaack at the moment. Also this guy David Jackson has mad skills for a 15 year old. I got him a track on MadTech recently.
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