Q&A with the homie KNOE
Hey KNOE, you’ve just dropped new single Down, which is a slower smoother jam from you, tell me about the inspiration behind this track.
This track was written when I was in a bit of a dark place. And the day it happened I was thinking about my friend passing away a few years back and it just seemed to pour out of me.
The lyrics and the back story to the track is quite sombre, tell me about the process of making the track both musically but personally.
The track was written and recorded in literally 2 hours. I remember feeling the emotions, writing the track and sending a demo to a mate of mine the same day. I had the beat stashed on my hard drive, I’m lucky like that. It’s a GHOS beat. There is so much soul in his production it’s hard not to catch feelings on his songs.
This track was written when I was in a bit of a dark place. And the day it happened I was thinking about my friend passing away a few years back and it just seemed to pour out of me.
The lyrics and the back story to the track is quite sombre, tell me about the process of making the track both musically but personally.
The track was written and recorded in literally 2 hours. I remember feeling the emotions, writing the track and sending a demo to a mate of mine the same day. I had the beat stashed on my hard drive, I’m lucky like that. It’s a GHOS beat. There is so much soul in his production it’s hard not to catch feelings on his songs.
Music video is so beautiful and perfectly matches the vibe of the song, it’s shot by Steven McNeilage (who I went to primary school with, hehe), what was the process deciding on the video visually and then producing it? Love the aerial shots!
Oh, word? Yeah, Steve is a great dude, absolute homie. And to be honest, I’m pretty much an “if it feels right, do it” type of creator. I had this idea of me drowning in the video and I knew Steve is an amazing photographer and filmmaker and loves a few barrels himself. So it was a no brainer to ask him to shoot the video in the ocean. We had a bit of an idea of what we wanted, but a lot of what we did was just right. Gotta trust the process some times.
You will be dropping a new EP called Burgundy Love in April and it feels like you only just dropped the Reasons EP (which was your first EP in 5 years!), why the sudden outpour of music? What’s been inspiring you of late?
(hahaha) yeah, it’s been a long time. I think I just needed some space for a while. I needed to grow as a person to really be able to speak about the things I want to speak about. Burgundy Love has been written for a while, but it's been a grieving process. I had to let go of a lot of demons before I felt ready to come back and wear my heart on my sleeve for the music I make. I want to be successful with my music, and I want to be the best I can be at my craft. And to do that, sometimes you need to take a break. In my 5 years off I slowly captured moments in everyday life that impacted me, wrote about them and turned them into Burgundy Love. I’ve been writing the whole time, It just felt right to let it go now.
Oh, word? Yeah, Steve is a great dude, absolute homie. And to be honest, I’m pretty much an “if it feels right, do it” type of creator. I had this idea of me drowning in the video and I knew Steve is an amazing photographer and filmmaker and loves a few barrels himself. So it was a no brainer to ask him to shoot the video in the ocean. We had a bit of an idea of what we wanted, but a lot of what we did was just right. Gotta trust the process some times.
You will be dropping a new EP called Burgundy Love in April and it feels like you only just dropped the Reasons EP (which was your first EP in 5 years!), why the sudden outpour of music? What’s been inspiring you of late?
(hahaha) yeah, it’s been a long time. I think I just needed some space for a while. I needed to grow as a person to really be able to speak about the things I want to speak about. Burgundy Love has been written for a while, but it's been a grieving process. I had to let go of a lot of demons before I felt ready to come back and wear my heart on my sleeve for the music I make. I want to be successful with my music, and I want to be the best I can be at my craft. And to do that, sometimes you need to take a break. In my 5 years off I slowly captured moments in everyday life that impacted me, wrote about them and turned them into Burgundy Love. I’ve been writing the whole time, It just felt right to let it go now.
Down is of a different tone and vibe to your previous work, what can we expect from Burgundy Love?
Yeah, as I said - Burgundy Love was written in moments of sadness. Whenever I felt some kind of way, I wrote about it. From start to finish the project is a story. In reflection of my old music and what I was writing, I felt as though I was talking about nothing when I rapped, the content was there but it wasn’t embodying what It needed. I felt empty. I came to notice that we are all actors in this game, masking our selves with the shield of bravado. I just wanted to let go of the bullshit and let it be what it will be without any expectations. Artistically I wanted to give the listeners a journey that they can listen to from start to finish without being broken out of the story. We aimed to make this project as cohesive as possible, lyrically and sonically. So there’s a common theme threaded through the project. But I’d like to think every song shares something different.
Any more music or shows coming up?
No shows for the moment. Hopefully, some coming up in the near future. But, there’s definitely more music coming. I want to soak in the release of Burgundy Love and then straight on the next one. I won’t be disappearing again, you can expect more music for sure.
Thanks for taking time out for this interview. Looking forward to hearing more music. Peace.
Follow KNOE on the socials: Facebook, Instagram, YouTube.
Yeah, as I said - Burgundy Love was written in moments of sadness. Whenever I felt some kind of way, I wrote about it. From start to finish the project is a story. In reflection of my old music and what I was writing, I felt as though I was talking about nothing when I rapped, the content was there but it wasn’t embodying what It needed. I felt empty. I came to notice that we are all actors in this game, masking our selves with the shield of bravado. I just wanted to let go of the bullshit and let it be what it will be without any expectations. Artistically I wanted to give the listeners a journey that they can listen to from start to finish without being broken out of the story. We aimed to make this project as cohesive as possible, lyrically and sonically. So there’s a common theme threaded through the project. But I’d like to think every song shares something different.
Any more music or shows coming up?
No shows for the moment. Hopefully, some coming up in the near future. But, there’s definitely more music coming. I want to soak in the release of Burgundy Love and then straight on the next one. I won’t be disappearing again, you can expect more music for sure.
Thanks for taking time out for this interview. Looking forward to hearing more music. Peace.
Follow KNOE on the socials: Facebook, Instagram, YouTube.
