Seizing our consideration upon the primary spin of his single Lemonade earlier this yr, Keir evokes the flamboyance and bombast of such stadium-appeasing icons as David Bowie, Freddie Mercury and Prince with an emotional, empathetic through-line, coping with advanced themes, together with combating psychological health-related points. All of which sits inside some very elegantly-sculpted mixes.
Alongside his songwriting companion and production-guru George Glew, Keir’s songs have been producing critical buzz throughout the music press for the final yr, together with his debut self-titled album launched over the summer season.
We spoke to Keir and George proper on the cusp of its launch, to study their collaborative writing course of, how they organized the tracks to intensify Keir’s immense voice, and the broader themes resonating from Keir’s work.
Keir, how did all of it begin for you?
Keir: “I used to be a really fortunate individual in that I by no means actually performed with the concept of doing the rest. I used to be a assist employee with autistic folks for a bit bit whereas I used to be learning at uni. However learning in a small city, as a teenager I used to be simply obsessive about the concept of creating songs. You may study covers however truly I used to be actually, actually younger after I received intrigued by ‘making’ songs and telling some type of story. Folks round me, like my brother and my household, didn’t chuckle at me; they inspired me.
“About 5 years in the past I met George, who grew to become my fundamental songwriting companion and the person who I’ve written this entire album with. We made a tune every week for about 5 years. A great deal of unhealthy materials, in fact, but it surely meant we might choose and select the 11 songs on this present album.”
George: “After we realised we each did music we made a number of issues again in my outdated residence studio. We made his first single Shiver on the primary day we did a session collectively. It was very pure. We’ve at all times labored collectively effectively, all of it occurred organically and it didn’t come from any type of administration.”
How do you two sometimes work collectively, how do you divide up who does what within the studio?
Ok: “We get within the room, we’re very open and really instinctive. He is aware of chords higher than me. It’s an odd factor, I can type of really feel the path extra however George can inform me what I’m truly doing. I’ll usually take melodies and lyrics and the general ‘concept’: ‘what’s the story or narrative?’ Generally these items develop because the songs develop, although. For me it needs to be a collage. I can’t write very ‘literal’ lyrics, there must be a little bit of unconscious mystique to them or I can’t actually do it. ”
How lengthy has the album been within the works?
Ok: “About six years; it’s a life’s work! It’s the primary one. We simply saved writing that mountain of songs, hoping we’d in the future have the opportunity to do that. We didn’t hassle ourselves with asking ‘what is that this?’. I believe that type of over-analysis can generally make issues sound shit. The entire level is that you just’re expressing one thing. That’s the definition of freedom.”
The place was it recorded?
G: “I’ve received a studio inside a posh of studios. That’s the place we made the album, we did most of it there. We did drums at Mizpah Studios in Bathtub. Many of the tracks had been run off demos that we’d made in varied rooms over a few years, and none had actual drums, then getting the sound we wished with the drums with Marc MacNab was good. He’d know what drum sounds to get.
“With the drums it’s fairly particular for the monitor, there’s fairly a number of completely different drum sounds in there. There aren’t any samples, apart from the tune Bulletproofit’s primarily ‘what you hear is what you get’. On Lemonadethat’s simply the package with out samples serving to it out. We additionally went into Invada Studios in Bristol to do a part of it. We did piano/keys and Rhodes, Farfisa and Moog stuff, they’ve received a nice gear choice.”
Lemonade is extraordinary. How did the concept for it first type?
Ok: “It’s type of white noise to me, as a result of whenever you take songs via the blending course of and the mastering course of you find yourself being fairly bored by them. However that one, greater than another, I used to be in a position to hear it post-release and really feel prefer it was truly fairly audacious. It’s theatre, it’s Freddie, it’s all of the issues I like. The verse is a bit bit horny, however the refrain is very large. I like that. I really feel assured to talk like that in music. I don’t know why. I’m fairly an introverted individual in actual life however inside songs I can shout ‘Is it love?’ And take care of these larger ideas.”
Once you had been making the tracks what software program did you utilize?
G: “I used Logic. We used fairly a number of software program devices on the file, we’ve used Omnisphere to reinforce the band sound. UAD plugins had been central for doing lots of the blending. We used some Arturia softsynths. I are inclined to make lots of sounds within the room after which pattern them. I’m a giant Plugin Alliance fan, their stuff is mad good. ”
When it comes to the vocal manufacturing, how did you’re employed to make your voice stand out as a lot because it does?
Ok: “I’m fairly unfussy. Recording vocals is like homework however worse, I hate doing it! The writing course of is nice, however I lose my endurance after about 50 takes. Give me a mic and I’ll do it. We’ll attempt a number of issues out. I then may need sturdy opinions on the sound of it. We don’t need issues to sound too moist and in addition I like issues to not be too excellent, leaving within the odd bum word.
“I’ve sturdy opinions, however I’m not that fussy. We used an AKG C414 for lots of stuff, my supervisor gave me an outdated Japanese one. One thing was gone inside it, however I cherished its sound. I wouldn’t give it again to my supervisor, I advised him ‘there’s magic inside this factor’. I may need a tough concept, however then George will get his chisel out and dig in to get the nice stuff out of it.”
G: “For the chain for Blood within the Waterwe wrote that tune when lockdown was easing up, and we used the unique vocal. We did it at Keir’s dad and mom’ home. His dad offers in mattresses, so we used a few of these to pad out the small workplace and make some DIY acoustic therapy. We used a 414 on his vocal right into a Focusrite ISA-1 after which a Heat LA-2A. To be trustworthy, it didn’t actually hit the LA-2A a lot, and I in all probability wouldn’t use that now. It was very a lot a figuring issues out course of. However the vocal sounds nice on that.”
Which of the songs took the longest to get proper?
Ok: “Probably Disgracethe ultimate monitor. We went via a bit section of doing a type of Jeff Buckley-style breakdown right into a type of atonal insanity. As a result of it was the final tune we thought we’d received a bit absurdist, and have a center eight that misplaced all sense of time earlier than you sink into the ultimate refrain. In the long run we realised we simply didn’t want it. We’ve been attempting to maintain issues easy, though songs like Lemonade are fairly on the market and theatrical. I nonetheless wished it to be so simple as potential.”
G: “Additionally, Bulletproof – that was actually onerous. We did lots of adjustments in that monitor. It goes nothing to every little thing, and I wished to maintain the drums reside however really feel a bit bit extra sampled in a approach. I in all probability would do it in a a lot less complicated approach now, however we tried to loop stuff to make it really feel extra beat-locked, however hold it reside. We added an 808 kick to make it extra impactful. It provides weight. There’s a producer known as Fred Cox (NoisyFred) who has these Pattern Shed pattern packs. We used a number of of these as a result of they’re actually nice.”
What mixing instruments did you utilize to hone the tracks in-the-box, George?
G: “Pulteq EQ emulations had been fairly necessary. The MEQ-5 and EQP-5 inside the UAD Pultec Legacy bundle had been used closely. An amazing many extra UAD plugins too, together with TubeTech CL 1B, AKG BX20 Reverb and the Brainworx Ampeg SVT-VR bass amp emulation.
“The UAD Ampex ATR-102 is on each monitor on a stereo bus. It simply sounds class, provides that heat to it. You may actually change the curve of the monitor. It’s one thing I’m utilizing much less now as a result of it actually does have an effect on the contours of the monitor. It impacts every little thing. Soundtoys Satan-Loc, Alter-Boy and Echoboy/Echoboy Jr are all around the file. We used MeldaProduction MAutoAlign for phase-aligning drums.
“There’s a very nice plugin known as SketchCassette that’s a tape emulation plugin, but it surely’s very low cost and tough and prepared. That was used to uninteresting issues down a bit. It’s type of a secret. It’s much like the RC-20 Retro Color plugin. It’s actually inventive and I used it to crush sounds.”
Keir, it sounds such as you’re fairly intuitive along with your writing – is an excessive amount of theoretical data a little bit of a nasty factor generally you suppose?
Ok: “Everybody’s completely different aren’t they? I do know that early on, I knew I didn’t have the aptitude and endurance to get that good at taking part in a harmonic scale, but in addition I wasn’t so then it went even additional into that instinct. I made a acutely aware alternative early on that it was the writing I used to be excited about, not the how. Fortunately I met somebody like George who might help make sense and sharpen up what I can do.”
Do you have got your personal writing studio, Keir?
Ok: “You may name it that! I’ve received a pleasant Heat Audio preamp. I make lots of scrappy concepts at residence, the place I can simply be free. I then take stuff to George and ask ‘is that this one thing?’. Earlier than beginning the album I made this ridiculous one-minute tune known as Smilewhich had a Seashore Boys-esque choral factor occurring. I realised it was a bit annoying.”
Are you additionally writing inside Logic?
Ok: “I used to be utilizing Logic, however then my laptop computer broke so now for concept era I’m utilizing GarageBand. However you’ll be able to simply use something. You could have good concepts and also you observe them to the tip and you’re employed onerous, you should utilize something. ‘All of the gear, no concept’ generally. George is sweet at finessing issues!”
You’re set to be taking part in reside quickly. Will the preparations of those songs change in any respect?
Ok: “Yeah, they alter so much. We haven’t performed or toured the album but, however Time I like so much. I’m a little bit of a sucker for a ballad as effectively, even when it’s a bit tacky or a bit hammy. I bloody find it irresistible. My least favorite tune on the album I performed to my housemates and it was their favorite. Then I began to listen to it via their ears and realised ‘oh my god – you’ll be able to challenge the factor with a piano and your voice’.
“Lemonade is a nice one to do as effectively. They do change, they undoubtedly get a lot heavier. I inform the guitarist and bassist to get a bit naughty! It must have a little bit of edge. I prefer it cranked, so issues may go improper. I like that. Let’s not play to a click on. My brother Kyle is our drummer, and he’ll usually take the piss out of my timing. I identical to to maintain the ship a bit wonky and fascinating.”
What recommendation would you give to anybody seeking to get into music in 2023?
Ok: “Beginning out, keep in mind the [artists] that you just love. There’s no drawback with making music like them for some time. For those who proceed to write down and write and write, your true musical self will reveal itself. ”
Lastly, George, how has the expertise of working with Keir been for you, and can you proceed to write down and produce collectively sooner or later?
G: “Hopefully so; we’ve been mates for therefore lengthy. There’s lots of opinions and voices within the room however we’re in a position to separate that out from our relationship. He’s simply a type of unicorns that has received every little thing. There’s tracks that had been meant to be on this album that didn’t occur. There’s a extra soulful facet to Keir that’s to come back quickly. The subsequent stuff shall be actually fascinating…”
Keir’s debut self-titled album is offered now.
