INTERVIEW: Kinder release new EP 'Akwaaba': "We realised that we don't have to limit ourselves to one type of lyrical setting. We can explore and still make it dance music."
Interview: Jett Tattersall
Image: Leo Harunah
Australian-Ghanian sisters Savannah and Briony Osei have been releasing music as Kinder since 2018. Starting their music career as DJs when they were just teenagers, they performed at clubs across regional NSW and Sydney before headlining at festivals and supporting major international acts including Marshmello. Their music reflects their career beginnings with heavy club beats but also incorporates delicious pop melodies and shimmering electronica alongside Afro-beats celebrating their heritage.
Today they release their new EP Akwaaba and it is a deep dive into joyful club sounds across four tracks. First single ‘Keep Up’ - in both its original form and also an extended version - is as euphoric as ever, with its thumping dance beats complimented by nothing short of mesmerising pop melodies and a soundscape that builds in intensity throughout.
Second single ‘Gettin’ On Ova’ is a more abstract, trancey dance track with thrumming, distorted vocals and a hypnotic rhythm. New song ‘Take Away’ leans more into trip hop and house music, with extended instrumental breaks, frenetic beats and an ever changing musical backdrop.
Akwaaba is a worthy follow up to Kinder’s previous EP Yenko and positively bubbles over with joy, life and compels you to move. Kinder have a special talent for making music that is not only unique and a blast to listen to, but it is also utterly life affirming. We recently caught up with Kinder to chat more about the creation of Akwaaba.
Hi Kinder, so good to see you. I'm always so excited to hear what you to cook up, how are you both?
We’re good, busy but good!
You have a spanking new EP out Akwaaba . It’s a calling to the dance floor, it’s like candy stop treat again. It's so good. Talk to me about it.
Briony: It was a bit of an experiment this one because we made it just after the first lockdown so it was the first time that we had worked with other people in a long time. We were flown up to Byron to work with Jono Ma O'Meara and Jonti Danilewitz who are amazing producers, but they work on analogue.
Savannah: So we just sat around their lounge room, and we're just pretty much jamming. And because they have a very different style to us, we weren't putting any expectations on it. We were like, we'll just see what happens, whatever comes from it. And then we made the three songs in that week. Even though it didn't sound a lot like our previous work, we were like ‘we have to roll with this’. We loved it. It was so different.
All three songs are so very much what you guys do is kinder, but it just feels like you 2.0., not that the first one was bad but there's just sound to it, it's got this kind of slickness.
Briony: Yes, and that's exactly what we were going for.
It’s really good, there's just a very slick sound to it that brings in maturity without the boring part of maturity. What does ‘Akwaaba’ mean?
Briony: It means welcome in [Ghanian language] Twi.
Savannah: It’s like welcome to the 2.0 side of us, I guess!
Latest single ‘Keep Up’, after three years of being at home in our pyjamas, this is really ‘everyone get your asses on the dance floor’.
Briony: That was kind of the idea, what we were aiming for because we haven’t had a dance for so long.
It feels almost like a photo album of where you two originated, DJing at all those parties and uni bars. Can you talk to me a little bit about putting this one together and the pleasure in creating a comeback to the dance floor song?
Briony: Yeah, so we went from just DJing strictly and then creating our own stuff and we were throwing in a lot of melodies and a lot of lyrics.
Savannah: It was more pop and we wanted to strip that back a bit, so we made it more talky at the start. Originally when we were making the song, we thought it was two different songs because they started just going off and doing their own thing and coming up with like the chord progression. We started singing the chorus, thinking it was another song, and had that other bit as the verse, and then we were like, ‘Oh, it kind of works together’.
Briony: What we were aiming for was really letting it have space to just have the instrumentation really shine through so that it was really dance floor friendly. Still having those melodies and lyrics and poppy elements, but really letting the production have that space to just shine and let the bass really roll through. That was a goal for us was, let's really just sweep back into the roots of club music.
For you as artists, particularly when you're creating dance music, how did you two continue to charge forth creating dance music when everyone was just dancing in their kitchens? How did you keep that momentum going?
Briony: We were inspired by other artists doing their streams online, so we did a couple ourselves. But it was a good time for us to really research and dive into what everyone was doing. It was a good time to explore and find new music, and that was what everyone was doing because they had nothing else to do. So there was lots of new music to find and put in out sets so it was a good time to be inspired.
Savannah, your love of music creation started with the piano which is amazing and then Briony brought in the club music. Do you still play, and do you use it when composing your tracks?
Savannah: I actually do [and]I have more recently. We always usually start with the idea on the piano and then branch off from there and add the percussion. I kind of want to play it live now too, to add that side.
Amazing, I would love to see it. Also on the EP we have ‘Gettin’ On Ova’ and it feels to me upon first listen it's almost like ‘Come Along’’s sibling in an arcade on a sugar high. You've also got ‘Take Away’, which is your beautiful dance track. There's these West African top notes throughout that whole song while still being a very big dance floor number. The way you two layer music is absolutely incredible. You can't just call it dance music because that just boxes it in, it's so much more. How has your songwriting developed in these last couple of years? How do you keep pushing each other with regards to boundaries and experimentation?
Briony: With ‘Take Away’, that was probably one of the deepest songs lyrically we have written because usually we’re fun, joyful, and this one is more real and how we were feeling. That was definitely something that pushed us and made us realise that we don't have to limit ourselves to one type of lyrical setting. We can explore and still make it dance music. In regards to pushing each other. I feel like we have our scope has grown. What we feel that we can achieve has grown a lot, just through practice.
Savannah: I've grown more as a producer now. Before I was always relying on other people to help but now we can just do a song from start to finish.
Briony: it sounds like a brag but I can say it because Savannah produced it! She just released her first song that we she did entirely on her own, which was a remix for Budjerah. It was such a milestone because we're really honest about our process, we're not one of those artists that say, ‘Oh, we do it all ourselves’. We did have a lot of help in the beginning, but now we're at this level where we’re able to do it ourselves, which is exciting.
How wonderful is that? And of course with that, with that knowledge comes the confidence. Do you find that your music is changing shape, because you're no longer trying to explain vocally and lyrically, or with your piano, what you want with the track, you can just create it yourselves?
Briony: Yeah, that's been the most exciting part. Sometimes it was hard wasn't it?
Savannah: Yeah, because it was in our head, but we couldn't get out exactly what we wanted. And now that we’re able to do it, it’s just there. This is what we want, and then we make it.
I really don't like genres and we do have this sort of genre blur in music now, which I imagine can be extremely liberating, but at the same time, within the small pond of Australia's music industry, it can also be very constrictive. How have you found that, with getting yourselves out there, where you play and where you are played?
Briony: That’s a good question and it used to be something we thought about a lot. Should we stick in this lane, we can't go from this to this. Even though that was what we always wanted to do, not stick in one lane.
Savannah: Because when we DJ, we play heaps of different styles.
Briony: Now we’ve finally come to a point where we've stopped second guessing that and worrying about it.
Savannah: If we like it, then that's all the matters. We tried for so long to please everyone, and you can't. Now we’re just more confident in our style, and we can do what we're feeling, we don't have to be just club music or this.
Briony: And the same with sets. I feel like now we're not just sticking to one genre. We're like, ‘why don't we start here and end here’. It's like a journey..
That's so amazing. You've got some live shows coming up, as artists what is your favourite song to perform live?
Savannah: I love singing ‘Yenko’, that's my favourite. There’s just something about it.
Briony: I like doing Rasta because the crowd always sings along with the ‘ay-oh-ay’ section. So that's nice and interactive.
Beautiful. We have this gorgeous new EP out now and everyone's gonna be dancing and singing their way through their days. Tell me what else is coming up for you?
Briony: We’ve got a few shows tomorrow, it’s a big week.
Savannah: And then we're working on a song with a rapper that we're really excited about.
Briony: An international rapper that we love and we were stoked that he was keen to jump on this track with us. So that's our next project.
Akwaaba is out now via Warner Music Australia. You can buy and stream here.
To keep up with all things Kinder you can follow them on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
Kinder Live Dates
12th November - Summer Camp Festival, Melbourne VIC
2nd December – VANFEST, Bathurst NSW
22nd December – Ice Cream Factory, Perth WA
2nd January – Club God, Hobart TAS
12th Jan - 170 Russell, Melbourne VIC *
13th Jan - Metro Theatre, Sydney NSW *
* Supporting Elderbrook
