LAMP MIX #333 Feat. KITTRIX All Famous Mix
Hey there LAMP Fam. Time for a new mix. Today we are introducing you to one of our favorite LA based artists Kittrix. You may have caught one of her sets recently at Avalon or Academy or out on the Rynobus at EDC Vegas this year. You can also catch her making appearances at some other festivals later this summer around the US. She is relentless in her work ethic and her talent is shining through as is evident with her new single “All Famous” out today on Insomniacs Discovery Project imprint. Her unique style of blending genres and incorporating endless edits and original tracks in her DJ sets puts her apart from the rest of her peers. She brings boundless positive energy that keeps the feet moving and smiles on faces. Kittrix is certainly on the rise and someone we think you should keep your eye on for sure! We are really excited to share this amazing mix she put together with you today featuring her new release “All Famous”. It is the very first track on the mix so go ahead and hit that play button and make sure to check out our Interview with her down below. Enjoy fam!
Hello Kittrix and welcome to the LAMP mix series. We are very excited to share your music with our audience and appreciate you taking the time to answer a few questions as we learn more about your music.
Josh Brooks:Today is a big day with the release of your latest single ‘All Famous’ for Insomniac on their Discovery Project imprint. I have really been enjoying the track and am excited for the rest of the world to get their hands on this release. I am especially fond of the vocal work on this. Can you talk about the genesis of the track and how it found its way to Insomniac?
Kittrix: Thanks for having me! I’m glad you like the track. All Famous is a song very close to my heart. It represents a feeling I think many of us have felt before. That feeling is the freedom that you find on the dancefloor, where some of the fondest memories are made with strangers that may just become friends. There is a tranquility in these moments where, as the lyrics say, it doesn’t matter who you’re there with, or what your name is, everyone is equal on the dancefloor. The inspiration for All Famous came at a time where a lot of my peers, and I’ll include myself in that, collectively felt a little lost in the world. Pressures can come from all sorts of places including - but definitely not limited to - career pressures, IRL social pressures, mental health challenges, and pressure to be present and engaging on social media. I sought to create a song that would give people the power to let go of the negative thoughts that can come with these pressures. A ballad of reassurance that whenever, wherever, and especially on the dancefloor, that - in this moment - none of that matters. I wanted to bring some positivity into the world where positivity can sometimes be hard to find.
To get a little into the production side of things - I went out of my comfort zone with a more uplifting, rather than my usual moody, chord progression - which is the piano you can hear at the beginning of the track that progresses and warps into a slightly dissonant synth during the breakdown. I pitched my vocals up and down so they didn’t sound like me - so that they could sound like anyone. I wanted the track to be relatable in a sense that anyone can sing the words and feel it coming from within themselves.
How the track ended up with Insomniac & Discovery Project is through the magical program for up-and-coming artists that is Discovery Project. I won the EDC Las Vegas Virtual Rave-A-Thon Discovery Project competition and had a live set featured on the stream. This got me in contact with the team, and a couple months ago I shot them an email with the track All Famous. Discovery Project is so special, because it opens doors to budding artists, doors that are often hard to even find. Every artist on Discovery Project has something special to share, and I am thankful that there is a platform to cultivate those talents.
Josh Brooks: Tell us bit about how you started writing/producing music - what or who were your early passions and influences? What is about music and/or sound that drew you to it?
Kittrix: I have written, sung, hummed, and scribbled lyrics since I was a kid. I went into film production as my major in college, which is where I discovered audio engineering and production. At the time, I was more into cameras, and wanted to go into cinematography. Doing sound design for short films in school taught me the basics. I loved singing, and took that as an elective, which gave me so many tools that later gave me the confidence to track vocals over my own tracks. I started doing videography for a variety of electronic dance music festivals, and before I knew it, all my friends were DJ’s and producers. Music production used to feel so foreign, unattainable, but after sitting in on some studio sessions and trying it out, something clicked. To be completely clique - I fell in love with it - and never looked back.
As far as why electronic music and specifically house music is my thing - well - that’s a whole other story. To keep it short, when I was 11 or 12 my sister gave me a giant book of her old rave CDs, and most of it was that real repetitive, 4 on the floor, blaring, hard dance style of music. I had never heard anything like it before - I thought it was so interesting, and so cool. Imagine 13 year old Kitt shuffling in her bedroom to youtube videos, yeah, I was that kid. I love the community around dance music, the inclusivity, everything. I could go on forever, but I’ll leave it there for now.
Josh Brooks: When you sit down to make a track, what are some initial things you always do before getting started? Do you usually have something already in mind before you set out to start crafting the Song?
Kittrix: I’m constantly recording and writing lyrics on my phone. When I sit down to start a brand new track I usually start with some basic drums, and a basic melody. Then I’ll see if I have any lyrics in my massive notes archive that would fit with the basic vibe that I’ve laid out, and put that idea in my pocket for later. I’ll flesh out the drums a little more, add a bass line. It’s at this point where I typically fall in love with the new bass line, find that I am now sick of the original melody, so I trash the old melody, and make a new one. I’ll check back and see if the topline I had in mind still fits, and if it does, record some scratch vocals. If it doesn’t, I usually write something specifically for that track. I don’t sit down and think ‘oh, hey, it’s time to write some lyrics’ - no - at that point I probably already have something buzzing in my head that I just elaborate on, and record the scratch take. I’ll mess with the vocals and the groove and the drop until I can identify what’s missing, or what needs to be changed. Then I’ll record the final take of the vocals, with any changes needed to fit the new vibe of the track. Then finish the track! Oh, if only. Just like ‘the rest of the owl’, no it’s not easy. I could play with sound design and atmosphere and all the little clicks and fills until the end of time, but at some point I call it, and move onto the next one.
Josh Brooks: Tell us more about you. We know you are in Los Angeles now, but where did you grow up? How did you end up here if you are not originally from LA, and how did the culture of your upbringing lead you to where you are today musically?
Kittrix: I actually did grow up in Los Angeles! Like I mentioned earlier, my sister (15 years older than me) gave me her old rave CD’s when I was little, and I fell in love with electronic music through those white labels. None of my friends listened to electronic music, and I was too young to go to dance music events, so I found communities online throughout high school to share and discuss music. The site I used predominantly was turntable.fm - and the more I talk to people about it the more I realize a LOT of my producer friends were on this site. Small world, or, small internet world I suppose. After high school, I started attending events. My first real show was Adventure Club at the Yost Theater in Orange County. My first massive was HARD Day of the Dead. My first transformational music festival was Desert Hearts. I found a community of people that had my back no matter what, and I had theirs. Dance music and the culture around it became a part of my life that I am so grateful for and will never take for granted.
Musically, yeah I love house music, I feel like my heart beats at 128 sometimes - but i don’t discriminate against any genre of music. If it’s good music, it’s good music. I’ve listened to everything from RL Grime to Bonobo to Mat Zo to eclectic Jazz and Japanese pop and back. There are influences everywhere.
Josh Brooks: How is performing in front of an audience and writing music in the studio connected? What do you achieve and draw from each experience personally? How do you see the relationship between improvisation and composition in this regard?
Kittrix: When performing, I play music I know I would dance to, and hope to make the crowd move as much as I do. I do read crowds and if I notice they are more into grooves then I’ll play more grooves, and if they throw their hands up for every track past 130bpm I’ll play some speed house for a while. There is so much good music out there that I try not to silo my sets into one genre. I feel the same way about my own music production. The music I make flows out of me and what ‘genre’ the final track will fit into doesn’t really cross my mind during the creative process. Does it make me move? Does it make me feel? Yes? Then chances are there's someone out there that will feel the same, and that’s enough for me.
Josh Brooks: Our industry is constantly going through changes, and we as artists are competing for ears with so many others out there. On the flip, listeners are bombarded and overwhelmed with the amount of music out there. How do you try to connect with your audience, and what do you feel helps you stay relevant?
Kittrix: I really do try to respond to every message, comment, email, dm, etc that I get. Kind words from fans means so much to me and I honestly, truly, love the fanbase that has surrounded the project so far. From the people I’ve interacted with at shows, or talked to online - they are all such kind considerate people. In the past I’ve taken my Instax camera out and taken photos with people and gave the photo to them as a souvenir of sorts. I’ll even take squad pics for people sometimes. I love those moments.
What helps me stay relevant? I’m thinking long term, and I think not going along with every fad that comes up and staying true to myself is the best thing I’ve done so far. Keeping making music is the best thing I can do to stay relevant, and that, I will definitely do.
IJosh Brooks: If you could have your pick and money, time etc. were no object, who are some of your favorite producers right now that you’d want to have a go at reworking/ remixing your tracks on this latest single?
Oh wow there are so many. I’d love to have Wuki remix one of my tracks. Though, for this specific track, I think a Vintage Culture or Sofi Tukker remix would be magic.
Josh Brooks: Outside of music, what other passions and creative outputs do you have? What are some that you’d love to add to your mental vocabulary?
Kittrix: I do still love my cameras and work on a lot of live broadcasts, most of which are music related. Crossing passions works really well sometimes. I dabble in video games here and there and, I’m not afraid to say it, I watch a lot of Anime. I love my cats, I recently got a new kitten! She demands my attention constantly, so she gets most of my free time lately. I also try to travel as much as I can, seeing new parts of the world is both educational and inspiring.
Josh Brooks: Is there anything else coming up in your world that we should know or you want to tell us about that we should be keeping an eye/ ear out for?
Kittrix: I’ve got a MEGA collab coming out in July with a lot of talented folks. Stay tuned for that one next!
Josh Brooks: Ooh can’t wait for that one! Keep us posted. Thank you again so much and congrats on the new release. LAMP fam make sure to check the socials down below and follow Kittrix to stay up on what she has coming up
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