At every stage of a musician’s career, releasing music is one of the most important aspects. But how does this process affect the artists themselves? In collaboration with Ableton, we speak to KMRU, a musician, producer and sound designer, about how sharing music takes on a life of its own.
As part of this collaboration, KMRU has produced an original track, ‘Fraught I’ now available to stream on Mixcloud, and shared a number of field recordings from his collection, available to download.
If you’re a Berlin or Nairobi native, chances are you’ve seen KMRU out and about taking field recordings. Whether he’s under a bridge or crouched on a branch in the middle of a lake, Joseph Kamaru, the Kenya-born, Germany-based musician, producer and sound artist, keeps his recorder close to him to capture the essence of his surroundings. Birds chirping in unison, daily human footfall, the echo of voices piercing through the air.
He takes these sensations to craft Ambient bliss, adding texture to the mundane with lo-fi, almost dreamlike states of sound. His experimental approach funnels the spatial sonics around him through to produce expansive, sometimes glitchy experiences that transform the everyday into something else, something unimaginable.
Take ‘Space of Uncertainty’ from his 2020 album Jar. Tender and melodic in its approach, it conjures up ethereal feelings of mystery and adventure. Or ‘Why Are You Here’ from Peel, released in the same year. Heavenly crafted, it could be a soundtrack to human levitation. Throughout his music, feeling is tantamount.
In a career that has seen him release multiple albums, design music installations for museums around the world and perform live at places such as London’s Barbican and the Berlin Atonal, KMRU knows a thing or two about the art of letting music go. This sensation can mean things to many people. The bliss of seeing your life’s work out into the world. Free from your hands for other hands to touch and feel. The excitement or anxiety that comes with critique, overcoming personal obstacles to see through a release.
For KMRU, the art of sharing music is a process that has grown within him as his career has blossomed. “I feel like I’ve become more conscious of what I want to share,” KMRU tells Mixcloud from his Berlin home. “At some point I was just sharing anything I had made, which was fun and I still want to do that. But I’ve grown into this idea of releasing music with care, but also not caring too much about what the response is going to be.”
“It’s definitely a privilege to have people anticipate when you put out a project and look forward to something you’ve created.”
Early beginnings
Born in Nairobi, KMRU’s musical lineage begins with his grandfather who was a musician. Inspired by the sounds of Hip-Hop, R&B and local Kenyan Benga he heard on the daily commutes to and from school, he took on music theory in high school, a foundation that set his path as a sound designer into motion.
“When I was in uni, I got a laptop from my dad and started learning how to make electronic music,” he remembers. “ At the time. I had no idea that music could be made on computers, so this was just eye opening for me. I got a Zoom recorder and that opened up the possibility of field recordings to me, because the recorder itself conjured up sounds you couldn’t get with a microphone.”
For KMRU, who has been releasing music online since the late aughts, sharing has taken on different meanings. Back in the early days in Nairobi, contributing to the developing musical ecosystem of Kenya alongside his friends and fellow producers was important. That sense of community and open door policy to dropping tunes made his early experiences an exercise in fun and freedom.
“Everyone was always looking forward to when you released music, and it was exciting to share,” he shares. “It was this idea of ‘KMRU has a new track, let’s all listen’ and everyone did. Then you go to your friends and listen to their new pieces of music. You’d keep tabs on your friends with how much music they had out and if they were working on music. I really cherish those times.”
Working in Ableton Live with Push at his fingertips propelled his creativity, enabling him to hone in on the sonic elements he was being drawn to. “By the time I moved to Berlin, I was focusing more on the sound aspect of music and my interpretations of it,” he says. “That has been evolving and changing and I think releasing music was this way of trying to share music that I was experimenting with.”
Nowadays, his creative process is guided partly by his approach to field recordings. Constantly, he explores how he can create a natural blend between digital sounds and what he hears in the outside world.
“I try to blur the lines between a field recording and a synthetic sound,” he explains. “Sometimes I’ll have the field recording programmed really low in the mix so that you can feel it’s there, but the music is taking over the space. As my interest in space and documenting space has changed, the way I approach field recordings has too.”
Creative release
Since moving to Germany, KMRU has ascended. 2020 would prove a breakout year. His Peel album opened doors for him to perform. It garnered the interest of record labels and the general interest of the music world. He is prolific, yet his music explores pockets that keep imagination and curiosity at the core of his work.
Rather than overcooking his music, he sees through his original vision for every track or project. He trusts his creative instincts when readying music for release. “I try not to fine tune everything for it to sound as good as possible, because how good can it sound?” he wonders. “As soon as I finish mixing, I send it to my engineer to master, then I just have to put a date for release on it, whether I’m putting it out on my own or through a record label.”
He still cherishes the moments after a release and the sensation of letting go. “I think it’s very special, like getting a toy and showing it to your friends,” he says. “At times where there’s an immense amount of reaction, it can be very heavy. Like, ‘wow everyone is listening and writing about how they feel about it, there’s this reception now.’ But I still appreciate this feeling that it’s public and gaining some kind of momentum. It’s definitely a privilege to have people anticipate when you put out a project and look forward to something you’ve created.”
But have there been times where, despite his productivity, KMRU balked at the idea of sharing a project? “I had a project called Temporary Stored that I was sure wasn’t going to get the same feedback as my earlier stuff,” he remembers. “It was a research project that repatriated sounds you hear in museums, so far from conventional. But the art world seemed to appreciate it as it was firmly placed in that context and I was really happy I released it in the end.”
Promoting the art
With release comes promotion. In an age where the musicians themselves are as much of a product as the music more than ever, with social media algorithms guiding the day, finding your own digital footprint can be challenging.
How does KMRU cut through the noise to speak to his fans and community authentically? “I think promoting is still a learning curve for me,” he says. “I communicate mostly through Bandcamp, where I send emails out to everyone who’s bought my music. It’s like sending a text to a friend. I try to respond to people’s feedback there but it can be hard to keep up. At my shows, people will come to me to express how much they love my work, which I really appreciate. But as far as the promotion side goes, I’m still a work in progress.”
Such is his workflow that KMRU is light years ahead of what he releases at any one time. He often works on several projects simultaneously. Crucially, his audience is always along for the ride. They’re safe in the knowledge that a KMRU release is around the corner.
Encouraging other budding musicians to take the leap, he declares: “Just put it out. Even if it feels very uncomfortable being in this vulnerable situation of sharing something you’ve made. Have a second ear or mentor you can reach out to and ask for their thoughts. The beauty about putting things out is this idea of being very vulnerable. Knowing it may not be for everyone, but I’m always happy that it’s out. So, take that leap.”
For KMRU, sharing music with the world evokes freedom, excitement and a venture into the unknown. The possibility and likelihood that the music will be interpreted in ways even he couldn’t have forecasted. Keeping him going as much as creating, releasing music is an art in itself.
Interview by Joseph Joyce and Yemi Abiade
Photography by Palma Llopis
Check out KMRU’s latest track ‘Fraught I’ on Mixcloud.
Read more about his journey and creative process over at Ableton.