BY LUCY STEVENSON
So, how long have you been playing music?
Vijay Kishore: Full time until 2005 since I was 17 so if you can work that out back from 2005 when I was 24…. I’m not that good at maths so…Since I was 17...
You have this really distinctive singing voice – how did you come to develop it? Or has it always been there?
VK: I think its just trial and error – I’ve been in a lot of bands and I’ve tried a lot of things. Sometimes it doesn’t work. You can tell from the audience what’s working and what’s not working and I just got to the stage where I felt comfortable and…I’m ok now!
How did you feel about performing at a place like Warwick Arts Centre where you cant see the audience?
VK: I love it when it’s like that anyway. Whenever I play a gig I always want the lights to be down ‘cause that’s what it’s like when I’m practicing, with my eyes closed and stuff.
Do you shut everything out?
VK. I don’t shut the crowd out, you can’t do that. I close my eyes a lot. You wanna go back to the place you were when you wrote that song though, so you can deliver something fresh and raw. If I can go back there it’s like I’m lying to myself and the show just gets a repetitive feel. I have to find my zone. If I don’t do that then I know I’m not having a good time so the crowd won’t enjoy it.
So since 2005, what have you been up to?
VK: Well I’ve got a 5 track EP out which has been out a while now. I’ve finished recording my album, there’ll be a new single out this year called ‘Love is Everything’ and the album should be out early next year, fingers crossed.
What inspires you?
VK. I think when you start off writing its all ‘me me me’, ‘you you you’ and when you get older its more about ‘us us us’, ‘them them them’ so… kinda everything. Buildings, people, everything. If I see people having a conversation and it aint going too well, that inspires me. To me that’s beautiful ‘cause it’s real.
What artists do you take influence from?
VK. Stuff like Radiohead, Jeff Buckley…Nirvana. I love Radiohead, they’re amazing.
If you had to think of 5 top tracks, what would they be right now.
VK. Ooh, top 5? That’s hard. Can I start from 2? There’s no such thing as a number 1. Urrrm, ‘Exit Music’, ‘Last Goodbye’, ‘Little Wing’ by Hendrix. There it gets tough. Three’s it for me.
More of the melancholic stuff then?
VK. Well, I guess so, I can relate to that quite a lot. I can think and absorb all the stuff that comes with that sort of vibe…and then you write a song. I prefer to write about it than to talk about it – to sing it than to say it.
Look out for Vijay’s single ‘Love is Everything’, I strongly recommend listening to this man!
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2 comments:
It's interesting that he says that he loves Radiohead: I was just thinking that his voice is very similar to Thom Yorke's. Especially when he hits the high notes. Is it just me?
Definately, we commented on that after the interview! It's great to see the influences of different bands come out in other performers' work - some people may think taking musical ideas from other acts is unoriginal...i reckon it just shows an appreciation for the genre of music they perform in!
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