Weaving together lush and shimmery synth sounds with smooth and sultry vocals Kiri T is a Hong Kong-born, New York-based singer-songwriter, pianist and producer. bc magazine spoke to her ahead of her gig with Japanese Breakfast.
For those who don’t know Kiri T, why T instead of Tse, how would you describe yourself today?
I left Hong Kong when I was 16, went to high school in the UK then college in the US. Local people over these places never pronounced “TSE” right, I didn’t mind correcting people when they pronounce my name in, say, classes/ presentation ceremonies, but I think when it comes to the name of your brand, you want it to be as accessible as possible, you don’t wanna alienate yourself right off the bat.
Musically how has the girl who left HK grown/evolved/matured been shaped by the US into the woman you described above?
I can’t say I am really mature now, I definitely am still learning every passing day. Musically I think, being in the US (mainly New York) has really pushed me to improve everyday and kept me really open-minded. New York is a hub of a lot of talented artists coming together from all over the world/country, be it music or film or stand up comedies, and each of them has their own interesting stories.
We all left home to pursue our dreams, we are all in this together. It really humbles me to be in a circle of a lot of talented individuals, inspiring me to write differently. I have also come to realise, being good at your craft is not good enough. It’s the people who work hard, think smart, are genuine and willing to hustle and think outside of the box who prevail.
The hustle and competition is fierce, everybody is a prodigy, everybody is very good at what they do – it’s easy to feel small, especially when you are a foreigner, and when you look around you realise hardly anybody who’s top of the food chain looks like you. But it has also trained my mental capacity, letting go of my ego, keeping calm and believing in my art and my message, not allowing myself to be easily overwhelmed by my surroundings.
After all, I can’t control what happens in the future, but I can confidently tell you that I really enjoy what I’m doing now and pursuing this is one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.
Growing up in Hong Kong who were the artists you listened to, inspired you and why?
As a kid, for Cantonese music, HOCC was my hero growing up. I also listened to Ivana Wong, Kay Tse, Eason Chan, Sandy Lam, Faye Wong…etc.
I was also really into a lot of different stuff ranging from Joni Mitchell, the Carpenters, Donny Hathaway to J Cole, Rihanna, Beyonce, Kendrick Lamar… etc.
How did you come to be writing lyrics for Denise Ho, Joey Yung and other HK stars at fourteen?
I didn’t write lyrics for Denise, I wrote the music/ arranged and played for her in the past. As I mentioned above, she was my hero growing up, so naturally, when I started to write music at 14 I sent a demo to her label Goomusic, I was then signed to the label as a songwriter.
At that time I was studying overseas most of the time, but whenever I was back in HK for holidays I would always shadow Harris (Hobing, an AMAZING producer at Goomusic) ‘s concert / recording production work, and I got to meet more people in the circle and started writing for more people. I came to know Alex Fung (another amazing producer in this scene), we both went to Berklee College of Music and we worked on some songs for different artists together.
Lyric writers both in HK and the US tend to be part of the invisible team behind an artist. How did you make it to the front of house?
I think when you are sure you want to be the artist, the face of your own music, you really need to let people know that about you. Or else it’s easy to fall into the habit of working behind the curtains and eventually be steered away from the goal you set out to reach as an artist.
For me I make sure to release my own music and get my message across in every possible way, and work on letting people take me seriously as an Artist. Most people I work with understand that about me and therefore I don’t usually work requests as part of the invisible team behind an artist.
Having said that, I still do minimal backstage/production/ recording/ writing work when I come across an artist or a project I really believe in, I don’t mind taking a short break from my artist project occasionally, a lot can be learned by working on someone else’s project (of course I mean one that you believe in), and I am all for improving my artistry.
Of the many songs you’ve written for other people which is your favourite / the one you’d like to record yourself?
Waa Wei(魏如萱)’s 雪女 ! I co-produced this with Alex, he wrote the strings and I did the programming. The lyrics were so beautiful and Waa Wei’s voice is so pretty. Love it.
There’s a lot of Hong Kong in your lyrics but little in the music – why is that?
I did grow up in HK for the majority of my life, and I keep close ties with my friends in HK so naturally some lyrics I write are drawn from a lot of experiences and relationships with people back home. I have spent most of my adulthood overseas though, I went to music college in the States and mostly played with people there. I think the combination of my musical training and social circle in the US results the style of music I create.
Looking through the rearview mirror what do you see as, if any, the inherent social strengths and advantages of Hong Kong?
Not sure what this question means but I think the advantage we have in Hong Kong is that we are relatively “Free” to a certain degree (although not really), at least we have net neutrality and free speech (still, uh, kind of). It’s relatively easy for us to step out of our bubbles if we want to, cuz thing aren’t censored (yet).
Like music for instance, relatively we have room for a lot of artistic liberty; we are very international, most people understand English perfectly. So in theory we are in a position to make things happen if we want to. Artists like HOCC and Chapman To, shunned by mainstream entertainment/media due to their social stances, are able to create something outside of the mainstream bubble and thrive.
I think this is the privilege we have in Hong Kong, the freedom to choose (still). Of course, we all know things are so much more complicated than that. Freedom doesn’t come free, it appears that we have the right of free speech, but we still see people getting incarcerated for to political reasons. Political persecution is not new in HK, and it’s getting worse, despite the fact we have our own Bill of Rights/Basic Law.
On top of that, the infamous real estate tycoons who grab everybody by the throat.. etc. But at least for right now, there are a few things we can grab on to… We can still sing and release whatever music/art we want, talk and write about whatever we want, and this freedom is not to be taken for granted.
Local audiences love an international artist who sings the type of electro-pop/r’n’b that you currently release – but have never really embraced a Hong Kong artist doing so. Why do you think that is?
I can’t answer for that, my guess would be that, honestly, local people are naturally biased and appreciate overseas talents more. Kind of like how white people settling in HK are called expats while the vast majority of other immigrants just called immigrants.
I guess also cuz if you look at the international charts, most people who sing and release the type of electro-pop r’n’b music I do are not asians. So there is a disconnect between how I look (the colour of my skin), and the music I do, and hence people don’t really know what to feel about my music.
I try not to think about that though, for me I will just do what I do to the best of my ability. I can’t control the market anyway. Although, I do think that things are changing, more and more Asian artists and bands are getting popular in the States, I am confident that we will see more asian faces in international charts this decade, and maybe this will affect how the local audience in HK perceive a HK artist doing international music.
Is writing new songs a very organic process with the music and lyrics coming together smoothly or do you find it harder to create for yourself than write for others?
Writing songs are pretty natural for me, I like to write and play keyboards at the same time so my words and harmonies come together. I also keep a notebook with me at all times, I like to read a lot so when I find a phrase I like, I write it down, so when I do sit down and write a song I take a lot of lyrical ideas from the scribbles in my notebook.
Live, will the songs be much as you recorded them, or are they written and structured to be open for interpretation live?
Depending on the gig, sometimes when I am just doing a set alone I would do like a hybrid DJ/vocals/keyboard set, and the songs will be played pretty much as I recorded them since I will be playing the program from my DJ set up.
When I play with a band sometimes we re-arrange the songs and play them with different chords and structure it differently. So I’d say we interpret the songs differently according to the configuration of the gig.
With music having fully embraced digital distribution do you get the same sense of completion from releasing a digital only release, or is there a more satisfying feeling from having a physical release in your hand and seeing people buy a cd/cassette of your music?
I haven’t had the privilege to release music physically yet. I do think it is more satisfying to be able to hold your own CD Jewel case, I wanna release Vinyls if I am ever lucky enough to do so !
How did the link up with Japanese Breakfast come about?
A friend of mine happens to be putting this show together with Steve, he figured that both the Japanese Breakfast and I are based in the US and we do indie pop, so he thinks it’s a good match. Michelle (the vocalist of the band) is an Asian American, an Asian face fronting a band resonates a lot with me and what I do, therefore they invited me to open for them.
What’s next for Kiri T?
I will be releasing a new single with music video in January, stay tuned !! 🙂
Kiri T is opening for Japanese Breakfast at MOM Livehouse
Listen and buy Kiri T’s music at these websites
www.kiritmusic.net
www.facebook.com/kiritmusic
www.instagram.com/kiri_thy
https://open.spotify.com/artist/50DsO4SAocqTkpLAovGB0x
https://soundcloud.com/kiritmusic
Japanese Breakfast – Soft Sounds from Another Planet
Support: Kiri T
Date: 8pm, 28 November, 2017
Venue: MOM Livehouse
Tickets: $380, $280 from Ticketflap