Interview: Ki Yera

Interview: Ki Yera

Interview: Ki Yera

Family Piknik, a firm favourite for the French dance music scene, are well known for supporting emerging artists through their Family Piknik Music label. Their latest release from Ki Yera, a rising techno talent from Ukraine, is a clear example of their dedication to breaking new producers, featuring solid remixes as well from Da Fresh, BLANC and Wakin.

We spoke with Ki Yera about the release, as well as her plans for the future.

Click here to download her EP, Coming Down, on Family Piknik

f: Hey Ki Yera, thanks for taking them time to chat with us. How are you?
Ki Yera: Hi! Very well, thanks! Can’t wait to release of my track “Coming Down” on Family Piknik Music. I have received a lot of support for this one and I’m also thrilled to share the official music video with everyone. It’s a first experience for me to do a music video and play the first role in it.

f: What new years resolutions did you set this year? And have you kept to them?
Ki Yera: Some great things have already happened 😉 In fact, I have big and wide plans for this year.

f: Whats is the scene like in Ukraine? What sounds are popular?
Ki Yera: Now the underground scene develops quickly in Ukraine. A lot of raves and gigs are held in Kiev, new underground clubs came on over the last 5 years, there are many creative promoters who make unique, original gigs not like others. As for me the Ukrainian dance music scene is closer to European scene – the last few years the audience became more open-minded as well.

There is a space in Ukraine for different genre DJs and fans – commercial and underground music too. We also have a few artists getting worldwide success, look at ARTBAT, Woo York, Zavolaka, Vakula, Etapp Kyle, Nastia…
They show us the way to have our country in a good position within the international scene!

f: Where and when did you first hear electronic music – what was it like?
Ki Yera: First I heard it when I was a child. I was listening to my father’s cassettes collection.

Later, at a more conscious age, I got acquainted with house and techno music, I started from the sounds of John Dahlback, The Timewriter, Noel Sanger.

f: How did you come to release on Family Piknik?
Ki Yera: I met their team during Amsterdam Dance Event and they liked my track and video. Short after, they suggested to make a release with remixes. It’s a big pleasure for me to work with them, especially since they run this big summer festival in south of France and I already know I’ll be part of it… It will be my first big show in France and it’s a dream to have such a festival looking after me.

f: Tell us about the EP – what inspired it or influenced it?
Ki Yera: Observing nature and road-tripping are my biggest inspirations. Cool music of course, too. Different shades of old school techno, electro and a slice of French Touch as well.

f: And what inspired or influenced the music video?
Ki Yera: First of all I followed Coming Down’s sounds and after that an idea came up for me to shoot a funny video with my friends. Then we got nature, road, and good music all in one. We had fun with these dance steps, too. It became quite viral when we’ve started to post some snippets from the video and invited people to challenge themselves to dance like in the video.

f: As a DJ, do you play the same sounds that you make in the studio, are you a moody and deep kind of selector?
Ki Yera: Yes, of course, I’m playing the same sounds as I produce, but I go much wider in my selection, from broken bass infused beats to acid-techno. I like to combine old records with new gems. To be honest, nowadays it is not so easy to find a right track searching among the tones of audio content in the web. It was easier before, at the start of my career. For my sets now I’m normally picking several of my own productions released and unreleased to try them with my crowd on the dance floor.

f: What would be your perfect party set up – set time, crowd size, location etc?
Ki Yera: I have a residency experience in small clubs and also I’m playing for the huge audience at the big festivals and I enjoy both. But sure the music selection has to be different.

My sound is rather energetic to play it in a prime time. My choice is to work with good, positive people. This is the key.

f: What else have you got coming up/are you working on?
Ki Yera: Now I’m working on a new remix and also I have just came up with lyrics for my new song.

https://www.facebook.com/ki.yera.official/
https://soundcloud.com/kiyeradj

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