From releasing lo-fi remixes for fun, to major labels reaching out for beats, growing a huge fan base and gaining millions of streams on Spotify. That’s the story of Kayou.. We had the chance to catch up with the Vienna based rising lo-fi star to do an interview for our blog.
The newest single “I Tried” ft. Fawlin comes with your first non-animated music video. Can you give us a little background story on the track and the video?
Fawlin contacted me a few months ago on Instagram and asked me for a collab, I instantly fell in love with the songs he was doing, and yeah, so everything came together. I sent him the instrumental and he directly nailed it in one take.
The video was made by Elias, he’s a very talented guy from Berlin and currently living in Vienna. I already worked with him 2 years ago. He wrote me that he has some free time and if I got a song for which I would need a video for. Everything came together in perfect timing.
What are the biggest challenges you face as an up and coming artist in the digital age?
You have to be aware that you’re a brand. Nowadays it’s pretty easy to get a DAW and start to make music. There are a ton of sample and midi packs, so there is also a lot of music getting released. The challenge is to stand out and get heard, grow a fanbase, and grind.
All of your social media visuals revolve around your anime character. What made you go that route and how do you think it helped you with growing your audience?
It simply represents me. Also, I’m a huge anime fan for years, so I thought why not do it this way. And people started to get curious about who’s the guy behind it – so it wasn’t the worst choice haha.
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When you start a new track – what are the first steps?
I’m always starting out with the chords and the melody at first. Then I’m evolving everything around it. If the base is not strong enough, I’m going to drop it and start with the next idea.
Could you sum up some personal milestones in your artist development?
Puh, so much happened in the last 2 years that I never imagined. Major labels were getting in touch with me for beats and I’ve got such a great community supporting my songs. I was starting out with some Lofi Anime remixes just for fun and now I got millions of streams on Spotify , YouTube, and co. Feels a bit surreal.
How would you describe the perfect form of musical collaboration?
There are for sure many different ways. I like to start with just a vocal and build everything around it or I send the artist I work with an instrumental I’ve made. But at all the chemistry is important – then the outcome will be great for sure.
How important are data insights for your (strategic) decisions?
They are really important. I daily check my stats and analytics on all platforms and always think about ways to improve everything as best as I can. But sometimes it’s also a curse because it got like an addiction haha.
What’s next for Kayou.?
More music, great collabs and I would love to release this year at least one EP with the ChilledCow.
FOLLOW KAYOU.:
Instagram
Spotify
YouTube
Soundcloud
Twitter
Facebook
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2 join the family and show some love for this!