KALL IT KHAOS discusses main inspirations, latest track ‘ASCEND’ and more: Interview

Looking to leave his own mark with each of his endeavours, KALL IT KHAOS is well and truly on his way towards global dominance, and we are all for it. Opening up in this latest interview, “It’s the little things that bring a story to life,”

As one of 2024’s newest electronic artists, KALL IT KHAOS has spent years cultivating a creative vision strong enough to take on a life of its own, a feat very few artists are able to achieve in a career. Armed to the teeth with a combination of crunchy basses, sci-fi themes, and nuanced storytelling, The artist masterfully blurs the lines between dreams and reality. His latest release ‘ASCEND’ intricately illustrates who KALL IT KHAOS is as an artist. At his core, he is pushing the boundaries of just how immersive — and heavy — music can really be. Committed to breaking necks and sound systems alike, the message is abundantly clear: KALL IT KHAOS is ready to make his mark. Excited to get a peek behind the curtain, we spoke to the artist to get a deeper understanding of what makes him so unique.

Hello, thank you for joining us! Could you provide us with some insight on the main inspirations/influences that led to your chosen career pathway in music?

“Thanks for having me! Growing up, I’ve always wanted to do something with music, I just didn’t know how. In high school, I was a big gamer and listened to lots of hip hop at the time. When Logic released his “The Incredible True Story” album, I became obsessed. It had sci fi, dialog, sound effects — it was a story from beginning to end. I knew I wanted to do something similar in my own style one day.”

Tell us about the moment you knew you wanted to make electronic music, particularly in how you wanted to bring this concept of narrative driven music to the current bass scene?

“My first time ever at EDC, I saw these massive stages, giant screens with insane visuals. I saw an opportunity to share a story, a vision, in my own way. There weren’t many artists with brands that were as consistent or comprehensive as I wanted for my own music project, so I knew I could plant my flag in the sand by crafting an in depth storyline, refining the concepts and characters piece by piece, and just building from there.”

How did you begin the creative process? Did you focus on building your brand and story first, or did you exclusively spend time developing your signature sound?

“I focused on honing music production first, but I always had the general storyline in the back of my mind guiding the process. When I first started producing, I took inspiration from artists like Excision, Kompany, and Black Tiger Sex Machine. I absolutely loved how much energy they bring to a crowd, and I knew I wanted to emulate that in my own tunes. Once I got the music where I wanted it, I focused a lot on experimentation and incorporating narratives into my tracks song by song using foley, sound design and even arrangement. At that point, my branding really kicked into high gear. I built an amazing team of mentors, artists, and designers, and began piecing everything together over time.” 

It sounds like your blend of music, content, and visuals has been unique and consistent right from the start. How did you balance all these elements and keep everything focused around the story?

“Most artists release songs sporadically, or by whatever they feel is ready to release at a certain point in time. I write tracks like chapters in a book, building content and visuals to accompany them based on the part of the narrative they are meant to describe. They are also released in chronological order, so that each song adds onto the one before it. While this takes longer, I think this benefits the final product in the end. Everything is super cohesive, and I get way more authentic outreach and interaction from fans, which is really cool to see.”

With versatility being a key aspect in the electronic dance industry, what are your thoughts on incorporating various genres in your style of play?

“Everything is based around the story to me. That dictates how I write. For the most part, I write lots of cinematic, heavier bass music because it works best to depict conflict and warfare in the plot. But there are also moments where I deviate from that with more emotionally driven songs, using cues from future bass and trap – it all depends on what fits the mood best. Don’t get me wrong though; writing in different genres is something I love to do, and I’m always looking for opportunities to push myself as an artist.”

Speaking of storytelling, tell us about this world you’ve built?

“So everything is set in the early 1950s, when KALL IT KHAOS Productions (a massive global monopoly) constructs what is considered the greatest architectural feat in history. All 7 continents are brought together, inspiring a worldwide quest to design and engineer the perfect city for mankind. This cultivates a boom in technology, scientific discoveries, and world peace. Filled with beauty and innovation, this city is called Lucidity. It’s a society where science and art don’t compete, they collaborate. Capable of housing all of earth’s 2.8 billion people, the entire city is run by an army of Analogs, or robots, who function like a well oiled machine. Once you arrive in Lucidity town square (Intro to ‘ENDEAVOR’), you get to witness firsthand the events that follow a grand reveal of new technology to society. It has everything you need to get sucked in: a classic fight of good vs evil, the age of automation, and a healthy dose of retro futurism. Much of the art is influenced by the “FALLOUT” video game franchise.“

This is incredibly detailed and unique. Following a futuristic approach when producing music, what is the overall message you‘d like to convey?

“I set out to do two things: inspire people to do something that brings themselves joy, and provide a fun and exciting escape from everyday life. We don’t live in a perfect world, so by building this story, I hope to give fans something unique to get lost in. Somewhere to be a kid again. It’s the little things that bring stories to life, you know? The little details mean everything to me. Without the nuances that make a well told story, all you have is an idea. I want my audience to see Lucidity the way I see it — as clear as day.”

With 2024 in full flow, we would like to know what the future holds, always in terms of new music and live performances?

“I will be releasing pretty consistently for the rest of the year, with ‘AUTOMATRON’ came out on 19th of April. As far as live performances go, I have plenty of exciting things in the works that I can’t wait to share in the near future!“

Check out KHAOS’ latest release ASCEND below: