Exclusive Interview with KABELLE

KABELLE, a new Synthpop group from London, England, formed in 2021 during COVID lockdowns. They spent that time remotely constructing their driving electronic sound with cues from Chvrches, The Presets, and The Naked and Famous. The ensemble consists of synth player and programmer Adam Gordon, singer Katie Jones, and drummer Bertie Atkinson.

The group has began road testing their sound in london, showcasing their electrifying set with an immersive lighting show rarely seen in smaller clubs Synth-heavy, with massive drums and soaring vocals, the sound oozes 80s nostalgia but has a 90s percussion sound. Check out their song Wonder and the exclusive interview below:

1. Can you tell us a bit about where you come from and how it all got started?

Kabelle: Katie: Kabelle started as just myself putting a name out there and collaborating with various bands/artists during the pandemic. Adam and I met online after I was searching for the first initial bandmate to make Kabelle a unit. Bertie followed into the project soon after. I met him because we were put on the same function gigs once lockdown was over.

2. Did you have any formal training or are you self-taught?

Kabelle: Katie: I went to music college and trained in commercial music before I went to drama school and trained in acting and musical theatre.

Adam: My dad taught me to play guitar at a young age which led to studying music through school; after which I started audio engineering and music production – so lots of self-teaching along the way.

3. Who were your first and strongest musical influences and why the name ‘KABELLE’?

Kabelle: Katie: I’d say in this project the influences are definitely Churches to a degree, Naked and Famous and The Midnight. I have been influenced by many singers along my journey as a vocalist. So many for so many different reasons.
The name Kabelle came from myself wanting a unique name on Spotify/Apple Music that no-one had anywhere in the music world.
I just wanted something no-one had that matched the image/sound I wanted to create.

Adam: I fell in love with the first Chvrches album when it came out so that’s definitely in there in a big way; Martin Doherty (one of the 3 in that band) is a huge influence creatively – he’s got an incredible ear for melody and it’s something I strive for

4. What do you feel are the key elements in your music that should resonate with listeners, and how would you personally describe your sound?

Kabelle: Katie: Powerful vocals on top of pop-influenced synth and guitar work with hard hitting drums keeping it moving. I think of our sound as powerful, memorable, nostalgic synthpop.

Adam: Yeah I’d agree we aim to write something that people remember or having bouncing around inside their head rather than something people enjoy but instantly forget.

5. For most artists, originality is first preceded by a phase of learning and, often, emulating others. What was this like for you? How would you describe your own development as an artist and music maker, and the transition towards your own style, which is known as POP?

Kabelle:

Katie: My voice has changed a lot over the years and it’s taken me a while to find the writing style that I enjoy. This sound I believe found me more than anything. I’ve always loved the hard hitting 80s sounds and a lot of bands have been bringing that back to which got me listening to sounds I didn’t even know were as popular anymore. There was a world of people that loved this genre and I wanted to know so much more bout it. I spent the pandemic learning so much and finding artists/bands that I didn’t know but fell in love with.

Adam: I’m a bit split as my musical choices are pretty broad spanning; but production work I’m definitely influenced by others, due to the technical and procedural nature of doing it – I’m also another sucker for nostalgia so our music is produced using a lot of hardware from the 80’s and 90’s like Lexicon reverb’s and Roland synths; which just give you THAT sound.

6. What’s your view on the role and function of music as political, cultural, spiritual, and/or social vehicles – and do you try and affront any of these themes in your work, or are you purely interested in music as an expression of technical artistry, personal narrative, and entertainment?

Kabelle:

Katie: Music is whatever the listener makes it out to be. You can write something on one subject and yet the listener can hear something which relates to them but isn’t the main point of why you may have written it. Any moment that has an an impact in your life (no matter what it is) really effects what you write about. Life in its own way is art, It’s always changing with the times that we are in and as an artist it wouldn’t be true to ignore a lot of the factors in our life which could be good or bad changes.

Adam: For me this is something I try to balance; I have strong views on political and social topics and include some of that narrative in what we create, but not to a point of preaching as music is there to bring people together, in my personal opinion.

7. Do you feel that your music is giving you back just as much fulfilment as the amount of work you are putting into it or are you expecting something more, or different in the future?

Kabelle:

Katie: We have only released one track as a unit as of last month so answering this question maybe more fitting in the next couple of years haha!

Adam: Time spent in the studio is always rewarding for me; its creative, technical, fun spent working with others – and laughs when things go wrong – so regardless of where we go from here I’ll always be writing. But please everyone do come and see us play, we promise to put on a good show!

8. Could you describe your creative processes? How do usually start, and go about shaping ideas into a completed song? Do you usually start with a tune, a beat, or a narrative in your head? And do you collaborate with others in this process?

Kabelle:

Katie: For me I do get very inspired on what Adam creates. I work heavily with imagery. I usually create pictures in my mind very quickly about what I want to write. I hear melodies first before I compose the lyrics the majority of the time.

Adam: I start with vibing myself up; this could be listening to music I like, watching an emotional movie, reading something which gives that creative spark – I then sit down at the piano and get the meter and chord parts together; from here I layer on drums, leads and sometimes a scratch vocal which helps fill out the rest of the tune – sometimes that stays, other times it’s replaced once Katie writes her parts.

9. What has been the most difficult thing you’ve had to endure in your life or music career so far?

Kabelle: Katie: Professionally I would say doing a 7 month singing residency in Beijing having to learn a huge repertoire of 600 songs was a little stressful in the beginning. It was a fantastic job but the first couple months was a lot.

Adam: Wow, that’s deep! If I’m being completely honest it was the passing of my mother from cancer when I was 19; it was a really tough time for me musically and at a time in my life where I was finding my way in the world.

10. On the contrary, what would you consider a successful, proud or significant point in your life or music career so far?

Kabelle: Katie: I won’t ever forget doing a very intimate show of the works from ‘Tim Rice’. Tim Rice actually showed up at the concert and sat a few feet away from me while I sung his work. That was a very special moment, also one of the scariest.

Adam: A band I played in supported Chaka Khan at the Palace in Melbourne; it was the first time I ever had a green room and a proper hospitality rider; it was awesome!

11. With social media having a heavy impact on our lives and the music business in general, how do you handle criticism, haters, and/or naysayers in general? Is it something you pay attention to, or simply ignore?

Kabelle: Katie: IGNORE!!! You will never ever please everyone no matter how hard you try. You will never be happy if you take every comment literally and you also would never do what you loved to do. Keyboard warriors are the worst and hopefully one day we will be able to stop it forever but until that happens it is so important to be true in what you do and not live through fake truths of negative people who clearly have their own issues.

Adam: Katie is definitely better with the social media thing than I am – I’m a bit sensitive to what people think and can’t help reading every comment to my own detriment. I think it’s human nature to want to please everyone, but the reality is you can’t.