NKOSI aka Dave Sherman and Echoboyy are East Coast US natives who each moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in music. The two crossed paths and ended up collaborating on songs. Their new single ‘White Gold’ (out October 2nd) gives a good idea of what they’re about – witness the way Echoboyy’s vocals soar over Dave Sherman’s processed guitar technique. In fact, Sherman handles all the music; guitar, bass, synths and drum programming. Bound For Sound caught up with NKOSI for a quick chat and discovered a pair with a thoughtful, intelligent and insightful take on music and the business that surrounds it.
Hi NKOSI thanks for speaking to us today.
Hello, thanks for having us!
Tell us about the formation of the band.
Dave: From 2003-2011, I was the guitarist and producer for a hip-hop band called Audible Mainframe. Expo, our MC, and my good friend and songwriting partner, passed away after battling cancer in 2012, after which, the band broke up. I wanted to continue producing and performing, but I felt like trying something a little different than what I’d been doing up until then. I’m an instrumentalist, but I always knew I needed a great singer and lyricist to complete the picture. I’ve always been more comfortable working with someone else, or as part of a group, than just working by myself. About a year ago, Echoboyy just happened to be passing through our solar system, and had to make an emergency landing on the roof of my apartment building in LA. I hid him from the authorities, and in return he offered to sing and write songs with me!
How did you come up with the name? Was is a random decision or is there meaning behind it?
The name was suggested to us by a friend, we had a list of name choices written down, but NKOSI stuck out. It has a meaning, but we’d rather people try to discover what it means on their own, or make up their own meaning for it.
How would you describe your writing process? Does the music or the lyrics tend to come first?
Dave: Lately I’ve been coming up with chord progressions and melodies either on guitar or synth, or a combination of both, adding drum loops and such, before passing it on to Echoboyy to interpret however he wants. Sometimes we’ll both sit down in the studio just to jam and let things happen as they may. As a lot of singers often do, Echoboyy will sing random phrases in his own alien language, just to get a melody and a vibe going, and then go back later and translate it, if you will, into actual lyrics.
Do you have a funny/interesting tour story that you’d dare to share?
We recently had the opportunity to tour up in Alaska. While travelling through the no-man’s land between gigs, we stayed in a tiny bed-and-breakfast hotel, basically a little old two-story house off the main highway. We were a bit nervous about staying there, as it looked at first glance like something out of a horror movie. Rather than being greeted by a family of axe-murderers, however, we entered the lobby to find a group of rather burly men sitting around a table, in the midst of a heated tournament of “Magic The Gathering”. Not what one would expect in such a place, but understandable… as there probably isn’t much else to do up there!
If you weren’t all working in music, what do you think you would be doing instead?
Rescuing animals.
Would you say that the power of social media is making it easier or more difficult for bands to get themselves recognized?
It’s still great for recognition, since the old music industry model went out the window 10-11 years ago when things like YouTube and Myspace came along. Suddenly, all of us unsigned artists could release both our music AND our videos for free! No need for the big record labels, or MTV for that matter!
Still, if you’re a new artist without tons of money and/or connections, you still have to pound the virtual pavement to build a following. If a band puts a song on Soundcloud, and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?
The big problem now has become over-saturation. With new bands and DJ’s popping up every minute, it’s become harder to stand out from the crowd and really get yourself heard. It seems like all you have to do now is click a button to buy social media followers, post selfies or memes every day, and people will judge you more on your ability to do that, rather than whether or not your music is actually any good.
You also have to be more creative with your visuals in order to really stand out, especially when working on a small budget.
Other than that, what other challenges do you regularly see popping up within the music industry?
We’re at a point now where everyone’s egos are kind of eclipsing the actual artistry. It’s rare when you find an actual community of artists supporting each other instead of everyone shouting over each other, fighting for a place in the limelight.
There are cities where this does exist though, it’s just harder to find. For example, you won’t find much sense of community in Los Angeles, but in the smaller outlying areas such as Long Beach, you’re more likely to find artists of different genres all working together to help each other succeed. I’m sure the same goes for New York, or London for that matter.
Is there anyone you’re listening to at the moment that you would recommend?
Knife Party “Abandon Ship”. Also just heard some songs off of MuteMath’s new record, always loved those guys. Great blend of electronic and analog instruments. And Paul Meaney’s voice!
Can you tell us your favourite record of all time?
If you want to hear the forerunner of modern electronic music, go back to Dark Side Of The Moon. It’s all there: sequencing, sampling, analogue synths, ambient soundscapes, … everything that bands use today. Even a minimalist album cover! So nice and dark, too. One record that truly “looks” like it sounds! Never gets old, either. That’s rare these days.
