You don’t know who Ned East is, but you’ll know Kilter soon enough.
The Australian DJ has rocked crowds in his home country and around Europe for several years now. But before now, the only taste of his music we’ve gotten in this hemisphere of the globe has been recorded.
Now, North American fans will get the thrill of their lives with a 15 stop tour across the US and Canada. And he’ll probably pick up some new fans along the way.
After all, he does bring the stereotypic Australian good looks and charm. Have you seen those eyes?
Four Over Four spoke with Kilter on his North American debut and what to expect on his new album.
Starting this April, you’ll be making your North American debut. What are you looking forward to the most on this tour?
I’ve been looking forward to playing my first shows stateside for years. North America is really on another level compared to Australia with so many interesting and diverse places and such a huuuuge music scene. I can’t wait to experience this first hand. Plus, there’s the opportunity to play for old fans who have been hanging for the show to come over as well as introduce my music to people who are yet to experience it.
Do you have a list of foods you’re looking forward to trying while in the US?
On one hand it’s a pretty intense run of shows with a lot of traveling so the smart touring artist in me wants to say lots of fruit and vegetables. On the other hand, I’ve never been to Texas before so give me all the ribs you can find.
How about one go-to Australian snack or food you’ll miss while on tour?
Weet-Bix is the best way to start your day. Delicious, nutritious, and also a nationwide dick-swinging contest over who can eat the most at once.
With the announce of your up-coming tour, you also released your latest single “Count On Me.” How did the song come together with LANKS and what was the inspiration behind it?
I spent a week down in Melbourne towards the middle of 2016 working with a whole lot of awesome people. “Count On Me” came together really organically from one of those sessions.
LANKS has a little studio set up in his room where we just messed around with random sounds and strange samples. I think the thing that kicked the song off was this recording of a double bass, which I twisted and distorted to make the bass line in the verses.
The rest of the song just fell into place as we recorded the guitar parts complete with the sounds of kids playing in the park next door. They were yelling “Nice song!” at us, which I guess was a good sign!
In a previous interview, you mentioned an album was in the works. What kind of approach are you taking creatively and how soon can we expect it to come out?
The album is so close to finished and I am expecting to drop it in June. I’ve really worked on condensing what I wanted my music to sound like and in doing so refined the way I produce and write.
I’ve found this vision really important to the way I approached the production. It gave me confidence to trash and twist sounds in a way that I never had before. I knew they’d come out the other end with a strong voice.
Australia has a been a hub for some of the biggest electronic stars in the past few years. Which artists are you really into at the moment from your home country?
Winston Sweatshirt for super creamy funk vibes, Zeke for gritty and grungy goodness, and Lewis Cancut for interesting dance music just to name a few.
Who would you like to collaborate with the most?
I think it would be fun to do something super weird with a more pop-y artist like Dua Lipa.
Lastly, what can we expect in 2017?
New sounds, new faces and new places.
