The talented UK duo KOVEN, who recently released an EP on the British label VIPER Recordings, are currently one of the most promising representatives of the British bass scene. Especially for “Garud’s Nest”, Max and Katie agreed to answer questions sent in by our subscribers.
Garud: Hi Katie, hi Max. It’s great that you agreed to spare me some time and give a short interview. You have a fairly large fan base in Russia, and many of your fans have questions for their idols! To begin with, it would be great if you could introduce yourselves and tell us how you entered the world of music. Do you remember the track that made you think, “Holy shit, I like this shit!”?
Katie: My name is Katie and I’m Koven’s vocalist.
My first love in electronic music was breakbeat. My brother made breakbeat tracks, and I went to a lot of parties with him and his friends. You could say that this was also the beginning of my vocal career, since I sang on some of my brother’s tracks. Over time, I started working with other producers. Later, I got into drum and bass and dubstep and discovered Koven’s music, becoming a huge fan of Max. So when he asked me to join Koven, I was over the moon.
Max: Hi! My name is Max. I’m the producer in the Koven duo. I’ve been involved in music since childhood, when I played drums in various bands. Then I started experimenting with creating electronic elements for the tracks where I performed as a drummer. It was during this period that I became acquainted with various pieces of music software—Cubase, Reason and Fruity Loops.
I grew up listening to what my parents listened to. These included bands such as Radiohead, The Prodigy and Crowded House. I’d say that these acts still play an important role in Koven’s current creative work.
And the first track that blew my mind was “Firestarter” by The Prodigy. I remember jumping around my room all day as a teenager while listening to it.
Garud: And when did you decide to pursue music yourselves and begin building musical careers?
Katie: I was lucky to have a brother who was involved in music, but I only really started taking it seriously after a collaborative track with Hybrid Minds, which received a fantastic response on UKF. As for musical influences, I’d say the best DJ sets I’ve heard were by Scratch Perverts, Stanton Warriors, Digitalism and Hybrid. They were the ones who made me want to become part of the world of electronic dance music.
Max: I think it began when I decided to leave university, where I was studying music technology.
My studies helped me learn the technical side of music, but they also began to have a negative effect on the creative process itself. So I decided to take a risk and left university in my second year to focus on creating my own tracks. As for influences, as I said earlier, the key artists were Radiohead, The Prodigy, and among more contemporary musicians—Jon Hopkins, Enter Shikari, Chris Clark, Bonobo and The Flashbulb.
Garud: Max, in the past you made a lot of heavy tracks. How has Koven’s sound changed since you started working with Katie? Will you continue making more melodic and lighter tracks, or can fans also expect tracks in the style of the “old” Koven?
Max: I like to think that our sound is more mature now, although we continue to experiment with sound and genres. We still feel like we’re at the beginning of the journey, and that’s very inspiring. As for heavy tracks, at some point, production quality began to mean more to many people than the beauty and melody of a track. The comments under the tracks were more about how to make this or that sound than simply about someone enjoying listening to it.
Over time, I discovered that I really enjoy writing song lyrics. It reminds me of when I was 12 and in a band. We made songs, and those were happy days. That doesn’t mean we’re going to stop making heavy tracks. We just don’t want to get stuck on them.
Garud: Describe your workflow. What comes first—the music or the lyrics and vocals?
Katie: It’s always different. Sometimes Max makes a track and I write lyrics for it (or we write them together). Sometimes I come to him with poems, and Max creates the instrumental.
Garud: What is your studio setup? Name your five favorite plugins.
Max: It’s very simple. Mackie MR8 MK2 monitors, an RME Fireface 400 audio interface and a MIDI keyboard. My top plugins are:
- Native Instruments Reaktor — I use it constantly to create basses. ‘Kaledion’ is simply fantastic. I recommend it to everyone.
- Waves C1 compressor. Just a very good and powerful compressor.
- Ohmicide — I use it to process bass with distortion. Sometimes it produces very interesting effects.
- Kombinat — another distortion plugin that requires delicate use.
- iZotope Stutter Edit — I use it for various “random” effects.
Garud: A lot of people are interested in certain aspects of your production. Will you share a secret, Max? For example, how do you make your basses?
Max: I layer most sounds with other modulated sounds. I also usually split the bass into three frequency channels and then process them separately with various phasers and so on. I usually add about five distortion plugins to the bass “body,” and I use an EQ with automated peaks between each plugin.
Garud: Tell us about your plans for 2015. Are you planning to release an album or go on a major tour? Are any collaborations expected?
Katie: At the moment, we’re working with someone on a drum and bass track that should be released soon. It’s difficult to say anything definite in the long term. We’d love to go on tour—many promoters invite us to perform in America. But for now, we’re working on the next EP, and after that we’ll think about an album.
Garud: Name your top 10 favorite tracks from the past year.
Katie: My "TOP-10" is:
- Birdy – Wings
- Tourist Ft. Will Heard – I Can't Keep Up (Original Mix)
- Memtrix – All You Are
- Paolo Nutini – Iron Sky
- Florence and The Machine – No Light, No Light
- Ellie Goulding – Figure 8 (Feature Cuts Remix)
- Frank Ocean – Lost
- Alt-J – Every Other Freckle
- Coldplay – O (Ghost Stories '2014)
Max:
- BROODS – Bridges
- London Grammar – Sights
- Caribou – Our Love
- Foals – Milk & Black Spiders
- Nero – Satisfy
- SBTRKT ft. Ezra Koenig – New Dorp. New York
- Jon Hopkins – Collider
- Jon Hopkins – Abandon Window
- Jon Hopkins – Open Eye Signal
- Sigma Ft. Paloma Faith – Changing
Garud: Our very traditional question from readers. What do you know about Russia and the Russian music scene? Do you have any wishes for Russian-speaking fans?
Max: We simply wanted to thank you for your continued support! We really appreciate it. I’ve never been to Russia, but I’ve heard wonderful things about your music scene. We really hope to perform there soon!
Interview: Garud. Translated from the Russian version published in the VK community “Garud’s Nest”, which Garud translated from his original English interview. Thanks to the Bassland group and the official Koven community for their support and cooperation.
