Q+A: KALLITECHNIS

Montreal native KALLITECHNIS is redefining R&B with her unique and eclectic sound.

Photographer: Lian Benoit

On her latest EP, BECAUSE IT FEELS SO GOOD, the introspective soul artist blends together velvety and silky beats with ethereal harmonies wrapped in a glowing sense of confidence and witty songwriting. Kalli coins her music as “introspective soul,” explaining how sincerity is at the very core of her foundation, bringing powerful R&B that stems from deeply personal, relatable, and euphoric experiences. Standout track “DINNER WITH A GEMINI” touches on the good and bad of dealing with one of the most controversial zodiac signs over a bouncy production, paired with a fun and freestyle-esque flow. Collaborating with the Scarborough hip-hop star Kofi on “HOLD ME DOWN,” the two seamlessly blend their unique styles to create a bittersweet banger about clinging to the idea of a perfect relationship. KALLITECHNIS’ EP is a range of emotions and a taste of different styles just for the pure reason of: because it feels so good. 

We had the opportunity to catch up with KALLITECHNIS on the process behind her latest EP. Alongside the release of her music video for “DINNER WITH A GEMINI.”

Photographer: Lian Benoit

Do you mind introducing yourself?

I’m KALLITECHNIS, I’m a singer-songwriter artist from Montreal, Canada and I make introspective soul.

I want to congratulate you on the release of your new EP, how are you feeling about its release?

Thank you! Relieved in the sense that a lot of those songs I had recorded two years ago and so I’m relieved they’re out and they stood the test of time. I’m also happy that so far the project is being received really well and people are just excited about it and replaying it. It’s cute.

It’s great, I love it! I’m into “DINNER WITH A GEMINI” and “HOLD ME DOWN,”  those are my two faves. Since we last chatted, two years ago, you had released CHROMATIC and blends Vol I & II. How do you feel that your sound has evolved since then?

I feel that it's just inevitable. From the beginning of my career and the beginning of my songwriting process, I remain really open when it comes to exploring different styles of music, so I am very much the same in the ways that I am curious but I refined my songwriting skills and my musicality. I’ve leveled up in terms of the music and the sonics of it and I feel like it's no crazy accomplishment and it comes from practice. Any artist that puts in the energy, work, and curiosity and perseveres within their craft, will see the same types of results and progress. I am grateful for it. It’s nice to listen to songs now and have a moment where I’m just like “oh shit, I’ve come a long way,” in terms of how it sounds, you know?

Of course! I think it’s definitely an accomplishment. I feel like sonically it’s just so rich and sounds so expensive.

Thank you! Definitely the goal, trying to reach Drake standards in terms of how lush a production can sound. 

It sounds super lush, very clean. On here there are a few collaborations, is 0the creative process different when you’re collaborating with different artists and producers?

Different when I get to collaborate when whoever that may be in person. I think working virtually is very isolating in the way that some of these collaborations, for example in “Out of My Way,” I had a virtual session with the producer that was online and it was in real-time so we were building the beat on zoom and I was writing at the same time. So a part of it felt really like an in-person session but the process is different when there’s the rapper that’s on the second verse that’s also in the room. So basically, me and JP made the production, I wrote everything but verse two and sent it to 23 Unofficial. So the dynamic was the same as it was between JP and myself, 23, and I didn’t get to talk at the moment as the production is getting made to create moments. So yeah it just differs.

Photographer: Lian Benoit

Was the majority of the project made virtually?

Yeah, the majority of the project was made virtually. “Hold Me Down” we actually made in person with Kofi we made two years ago when he was in Montreal. The last song on the project, “My World”, I made in London, two and a half years ago - about three years ago when I worked with Scott Plan and LOXE and Maths Times Joy and those I got to make in-person but the first part of the project was done virtually.

Let’s talk about the “DINNER WITH A GEMINI” video! Can you tell us more about it?

Shooting this video was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. When else am I going to spend a day working with 5 sets of twins? Andres (the Director) and Will (the DOP) made my first time shooting in film such a breeze. I’m so used to watching playback after takes, and this time I just had to trust the team that it would all work out. Letting go felt like a relief and they really came through. Andres came up with the concept of incorporating actual twins as a symbol for the Gemini. I was like 'Damn! Why didn't I think of that!'. We had such a fun time working on this, and I think that shines through.

You’re always releasing music or having a new project. How do you decompress?

If I’m being really honest, I need a better routine. When you’re an independent artist, aka an entrepreneur, you’re your own boss so you have even more responsibility but even less structure because no one is telling you when to wake up, what to do, and when to do it - you have to decide that for yourself. So I need to get better at managing myself for day-to-day stuff but yeah there’s definitely enough time in a day to check off the responsibilities when it comes to the music and then to care for my spirit and soul and physical being.

I remember your mantra in your early work “Soul Over Ego.” Are you still aligned with that philosophy?

Very much so. This is a mantra I use as a compass to redirect when I feel out of whack. Definitely.

Which track from the project are you resonating with the most right now?

I really enjoy “Dinner with a Gemini,” not necessarily for lyrics because it's kind of comical, it's telling a story about just being tired of this particular dynamic between myself and a Gemini man. It’s definitely fun and what I really connect with and enjoy about it is that I experimented with how I perform one of the verses. It kind of sounds like a rap but it's not. At that moment, the approach came out in a natural way and it felt sincere for the emotion I was trying to convey. Once I heard it back, I thought people might think it's weird that I was trying to rap. I was a little insecure about it but then I was like no this felt authentic to me and the emotion. So now that it's a final product and out in the world, I’m happy about it and I see that other artists are really connecting with it and it's one of their favorite songs of the project. This reassured me that I believed in myself and didn't get caught up in what everyone else might think or not think.

Photographer: Lian Benoit

The track does sound super raw, super intimate, and vulnerable. At first, I thought it was a freestyle when I listened to it. Do you feel that growing up in Montreal influenced your sound at all? Or is inspiration found somewhere else?

It’s tough because Montreal has a very segregating music community. It’s primarily a French province and I didn’t grow up listening to fresh music. I would say if anyone or anything influenced my musical palette that it was my dad because he was basically the one always playing music around the house or in the car. I had evolved through his musical taste.

Did you grow up listening to R&B music?

R&B was something that was really popular when I was in elementary school so that’s actually one genre of music I didn’t get into because of him. It was something that was around me at the time and I really gravitated towards it and I remember performing NYSNC and Destiny’s Child in the schoolyard. There were hopscotch lines on the creation but those lines on the ground were the makeshift stage and I put on a show during recess for whoever was in the schoolyard. We gave out tickets made out of loose-leaf paper and R&B was very important to me as a kid for some reason even though it was something I discovered on my own, there was no other attachment to it other than my genuine liking for it. It was so serious that I was acting like a little R&B superstar even in elementary school.

Have you always grown up performing? Was that always something you wanted to do?

Yes, it was something I wanted to do because it was something I was comfortable with. I was put into classical ballet when I was four, and always performed recitals every year, and then joined the school choir. I did plays throughout my schooling. Performing was something I was comfortable with and it excited me but it was never a career path. I just never entertained being a singer or artist for real.

When did you start making music professionally?

In 2014 I started writing my own music and being open to the idea of creating original music.

What took you to that point? What was the turning point for that?

I was in university studying psych and I was tempted by this idea of going viral online and doing music because it seems more accessible and what I meant by that is at the time people were going viral on Instagram and Youtube by posting song covers. I thought to myself like hey why don’t I start doing that. I guess I was honest with myself at the time but was low-key looking for an escape for this path that I was on with studying psych. Not that it wasn’t interesting to me but my heart wasn’t in it and so in 2014 I did end up posting song covers online and Jarret, my current manager, discovered me at the time and was looking to develop an artist from the roots. So he planted that seed in my head that I had something special worth investing in and we’ve been working together ever since.

Photographer: Lian Benoit

Reflecting on that, how do you feel where you are now in your musical journey?

To be honest, I don't give myself and Jarret enough credit. It’s not a pride thing but it’s just we are so deep in music and the industry and creating a meaningful place for ourselves in it and creating something that’s sustainable and we can do for the rest of our lives. I’m not trying to get anything out of music and cop-out, I really just love it and I want to be able to provide for myself and my family by having a career in music. We are so caught up in making things work that we don’t stop to appreciate what we’ve done, what’s already going on, and just anticipate what's to some. When I do stop and think about it, I am very grateful to be on this journey so far and have attained the level of success that I have relative to me of course but very grateful for all the love.

What’s next? What can fans look forward to next?

Another project. Another EP that I already have ready to go and am creating a world for right now when it comes to visuals and how people are going to take that in. A lot more music and sounding better and better. I’m excited.

Who are you listening to right now?

So many but one person off the top that has created songs that I admire and those types of songs you low key wish you wrote yourself, is this artist called Jenevieve  I don’t know if you’ve heard of her but she’s really dope and excited to see what place she takes up in music because she seems sick.