KIOL : exclusive Interview for the release of Mallow

Can you tell us about the beginning of your career, an anecdote, something that pushed you to get started?

I was playing the drums for different bands, but I wasn’t expressing myself enough. I failed my 4th grade and I left all the bands I was playing with. Like a fresh start, I left for Ireland.

There I discovered the passion for folk music also thanks to some lads that started to call me Kiol, pushing me to play and sing for them every night. From that moment on I knew I had to start a solo project, using just my voice and my guitar.

How are your rehearsals and recordings going? (Location, duration, team work)

For the rehearsals I’m used to practice with my guitarist Federico just a few days before the actual concert since it’s two years that we’re playing with a duo set up, so  now we’re very comfortable with it. Usually we meet in my house but if we need more space and instruments (like piano, beat machine ecc..) we rent a room in Turin in order to have enough space to rehearsal. The recording session is still always different.

I’m used to record complete demos of my song in my room with my computer, then I usually go in studio (always a different one) to record everything that needs to be recorded better, using my demos as a guide.

Some times I keep the vocals of the demo version, because the first time I sing a new song, my voice is always fulfilled with passion and emotion, and it really helps the voice to be communicative. I really look forward to find the perfect studio in which I can create and record all of my songs. For now my room is enough.

Do you do live shows? How is it going ? Do you have an agent or a booking agency ?

Me and my manager started this project with the aim of doing beautiful things, powerful music, and loads of live concerts. So we focused on the production and on the tours.

We’ve been able to play for some giant like Placebo, Joan Baez, Natalie Imbruglia, Eros Ramazzotti, but we also did lot of experience playing everywhere we could, never saying no.

All this gave me such a self esteem and a real awareness about what I was doing and why I was doing it. I’ve been helped by my booking agency ITB and by GDP that found all these incredible gigs. I feel very lucky to be always on a different stage, enjoying whatever the crowd wanna give me.

What is your upcoming news? Things to come?

I just release a new single “Mallow” and its lyric video. Now I’m about to record new song till the end of September, then we’re gonna release it and probably organize a tour right after.

Do you have a label? What advice could you give a young talent to find one?

I have my own label. I tried to work with a major label, but since I’m still at the beginning I noticed that is not that helpful like we’re used to think. Being an independent artist at the beginning is such a relief, cause you do what you think it’s right, you owe your own business and mostly you really understand how everything works. I think that an artist at the beginning of his career has to know what all is about before even start.

With the Internet, the talents have today a great freedom to make discover their music to the public, what tools can you advise to use ?

I’m so glad to be part of this generation, cause without the Internet I wouldn’t be able to play and sing like I do. It’s very helpful in terms of distribution and it’s crazy that even if you are Italian, there’s always someone in a far away country that is listening to you.

I love the way Spotify works, mostly for the users rather than the artists, cause we all know that the more we are the less are the chances to stand out, but I definitely think that the Internet gave us a hand to be the modern musicians we are.

What do you think of artists who fake their stats by buying views or streaming?

I really think that all of that is a waste of time, and hopes. Nobody is gonna remember you for your fame, instead for your success.
Nobody is gonna judge me for the views I got and hurt me like someone who doesn’t feel my music. I need to write, to play… to feel good, to give a moment of bliss to other people. And if those aren’t true, the game makes no sense.

Become famous, a life goal for you?

A life goal for me? Not at all… Success is a revenge, fame is the shit.