London musician Kalim Graham-Patel is perhaps best known for his role in pop outlaws Strong Asian Mothers, a three-piece whose exuberance was matched to their infectious output.
All this time, however, Kalim has gradually been bringing his solo guise into focus, taking risks he could never envisage in a group setting.
Deeply personal, his Khushi moniker has been built across a six year spell, working from a tiny studio in London.
Lush songwriting with a literate quality, his new album 'Strange Seasons' is a gorgeous listen.
James Blake fell under the spell of its original sketches, and helped bring the final mix into fruition.
A moving document, Khushi's new album is the sound of someone finally embracing true artistic honesty.
Clash caught up with Khushi to talk further…
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You’re best known for your role in Strong Asian Mothers, how long have you been working on this material?
Many years! Recorded the album over a period of about six years and some songs date back around 10 years – was doing this all the while whilst playing in Strong Asian Mothers.
It seems that the album took some time to bring into focus, what changes did the songs undergo?
Very often they became more stripped down, more direct, more boiled down to their simplest and hopefully most emotionally honest form.
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You now live in Los Angeles, did this shift alter the way you make music? What has that change been like?
It’s been a fun change of scene and sun, quite invigorating after living my whole life in London. London still feels like home, but it is definitely stimulating to try somewhere else. It hasn’t much changed the way I make music just yet but we’ll see!
The songwriting can have these lush, almost orchestral elements – did you always have this in mind?
How does that arrangements intersect with the often high personal lyrics? No those came about quite organically with no particular goal in mind. I tried to find what felt right for each song and each section. Sometimes that meant stripped down to just a vocal and piano, sometimes it meant building it up to create dramatic expansive swells.
I think lush orchestral elements can also be personal if done right. Personal doesn’t always have to be small and intimate, sometimes what we feel can be very big, epic, dramatic, loud.
‘Freedom Falls’ is a real highlight on the album, what prompted it?
Divine inspiration. Kidding. I wrote that when I was about 19 and its been a journey with me through many different guises. I like how it flows. The final version started as a scratch version that I made for a friend, just to give them an idea of the song. That helped me take the pressure off myself and suddenly I was like oh wait maybe this could be THE version.
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Was the songwriting instinctual on the album? Or do you tend to revise and make alterations as you went?
Hmm interesting question. I would say it was both at the same time. Instinctual, but sometimes my instincts took a while to tune into, took a while to find their way.
‘Coldhearted Lately’ deals with the different aspects of our personalities, some of which are unpleasant. Which do you think is the ‘real’ you?
Haha! I’d say they’re all real and combine to make up the true complexity of a person. Perhaps different sides win out at certain moments or over time, depending on your moods and your principles and your influences.
James Blake assisted on the final mix. How did this come about? What did he add to the project?
Nothing. He tried to tinker with some of my shit but it turned out he barely knew how to use Logic and luckily I was able to rescue my songs from his incompetent grasp.
[Kidding! He added his sublime touch and brought his insanely talented ears to bear on the mixing process and I'm extremely grateful!]
The new album took some time to complete – have you already begun thinking of a follow up? What will come next for Khushi?
I’m excitedly and joyfully moving forward, working on new material for singles and another album. The new stuff has been coming quicker – debut album songs I love you but I need to move on now, so long and thanks for the good times, see you on tour!
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Khushi's new album 'Strange Seasons' is out now.
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