KADE KAIN INTERVIEW

Birsha:you ready ?Kade: Yes sirrrBirsha: so as a artist with only two songs do you feel like that limits your visibilityKade: Kinda and kinda not.
Having more songs means more people are more likely to listen to those songs and stick around based off quantity.
But I feel like I have 2 very solid songs. One is a little more light and shoegaze and the other one is a little more heavy and metal to a certain extent. So there’s already variety in just those 2 songs.
Both songs are doing very well and I give myself enough time to push them each out and make each drop like an event. And I think the strategy of quality over quantity is working really well at the moment. I’m having a lot of loyal listeners who each average like 10 streams a day on my new song alone. So I think it’s not limiting me at all.Birsha: i love that man, i definitely fuck with quantity over quality, especially when the quality is insane like yours. what direction can we expect you to go in?Kade: I’d say more of shoegaze grunge sound. I’m obsessed with Nirvana. I think my music is very similar with the way I write my melodies and hooks. But I also love the heaviness of Deftones and the space shoegaze type of vocals. Got told once that I have the hooks of Nirvana and soft vocals and abrasive sounds of Deftones and I like that a lot.
I’m currently working on my first EP and it’s definitely giving a shoegaze grunge sound. I guess that’s where I’m at right now and I enjoy listening back to the demos I make. I think it’s an exciting direction cause I have some where it’s shoegaze inspired and then one song is just straight punk sounding with the instrumental. Hoping it all comes out sounding great. Taking my time with it.Birsha: i like the word abrasive because it definitely fits the vibe of your music, its like it scratches my brain in the right spot, when your making your music how do you know its READY to releaseKade: I use to really want everything to be perfect. Like I was sitting on manipulated since September of 2023
And pleasure chaser since October 2023.
I didn’t think I was ever gonna drop those songs. But at the time I was listening to a lot of gorillaz, Nirvana and Deftones. And you could her mistakes they make in their songs and it made me realize that I shouldn’t have to overthink it. Pleasure chaser literally has a part where you can hear me slapping my space bar to stop one of the takes I did. I forgot to take it out when exporting my demo and
at first I was like “fuck, I should have noticed that. Why didn’t I cut that?”
But then I realized it added a lot to the empty space and decided to keep it in the final song.
Manipulated is same story. There’s a screaming part and is actually peoples favorite part of the song. But at first I only did it cause I didn’t know what to put right there and I kept doing take after take and i didn’t like the way I was hitting the notes.Birsha: so basically you’ll never be ready, you just gotta face your fears and let it be?Kade: exactly, so after that i stopped and Went to bed and woke up the next day and decided to give it another shot. But I was like, fuck it ima just yell and see how it sounds. So no vocal warm ups or nothing, I did it and I thought it sounded cool. But I was still insecure about the screaming cause I never did it before and any time I showed people the song I would be like “oh this is my emo song go easy on me”
But when I was getting ready to release it i realized. Some people aren’t gonna like my songs and some people are. But who cares? I’m not making my music for others. I’m doing it because I feel something and need a way to express myself. So I don’t think anyone should over think it. Have a certain standard when it comes to your quality of music. And if it sounds good; just drop it. No reason to keep it in.
Sorry I be yappin. Trying to give you some solid answersBirsha: no no don’t be sorry dude this is the bread and butter, now this is a bit of a curve ball, but when your making music does your personal life effect you making it, if so make events have really impacted your art and forced you to change perspective on how you make itKade: I had a lot of songs where it was only personal experiences I was writing about. I’ve been through so many heart breaks; it was a big reason I started music. I just didn’t know how to express myself at all. But I listen to an album called Arizona Baby and it was just so raw. The lyrics, the production. You could tell how personal it was.
It showed me I could be vulnerable in my music.
I use to only write songs about love, which to a certain extent I still do. But now my lyrics aren’t so on the nose. Pleasure Chaser was made with Kurt Cobain and heroin addicts in mind.
But my lyrics are kinda vague so a lot of people thought it was a song about a toxic relationship between two people. But I think that’s a good thing. That I can write something in mind but when others listen, the song means absolutely something else.
I feel like personal experience will always shape my songs, which is probably why I write about breakups a lot even when I’m not trying to.Birsha: do you struggle with addiction? and i can see how raw you are in your lyrics, it’s almost hard not tooKade: I have a very obsessive personality. So if i did anything like that; I’m sure I would.
But I’ve always made it clear since I was a kid that I was gonna be sober and I still am.
I just don’t see the benefit of ruining yourself like that. I get a lot of flak and get called a poser because I’m doing rock but I don’t do hard drugs and I’m not depressed and I think that’s dumb. Doing and having those things doesn’t make you closer to the music or more of a musician. I think it’s kinda sad really.Birsha: so since your sober do you think your obsession with your music borderline touches on addiction, because we don’t need substances to be addictedKade: Maybe. I’m someone who needs to be creating something. Doesn’t just have to be music but just something creative.
If I don’t make something; I start to get really hateful and just angry.
But I think music is the one thing that fully resonates with me and makes me feel better.Birsha: that makes a lot of sense, that’s what i have to do, having a outlet is important, when your not making music what’s your outlet?Kade: I do a lot of visual art. Like graphic design and photography / videography. I have a pretty big collection of old film and tape cameras. Love having an excuse to use them.
I almost exclusively shoot on film and tape because I love the analog look of it all.
It’s how I started into the music scene was by shooting photos and videos for artists in my city and doing cover art for themBirsha: that’s cool as fuck dude, i love vhs tapes, you ever do anything on vhs filmsKade: I do a lot of vhs actually. Part of manipulated the music video as parts where it’s shot on VHS. The Verses I thinkBirsha: that’s bad ass manKade: I love shooting on VHS or recording off CRT TVs for promosBirsha: that’s bad ass, where do you even find CRT tvs anymoreKade: I get lucky and found one off the street, 2 others at places like goodwillBirsha: hell yeah man, what’s the biggest artists you’ve done a video for, and how did that help propel your own career?Kade: I was doing videos for a label in my city and they were actually pretty big. Videos had over 100k in total views just off a few videos. But the label signed some crappy people who just used them for money and the label had to shut down and took the video off due to them suing the artists that fucked them over and didn’t want to give them any more exposure.
And it did absolutely nothing for my career besides meeting some cool people that I’m still friends with right now. The people I’m not friends with are the artists that not only fucked the label over, which it was owned by a great guy.
but those artists fucked over good people trying to help. Absolutely took advantage of everyone and now those same artist are buying streams and followers just to look like they’re still popping.Birsha: yea man the hardest part of being in this industry is seeing how shallow people are, i see a lot of it every fucking day, i’m glad your not them, and just based off how your working with me and the in depth and honest responses i’m getting I can tell. How do you deal and decipher between the cryptic shit half these people pull and how do you find a way to navigate between said artists and figuresKade: I don’t know. I’m just really good at reading people. I can tell when they’re acting and not being genuine. I’ve always been very good at that. I’m just a super blunt and honest person. Some people call that being an asshole but I just say it’s my superpower lmao. But I think it’s the most real thing someone can do.
I’ve always found it odd when I can see people acting their ass off to be someone they’re not and no one else can see it until they get fucked over.
A lot of people would hear demos of my songs years ago and act like they liked it and act like they wanted a feature. But i can just tell when someone is being honest. Most of the artist who beg everyone for a feature are not the ones who genuinely like the music of the artist they’re asking. They’re just doing it for clout. They see you might have some type of interest and want to capitalize off it. It’s why I don’t really do features. I have a lot ask me “oh we should work” and I just question if they want to work because They actually like my music. Or are they just looking for something only they can get gain from. Never feels genuine anymore.Birsha: see that’s the realest shit ever, in what your stepping into the realest people i know are modern failure, deer death, and letshatexdium, it’s a hard line to draw and one most don’t know how to, what’s someone you really want to work with?Kade: I’m not really sure right now. I really like making my own music. But if I did any music with anyone else; it would probably be modern failure or deddpoet. I enjoy their variety of sounds and voices. Think it would sound great. But I have a standard for my own music; so I’d apply that to any song I’m on with them as well. I don’t wanna drop a meaningless song and say “oh look we made a song just to do it!”
It would have to be something we’re both proud of and can both agree that this is the best we can do at that time and want to share it with our names on it together.Birsha: you keep saying there’s a standard to your music, what is that standard (and hell modern the goat, never talked to deddpoet though)Kade: The structure needs to sound good. It can’t have on the nose lyrics where it sounds too corny. I’m VERY big on having a good Mix and master. I want something that sounds good production wise. Don’t want people to think the song was a throw away or I didn’t care. I’m okay with having subtle mess ups on a song because I think it really adds to it. But I want the quality to be good overall. A lot of artist when starting out, if you send your song to get it professionally mixed and mastered. They’ll maybe ask you for a reference track from another song (a more well known song and band to base the mix off of).
But because I know what I want;
I make mix my demos to exactly what I have in my head. Then I send it off to another person who can take what I did and make it sound even bigger. It’s why I work with my mixing and mastering engineer Brendan Reza.
I’ll send him all the wet stems to my demo mix and he will use those in the final mix and touch them up to get a better sound.Birsha: so you really just go all out, you cross your tees and dot your i’s type shit, what was it like starting out, and having to accept that it’s not going to be perfect, i know we talked about that obsessive side to you and speaking personally i know that takes a part in your craftKade: I wouldn’t have any music out if I didn’t listen to the gorillaz. There’s a few songs where he messes up a note or something like that but still dropped the song and it still sounds quality. And that put it in perspective that it doesn’t need to be perfect; but at least have a standard; hold your song to that standard and then move on to the next one. I’d still be working on manipulated if I didn’t come to that realization.
Truly the most important thing to me is the mix and master. But I know that’s always in good hands. Even if it was just my demos it would still be listenable to a general audience.
Once you realize that the shit you’re worrying about won’t even be noticeable to listeners who aren’t studying music or listening for mistakes. It suddenly becomes a lot easier to just make music.Birsha: what’s something that you wish that you could help other people learn from you when it pertains to you having to accept your flaws, what would you “i’m am the gorillaz” advice be?Kade: Just be vulnerable.
I don’t like it when people aren’t themselves. Especially in music.
No one wants to hear how great you are, all the money you make, how bad ass you are and all the women you pull 24/7.
I find it super corny. Talk about actual subjects that make you feel some type of way and you know will reach people and make them connect.
The best feeling is making a song for yourself and how you feel and you release it and other people connect. I feel like my songs have sad subjects. And you’d think listening to a sad song would make people sad. But I’ve had a lot people reach out to me saying that my songs really speak to them and they connect to them. That they’re happy that someone else feels the way they do or can put their feelings in form that’s easily understandable.
Makes them feel like they’re not alone in what they feel and the struggles they face.Birsha: that’s fucking beautiful man, i got one last question to end the interview bro, and it’s do you have any questions for me?Kade: What made you want to start this account. What’s your overall goal and what effect do you hope to have ?Birsha: I wanted a way to not feel alone, and starting something that was bigger than myself is what made me realize that community is what makes us not feel alone, and i just want people to know that people care about there art, and that there craft matters, and that they as a person matter, and that we shouldn’t be confined by our own personal interpretation of our own self worth. hopefully people can pull that out of seeing how there favorite artists view there own artKade: That’s great, I really love seeing someone actually do thatBirsha: i haven’t done it yet