Kaya

What's the meaning behind the band's name?
“The name ‘Kaya’ actually came initially from Matt’s (the Guitarist) mate’s dog, which we recently found out means many things, including ‘enlightenment’ and ‘togetherness’. It is also the name of one of our favourite Bob Marley songs.”

How did the band come together?
“Well it was very organic; we all new each other well from previous music projects and bands, things were slow and we wanted to play and create some fresh music. We all got on well and respected each other as musicians and performers so we decided to set up this band, and the rest, as they say, is history...”

What's the message you transmit with your music?
“We put out a number of things with our vibe; Kaya can be about anything from Politics, Love, Hate, Current Affairs, but always Fun and Energetic! We have played to all kinds of people in many different places and we have always received an amazing response.”

What's your method when writing songs?
“Wow, that’s difficult to answer, we don’t really have any set way or formula to writing our songs. We really feel our way through the process. One of us may have a vocal or tempo idea then we’ll jam together and come up with riffs and hooks, or one of us may have a hook and we build around that idea. Its so varied, and in all honesty we like it that way, otherwise the process would be less creative and more constructed. We like to be free when creating music.”

What are your musical influences?
“This is very broad, from Hip Hop to Rock, Soul to Drum and Bass, Reggae to Pop. We have a respect for all genres and we like to think we take the best of all of them, add our twist, and present it in true Kaya fashion...”

What plans do you guys have for the future?
“To build a planet just next to Mars and have a state-of-the-art recording studio, then we plan to kidnap Richard Branson and travel to and from Planet Kaya on his Virgin Galactic rockets, free-of-charge of course!”

What has been the funniest prank you guys have been part of while on tour or after a show?
“Well we could totally lie and make up some brilliantly funny prank, but in all honesty, we haven’t played any pranks! Maybe we’re a bit boring in that way! But who knows, maybe one day we’ll do something really really funny.. We’ll let you know!”

If you guys were stranded in the middle of nowhere after a show or while on tour, and help is 65 miles away, then who would you guys send to look for help? And if, while the rest of you wait for help, there's no food and the only way to survive is by eating each other, who would you eat first?
(Rapper Natty says) “I would stand up and nominate myself to go for help! And if the only choice for the rest of the band is to eat each other whilst waiting for me to come back and save the day, then I think the rest of the band would agree that if they had to eat anyone, it would need to be Aina (Kaya singer), as she would taste nicer than all the others! hahaha. I've watched the film ‘Alive’ so if it really came to it, I guess I'd have to eat them all. But I'm vegetarian, so it would be a tough call for me!!! Hahaha”

Which country would you guys love to play?
“We would love to play Japan, we haven’t played there yet. But it would also be interesting to see how we would be received in a country like Iraq!”

With which other bands would you guys love to share the stage?
“To perform with ‘The Wailers’ or ‘The Clash’ (original line up) would be amazing, or for jokes, with ‘Westlife’, so we can mess around with their live auto-tuner and backing tracks. hahahaha....”

Are you guys OK with the direction of where the band is going?
“Like any band we have had our ups and downs, it can be a long long road for an independent band to achieve success, but right now we are fully-charged, focused, and ready for action! Our album ‘Look Beneath The Surface’ is coming in early 2011 and we are the most excited that we’ve ever been! Bring on the future!”

Check out more: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XknFz88cHI - Plantilla Awesome Inc

BY EMBRACING a new era in
the world of music, local band
Kaya looks set to make a big noise
on the international scene.
The Kent-based group will release their
debut single, Rat Race, this summer and
their music has received airplay as far afield
as New Zealand. With the help of emerging
record label Inigo, the band is steadily
increasing its profile in the UK and beyond.
Kaya’s sound has been described as a
broad fusion between hip hop, soul, ska, dub
and reggae, but guitarist Matt Howard, from
Tunbridge Wells, would rather let the music
do the talking.
“Our influences are really down to each
member. We’re all into similar things, but
there is also a lot of diverse stuff,” he said.
“Our drummer Tom’s forte is hardcore
metal and we use his skill and turn it into a
drum and bass feel. As soon as you draw
comparisons to another band, that’s out
there, so we don’t really give comparisons.
“It’s an urban style of music, but we bring
together lots of different genres.”
Howard, 31, has always been keen to pursue
a career as a musician and as well as performing,
he also helps out with the record
label. His practical approach to the industry
has proved of benefit to both his own projects
and his work with Kaya, who formed about
three years ago.
“My dad was a guitarist who worked with
producer Joe Meek, so from a young age I
was exposed to music,” he said.
“I went to Manchester in my late teens to
study sound engineering, because if I was
going to hire a studio, it meant I could keep
the costs down.
“When I graduated, I came back down here
and worked at a few major record labels.
That was more about business and learning
how the industry worked. It was the same
philosophy – I didn’t know how the studio
worked, so I learned about it and I didn’t
know how the industry worked, so I learned
about that too.”
Established
Howard had worked with vocalists Natty
and Aina on a previous project, Sweetoof,
which earned the title of BBC Radio 1
Unsigned Band of the Year in 2003.
By developing Kaya’s sound over a period
of two years while the record label established
itself, they have found a new way to
work within the music industry and the
future looks bright.
“The advantages of technology mean that
putting music together and marketing it yourself
has never been so easy,” Howard said.
“Big record companies are changing the
way they work and it’s very easy to make
music available. It’s not so easy with sales,
but we’re looking at other revenue streams
like merchandising or getting our music on
adverts.
“I think UK music is very vibrant at the
moment and as a nation, we’re churning out
some incredible music.”
Find out more about Kaya online at
www.officialkaya.com. - Kent On Sunday Media

"Thanks very much for your track! Its the bomb, I love it!
I will play it on my show this coming sunday!"
- DJ Tome, Radio 057, Croatia / Laid Back Radio, Belgium, Croatia

It's nearly always a memorable sound when a couple of rappers are joined by a drummer, guitarist and bassist. Add a bit of brass for that Ska edge and remix it a few times.

The end result is the latest offering from UK act Kaya.
With eight drastically different versions of this song it’s virtually impossible not to grow attached to at least one of them. They’ve even thrown in another song too, just for good measure and Dumb Down is also a pretty good track.
On the downside, if you’ve recently seen Kaya and are looking for a recording which captures their gritty raw sound on CD, you aren’t going to find it here. The tracks on the EP are well produced and the radio edit of Rat Race is almost too sleek when compared to the way it sounds live. - Blues and Soul Magazine

Vivacious and exceptionally warm are just two of the words that spring to mind when within minutes of meeting Kaya..... - Touch Magazine

Kaya aren't your normal rock stars.. in fact calling them rock stars probably does them an injustice.... - Low Rise Magazine

"Kaya have got it.. whatever 'it' is, they have it" - Big Smoke Magazine

"Really liked the track Rat Race, we will definitely play it on a specialist show" - Xtreme Radio

“Our listeners love Kaya, we had a lot of fun when they came to the studio” - Diesel Radio