Here at the Bona Fide Darling, we are not strangers to the greatness of San Francisco's Kite In The Air. Dreamy, languid electronic beats and the angelic voice of Emma Lucia stepping in front of said beats. The more I listen to them, the more I love their music. You can still get their latest EP Magic Marker for free.We had the opportunity to chat up Emma about Kite In The Air's music, the music scene in San Francisco, I turn them on to other SF bands and we discuss what the deal is with vampire movies for teens.
Bona Fide Darling: Who are your influences?
Emma Lucia: Adult, Gary Numan, You Love Her Cause She's Dead, Ladyhawke, Caribou, Big Black, Ministry, Aphex Twin
BFD: How did you guys get together?
EL: Mark (Reveley) and I have been making music together for about 15 years or something, the last 5 as Jed and Lucia [jedandlucia.com]. We knew Mike aka Mike Genius years ago in LA and got back in touch with him through Purple Crush (mutual friends) out in Brooklyn...Mike and Mark then started WZRDZ which dovetailed with me starting to write songs for beats. The three of us started Kite in the Air last year. Now Mike lives in Berlin and we're working on our third ep.
BFD: There seem to be a lot of really good indie bands coming out of San Francisco, Kite In The Air, Minipop, Collider and Photons. Is there something in the water out there that isn't in other towns?
EL: THC? We didn't know those groups but digging them now. I've been listening to the Collider song "Translator" over and over like 10 times right now, its so good.
BFD: What is the music scene like in San Francisco?
EL: Its awesome. Its kinda new to Mark and I cause we moved up from LA relatively recently and don't go out a whole lot, but we dig it. The venues are really nice. Its fractured in a cool way. There are distinct scenes from punk to metal to electronic to circus wackiness, etc. and they all coexist nicely. San Francisco kinda marches to its own drummer. Some groups we're fans of from up here - Sleepytime Guerilla Museum, 40 Thieves, Faun Fables, Girls, Liars, Beats Antique, Gamelan X, The Dodos, The Fucking Champs, Earthless, High on Fire the Daly City Records and Six Degrees stables.
BFD: Do you guys collaborate with other bands? That's kinda how KITA got together, right?
EL: Not yet but that would be great, we'd love to have tracks remixed and should reach out to some folks soon. In the meantime if anyone reading this wants to remix one of our tracks hit us up at kiteintheairmusic (at) gmail.com.
BFD: Have you gotten the point where music is your life or are you still grindin' at a day job?
EL: We make a little here and there from sales and licenses. This fall season we had a couple Kite in the Air TV licenses, one to "90210" and one to "A Beautiful Life."
But yeah Mark and I have jobs, I tracklist the radion shows for scionav.com each month, and Mark is a mastering engineer, reveleymastering.com (plug). Mike was a computer programmer until recently when he left to bust moves full time on the music front.
BFD: I've always thought that writing lyrics for electronic music would be difficult, searching, tweaking and looking for just the right sound. Do you guys create the music first then head for the lyrics?
EL: I mostly write songs on the guitar, I wrote a couple on a synth, then with each all of us build production around those roughed out versions. I tend to write the lyrics and melody at the same time and tweak them both as I go. Mark's written some too, Magic Marker & Filed Away... another new one too coming out on the next EP called I Would Have Made It Up. He writes melody first and then lyrics.
BFD: Where do you see the future of Kite In The Air heading?
EL: We're shooting to release 3 or 4 eps this year, hopefully some remixes at some point in 2010 too.
BFD: Are there any producers or artists you would like to work with?
EL: Some remixers would be Harvard Bass or Drop the Lime or Designer Drugs... Holy Ghost!... Rusko... Stars of the Lid... Tipper... Fake Blood... Mr. Oizo.
BFD: Lastly, what the deal with all this Twilight mania and are you wrapped up in it?
EL: Someone in Kite in the Air is a secret fan of Twilight but we won't say who. If they want to put one of our songs on the next film it should be at the part where they dig out an ancient vampire god out from an antarctic glacier where he or she has been frozen for a thousand years and then wakes up and shoots giant fireballs at the moon which kill the guy and whatshername. They should also pay us a gazillion dollars.
