Kiefer

Kiefer, a producer and pianist happens to be quite an integral figure in the LA Jazz scene .His sharpness in composing jazz tethered beats turned almost everyone who listened to ‘Kickin It Alone’ which was released last year, into a devoted fan.

To those unfamiliar to his music, take some time and dive into it, and to those already digging his music, lucky you, because there’s more coming from this guy.

What’s even more comforting is that his full length album titled ‘Happy Sad’ will be out on June 6th, under Stones Throw Records. When not busy with his solo stuff, he plays for an enigmatic jazz trio alongside Mindsgn and Swarvy, and he has also performed with Terrace Martin and Moses Sumney.

*image by Rob Klassen*

N-F: How did you warm up to your main instrument, which is the piano.

Kiefer: My dad used to play the piano every single day and I liked it. It made me want to play the piano. My dad started teaching me the piano when I was about four.

N-F: Your first song was written on the piano as well?

Kiefer: Yeah, me and my sister did this song called ‘The Haunted House’ song. D flat, D and E flat while my sister would play F sharp and G sharp. It sounded pretty creepy and I was about four

N-F: Do you have a love hate relationship with your piano.

Kiefer : Not really. That’s a very foreign concept to me. I don’t really have a lot of expectations. When you have a lot of expectations on music, you’ll end up having resentments. It is my interest to be as good as I can on the piano, but when certain things don’t happen it certainly doesn’t bother me much. I remember going to school and meeting some intense musicians and some are cynical and their attitude would sink when things don’t go their way. I did a pretty good job to stay away from that. I love the piano, it makes my life better.

N-F: What other instruments do you play

Kiefer: I play every other instrument to roughly know how it works. I can play a little bit of trumpet, saxophone, guitar,bass and the drums, I also sing a lot. I sing everyday but I don’t consider myself to be proficient enough.

N-F: When did you know that you can do music for a living

Kiefer :When I was in middle school I knew I could do this(music) because I love it so much and when I for to highschool, I began to think of having it as a career, or at least something on the side. By the time I got to college didn’t have any plan B, I knew it was going to be music all along.

I take my attitude very seriously, I try to not have any negativity. You can be self disciplined but not judge

N-F: What are the things you look into to get the sound you want when you record?

Kiefer : I have to make sure that nothing is blocking ideas in my head. It takes about 30-40 minutes to work on an idea and I do it every day. It’s guided by a few principles because feelings only visit for so long, so the first 15 minutes in the studio is very crucial. My concept of composition is based on the basic training that I have which is Usually I sit down to play the piano for five minutes and the first cool idea will be recorded in Ableton. I would also work on a basic drum loop. So after a few months I would have a hundreds of beats and I listen to all of them and see which ones I want to expand on. Im always trying to develop my skillsets and mastering is something that im learning on.

N-F: Was Kickin It Alone recorded in the same manner?

Kiefer: Yeah, only that Kickin It Alone actually wasn’t meant to to be an album. It was my friends who convinced me realease it. Kickin It Alone was all about journaling. I was going through a rough time and the way I like to journal is with no interruptions and doing it efficiently, capturing a feeling.

N-F : What’s the story behind you and Stones Throw?

Kiefer: I knew everybody at Stones Throw because I was performing with Mndsgn. When I showed my playlist to him, he told me to show it to someone from the label.

N-F: What’s the jazz scene like in LA?

Kiefer: It embodies a lot of what makes a great jazz scene. Throughout the history, jazz has always been about mixing multiple styles of music and LA has that.

N-F: What would be your top three albums of all time?

Kiefer : 1- Gene Harris trio +1 . This album shows me what zero emotional hindrances is when playing. Gene’s emotional conviction is completely unencumbered.

2- Mulgrew Miller’s Live at the Kennedy Centre. There was a track called ‘When I Get there’ and I heard it when I was 16, driving to my piano class. His harmony is so intense with a much modern approach. I can sing every not from this album.

3- Miles Davis Kinda of Blue. By the time I was 12 or 13 I can sing every note from this album. My dad made me recite the names of all the soloist in the album since I was like 4 or 5.

You may find Kiefer's music here : Soundcloud - https://soundcloud.com/kiefdaddy

Bandcamp - https://kiefer.bandcamp.com/