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Here at Impact 89FM, our staff has the opportunity to interview a lot of bands, artists and other musicians. We're excited to be highlighting those conversations and exclusive live performances.
Hi, everyone. Thanks for tuning in today. My name is Thash. I'm the assistant editor here at Impact eighty nine FM. And today, I'm joined by one of the hottest new artists coming out of the relatively relatively new and by area of alternative Afrotronic.
Speaker 1:He's an icon, a legend, and nothing much else that I can really say. It's Cabo Shai. Dude, I
Speaker 2:don't know about icon. I don't know about. No, not yet. Give me ten more years. Ten more years.
Speaker 1:We could at least say we were here before that.
Speaker 2:Can say
Speaker 1:it's something to manifest.
Speaker 2:Ten years.
Speaker 1:Mhmm. Yeah. Alright. So for our listeners who may not necessarily know much about you, do you wanna give, like, a brief introduction of yourself and your music?
Speaker 2:Yeah, sure. My name is Kaboshie. The alter ego is Kaboshie or how we play on stage is Kaboshie. That's the artist name. And I'm a musician, I make music, I enjoy making music.
Speaker 2:I make other things as well. And yeah, man, just excited to be here, excited to have this conversation.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and we're excited to have you on. It's a true honor to have someone of your caliber here. So your big introduction to the world was your debut album, The Coming of Gaze. And one of the first music videos that we were treated to see was Caracas where you shot that I don't know if it was in a mansion or a castle, but, like, what a way to make that statement. And just that was that, like, grandiose, like, opening statement intentional or was it, like, a happy accident that everything just worked out the way it did?
Speaker 2:I think it was both. I think it was both. It it's it's it was a castle. Yes. And it was in Belgium.
Speaker 2:We played our very first show in Europe in 2021. And when we played the show, we met this lady called Sharon. And Sharon is a director and she's also this incredible person who just took interest in the music and took interest in the character and was like, Yo, I want to make this video for you. Don't have She instantly loved Caracas when we played it. And she was like, want to shoot the video for this thing.
Speaker 2:So it was that was all her. It was all her. She put the whole team together. She did the whole script. She like she did the whole thing.
Speaker 2:It was that entire video that you see. That was all her. I had nothing to do with it aside from just appearing and being cute. That's all, you know. And I'm happy it worked out that way.
Speaker 2:I'm happy that, you know, it came out the way it did, you know. It's a really cool video. It's a really, really cool video. And also, the other thing is that, yeah, coming of gaze is in some sense, like to anyone who doesn't know, you would call it like my first album. However, I don't consider it my first album just because it was already music that was there before.
Speaker 2:So, and it was sort of recompiled again. That's why even in my description, it was it's 2019, I made these songs, and then the label came and then sort of compiled them together into an album because it's when you when you listen to that versus like with the new stuff, it's there's much more cohesive thread. So coming of gaze is more a compilation for me than it is like a like an album, but it did do what it was supposed to do.
Speaker 1:For sure. Was kind of like an appetizer bar of like, here's a sampler of what you can smell from Comic Exactly.
Speaker 2:Exactly. Exactly.
Speaker 1:And, like like I mentioned, like, you've got such incredible stuff. And since it is a sampler, it does cover, like, a wide variety of different styles. I mean, you've got, like, the dance anthems in Caracas. You've got some more ethereal sounding stuff with potassium. It's just a really great way to showcase, here's some of the things that I can do, and then go down a more focused path to having showcased, here's all the stuff I can do, but this is what I want to do.
Speaker 2:Yeah. And that's exactly what that was. That's why album that's why coming with Gaze sounds the way it does, because it was made over a period of six months, I want to say six months a year, six months to a year because it was every single week. I was just basically following Ross and just releasing a single every single week. And I was just trying to get a fan base one, but also just acquiring skills and trying to get good at producing.
Speaker 2:So it was everything I was listening to, and then everything and trying to see like what I can spit out and that's basically what came out. So that's why you have potassium but then at the same time you have Caracas and then on the other hand you have Arithmetical and it's so it's it was just me just it was playing. I was just playing. I was just playing. For just playing, mean,
Speaker 1:hit gold on every single thing. At least for me personally, when I'm listening to stuff, I go into, like, the nitty gritty of, like, there's some things that, like, may not necessarily click, but, like, even with an album as with as such variety of sounds, like, everything just hits so well. And, like, if that was you just playing around, like, we are not prepared for what's coming
Speaker 2:up soon. It's I also credit is also because they sort of did the compilation. Like, it was it it was, like, how the album sort of flows was compiled by Arlen from Niege. He was the one that was like, oh, this flows into this better and flows into this into this into this into this. But yeah, that's that's pretty much where everything began.
Speaker 2:Coming of gaze is where pretty much everything began. That's when I was, you know, that's, that's what birthed everything.
Speaker 1:For sure. And it's like,
Speaker 2:yeah,
Speaker 1:and you didn't, you mentioned negative, like that was, that's like a if my memory serves me correctly, it's like a it's more more or less like a label slash collective based off Kampala. And at the time when you first got, like, notice from Yegenigae, if I'm remembering things correctly, you had just a job in radio because you're not someone that really works with a structured nine to five schedule. With that happening in Nairobi and then going to Kampala to work with this collective, sort of international aesthetic and influence into that, did that play any part of Becoming of Gaze or have any potential influence on further works such as Hold On for Dear Life, There's a Black Boy Behind You or anything of that
Speaker 2:sort? Yeah, I made Coming of Gaze. So Coming of Gaze was all made in my in my bedroom, in my in my folks' house. That was all every listening to Pharrell and listening to like all the cool things that I was listening to. That's like all the influences, you can feel them in that album.
Speaker 2:And then when I went to Kampala, because I went to Kampala in 2020, just before COVID hit. Then I started listening to Then my ears were introduced to more the left field stuff, because lots of the stuff from the label is very out there. They're really reaching. And then you, there's a different style of production. Everything is so like, it's like that.
Speaker 2:They just churn, like they have a producer there, an in house producer called Chrisman, and he just churns out beats like it's nothing like, just boom, boom, boom, boom, raise a pianz. Every single day that man makes, don't even know how many songs they just like boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. And you and it's, you know, it's like a villa. And then in this villa, it's like every single room, there's something happening. There's someone making some dark, I don't even know what to describe it, like gom in one room.
Speaker 2:And on the other side, there's someone else making bailiff funk. There's some producers from Brazil who've come, they're making bailiff funk. And on the other room is a DJ playing, don't even know, like drum and bass. And then in the night, everyone's going to this party that they're playing like deep house with, it's like deep house with trap. So all that information for me was like, Oh, okay.
Speaker 2:Okay. Okay. So then that and then, like taking all that information in and I was like, Oh, okay, cool. I like I understand. I understand how okay, now I'm getting the I'm getting both sides.
Speaker 2:I'm understanding okay, this like, put this stuff from coming off gaze is cute. But then there's this other stuff here that when you play in the clubs, it goes off like that. It's raw, it's heavy. I need some of that, you know. So that kind of influence holds on to dear life.
Speaker 2:There's a blackboard behind you.
Speaker 1:Yeah. Like you mentioned, sort of influences there, coming against with Sampler, Hold On to Dear Life, There's Black Boy Behind You is more of the super focused, here's all the stuff that happens when you just let me cook on one item. Yeah, no. And then you mentioned in each different room there's a different artist doing a different thing and all those influences. You learned more about the broader musical landscape in a sense from that.
Speaker 1:Then since it is a label and collective, there's a bunch of really awesome artists under there that all are doing completely different things. And I was just wondering if you had the ability to forego any label requirements, you got to have all of these specific things. Pick a couple of artists from Nygenige, throw them into a song. Are there any artists that you are picking immediately? Is that something that you would have to mull over for a little bit?
Speaker 2:Yeah, definitely. You're trying to make me make enemies. No. All of them are cool, man. Everyone over there is cool.
Speaker 2:And that's the thing, the cool thing about that place was that, again, every single room something was happening. And the guys like Arlen and Derek, it's always like they always found a way of introducing something interesting. They always found a way. I remember one time, just after I had gotten there, Derek came in, I I think it was actually the first time that I was meeting him. He came in and he came with like this yodeler from Switzerland.
Speaker 2:He came with a yodeler like this woman, she was a woman. Because I think she was probably in her 40s. But she's a yodeler from like the deepest part of like Switzerland, and then came with two Brazilian produce, like three, Brazilian producers, Bad Sister being one of them, and then someone else, it was someone else. So how do you do you like, do you want like it's a villa and then it's a Congolese producer in one room, the other room is me in one corner, know? And then do you know what I mean?
Speaker 2:It's like how do you and it's like a bunch of concoction is happening.
Speaker 1:Yeah. Like a bunch of ideas that in like when you say them out loud, they don't fit together, but then you start to think about them, then you actually decide to put everything together. It just clicks. Exactly.
Speaker 2:And then you you you're like, all these ideas, you sort of just end up taking them in, because that's not the only thing that's happening is other people who just come into the villa because someone is trying to record or someone is trying to, someone is trying to shoot a video because on the weekend, someone's video is getting shot. So it's like lots of just lots of things are happening. Someone else is someone else who makes costumes, someone else who has ideas about that. So every sort of thing is happening. And so you just, the only thing you can do is just soak everything up.
Speaker 2:For me it was just like soaking up as much information as I possibly could.
Speaker 1:Yeah, like what better way to learn about the vast differences of music from across the world than by just straight experience? From a personal standpoint, that's how I've learned a lot of things best, by being thrown into the fire and having to figure things out. So how awesome of a place is that to just have all of these incredible influences just basically at your fingertips whenever you want them.
Speaker 2:Yeah, there was I mean during the festival there was also another residency going on. And I think they also I'm not sure if they released Nahumatl. Had there was so many people at the villa. It was so many people and like someone's producing this. So this other person, there's a DJ there.
Speaker 2:There's this, there's this, there's this, there's this. It's just a beehive of like activities. It's, know, but the thing that stood out for me, the thing that was always standing out to me is how big and brave and bold the sounds were. That for me was the takeaway. That's what I because, yeah, like, I'm from Kenya, right?
Speaker 2:I'm from Kenya. We grew up listening to Kiss FM and classic, like, part 96 and classic like, the Kenyan version. Right? And they were playing the Pharrells, the Jay Zs, the Kanye's, the the Khalees's, the Beyonce's, Kesha's, like all the radio stuff, like all of it. Like all there's no 2,000 song that you can mention to me that I probably don't know.
Speaker 2:That's what I've grown up on. And so when I was making music for me, when you listen to Coming of Gays, that was just, it was literally that it was just, oh, you know, but then when I went there, I was like, oh, oh, like, my stuff is not gonna like, Lift Your Spirit is not gonna knock in the club. It like, it's not as aggressive as when this dude is playing his, like, insane, like, eight zero eight driven. And I need that. I need that because I'm I need to get on a fucking I need to get on Coachella main stage.
Speaker 2:But for me to do that, I need this aggression.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:So that was the biggest thing for me.
Speaker 1:For sure. And, like, in main stage Patel, like, you've set a set a pretty lofty goal for yourself, but, like, if we're being honest, I can definitely see that happen in the near future. Like like, you've got you've got some stuff that absolutely would like, if you play it for a Coachella crowd, like, they're not gonna know what to expect, but it's going to be, like, the greatest party of all time.
Speaker 2:It's not open. It's open, you know? Because the other thing is for sure, it's just a good audience. If you have a good audience that's ready to go, man, you just have a good time and you don't even think too much. It's just rock and roll, let's go.
Speaker 2:For sure.
Speaker 1:And you did mention You mentioned in prior interviews that at your core, of course, you are someone who prefers the live shows. Exactly did you end up first getting that taste for being on the stage and being the center of attention, like, and just performing?
Speaker 2:When we played in Nairobi. When when we were playing in Nairobi because I've I played, I have a video that I'm gonna share when I I get my Grammy or when we when we get that Coachella stage, but it's I was playing in front of I played for like maybe eight maybe eight people, eight eight of my friends then. And it was in a it was in a venue and I was booked to play there. And I think eight people came. I think eight or even that maybe could be 10, maybe even less, maybe seven.
Speaker 2:But that was the first time when I sort of played for an audience that just came to see me. And then the other highlight that for me is always going to be a highlight of my career is when we did the very first show in Europe. This was
Speaker 1:in
Speaker 2:Brussels. It was at this festival that's called fifty Lab and we also played there and it was a nice room. There's about 200 people, I think, in the room or 300 people in the room. And that's when we really and I say we meaning me and my stage partner. His name is Victor and he plays the synths and keys and he's just amazing.
Speaker 2:But that's when we started to really figure out how to play shows live. That's when we really started to figure it out.
Speaker 1:For sure. And, like, I've seen some clips of your live shows, and it's it looks like being in that crowd's just a life changing experience. Unfortunately, they won't expense tickets for me to, you know, get up to Europe and see at, like, any of these venues, which is a bit of a shame, but, soon enough soon enough I'll I'll be
Speaker 2:in Don't Las worry, man. We're gonna get we're gonna get there. We're gonna get there soon. We gotta get there.
Speaker 1:Oh, for sure. And as soon as you announce, like, a show in The States, I don't care what it's gonna take. I'm gonna be there. Dude, I'm I'm we're gonna
Speaker 2:get there. We're gonna get there. We're gonna get there.
Speaker 1:And speaking of, like, getting getting, like, an audience in The States, one of the ways that I know a lot of people discovered new music was actually because these stations ain't gonna do themselves was featured on the EAFC, 24 soundtrack alongside some massive names like J. Cole, Run the Jewels, Lil Yachty, and so many other incredible artists. So, like, what was that experience of, like, seeing that email and just being a part of that experience like? It was cool, man.
Speaker 2:It was man, my best friend has been playing FIFA since, I don't even know, since we were so young because they always had the new PlayStation stuff. So it was so cool. Cool thing for me was actually for him to get excited because for me it's like, oh, wow, cool. We got a soundtrack on here. But this is something that I've seen.
Speaker 2:I've seen people take joy in this. Like, I'm not the I'm not the biggest video gamer, but it was cool to see, like, like to experience to it was cool to break it down to him like, dude, when you select your favorite team, my song might come on there. You record that because for it is forever embellished on the, you know, in the game in 2024 and 2023. It's, it's like my song is on there. So it was a cool, it was a cool, it was a cool, it was a very cool nod to know that you can make a song and and that could just end up doing wonders.
Speaker 2:Mean, for me, like, what made more what was even cooler was the fact that it got chosen as the official soundtrack for for the Hulu for the Hulu show Queenie. Just because I've always I've always wanted to do like film scoring and I'm sort of like, I've always wanted to like film scoring, you know, in my own way. So it was cool that this one song sort of has been doing these interesting things, you know, and, and people are seeing some of the potential of some of some of the music. So it was a it was a nice nod. It was a nice validating nod.
Speaker 1:Yeah. And ultimately, at the end of the day, like, that's like, for every single person that hears that song, that's just, like, one extra person that knows who you are, what you're capable of, and that's potential future listener in on some of your future projects, which you mentioned prior to this you got some new equipment in recently. You've been doing a lot of touring around Europe. Like, I know recently you had your first show over in The UK. And like, what is next for Cabochet?
Speaker 1:Like, what can we expect? Or is that stuff that's like a little too far too safe or certain?
Speaker 2:I think I'll always say there's just more. More stuff, more. Like we just dropped the album in November which is seven months away. That's seven months ago, that's crazy to me. We're touring.
Speaker 2:I've always wanted to do this all my life. I couldn't, we were in, like I swam in the Adriatic Sea. We were somewhere in Bari, Italy, and I would have never ever in my wildest dream, I couldn't tell you. I would have never ever thought that I would like on the map, like this place to where Kenya is, I would have never thought that music would ever take me there. Just taking all the information in and just enjoying, all the bad shows that we have, all the good shows and enjoying the album and enjoying the rollout for it because there still is a rollout.
Speaker 2:We're still playing, we're still promoting the album, we're still promoting Hold On To Dear Life. I'm still telling people the album is still out. And then from there, we'll see what happens.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean, know at least personally, I am so excited to see what's gonna happen next because you have not missed a single time yet and I don't think I don't think that's something
Speaker 2:you're doing. A good thing, dude. I don't know if that's a good thing, man. Don't jinx it.
Speaker 1:Well, fingers crossed that that I did just do. That's it. But, ultimately, at the end of the day, like, you're living out a childhood dream, like, touring the world, playing music for people and Yeah, man. Like, touching the hearts of of so many people. Like, the fact that we're doing this interview, like, I'm currently in Japan, like, on the other side of the planet from, like, where everyone else at the station is.
Speaker 1:Like, you're in Europe away from where you grew up as well. It's amazing what music can do just to bring people together.
Speaker 2:Right. It's insane. It's insane, man. It's insane. I would have never ever thought.
Speaker 2:Not in my wildest dreams, man. You just say that. You say that when you're younger. Like even now I just say it. I'm like, oh, I wanna I'm gonna get a Grammy.
Speaker 2:I'm gonna get to that Coachella stage. I don't know how it's gonna happen. I don't know. I don't know what album it is that's gonna get the Grammy. I don't know.
Speaker 2:I'm gonna get my Oscar. I'm gonna like, I don't know how it's gonna happen. You just say it and then you just leave that and then you keep working. Then before you know it, you're swimming in the Adriatic Sea. Like, that's crazy to me.
Speaker 1:Ultimately, the least you can do is just sort of dream out there and just keep striving forward. Everything you've been doing, it's really inspiring for me, especially because in the future, I want to publish a novel. There's a lot that goes into that, but seeing you just doing everything, it's like, you know? Why the hell not? Yeah.
Speaker 1:Exactly. Why not? The worst thing that you can say is just looking back and just being like, Damn, I wish I would have tried this out. Yeah. Like that's not something that you've been doing with your music.
Speaker 1:And I feel like if anything that can really be taken away from this, like, just go for it. Like, you have nothing to lose.
Speaker 2:Yeah, dude. It's oh, man. That's that's the I say it all the time. I say it all the time. I say it's spray it's it all over the music.
Speaker 2:It's literally just that. It's just, hey, man. I'm just, it's cool. It worked out for me and it's working out and I'm just gonna keep doing it. I'm just gonna keep playing.
Speaker 2:It's cool when things come, when there's stuff that's added on top, like getting a sync. Like for me it would have been enough to just release the album and for the vinyls to get sold and for the label to make its money back. But you get that and then you get a sync. And then we have thirty, forty shows and still more. That's for me it's like What?
Speaker 2:40 shows? More shows like this. Damn! Yeah, had a lot of shows. We had a lot of shows.
Speaker 2:Like now I'm on a three week break, which is nice to get to relax. But yeah, we still have shows going on. And next year we still want to do more. Life is awesome, man. That's all I can say.
Speaker 2:Life is awesome.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it really is. Like you said, you still have so much more in storage for Hold On to Dear Life, There's a Black Boy Behind You. You mentioned that the things that are coming up next afterwards, even you don't even know about that. So I cannot wait to see what's in store for for you next. Yeah.
Speaker 2:It's it's gonna be cool. That's all I'll say. It's gonna be cool.
Speaker 1:I I mean, I feel like that's a given just based on everything you've put out into universe so far. It's gonna
Speaker 2:be a
Speaker 1:fun time, I cannot wait to hear it.
Speaker 2:It's gonna be fun, man. It's gonna be fun. That's all I'm doing. I'm just trying to have fun. Just trying to have fun, you know?
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:And at the end of the day, if you're not having fun, are you even living? That's what it really Yeah,
Speaker 2:no need. I need when you you when you get to publish that book, can I get a signed copy?
Speaker 1:Course, you're saying that as if that's even a question, I
Speaker 2:need I need a I need the I need to be the first person that you know, that's my ego. Just I need a signed copy. Please send me a signed copy.
Speaker 1:Of course. Yeah. After this, put me straight up towards the top of that list.
Speaker 2:I'll send you my address, and then you can send me hopefully, won't, Hamu, but I'll send you my address. And when you publish that book, send me a copy. I would love to
Speaker 1:read it. Of man. And that's all that I've got planned for this interview. So once again, thank you so much for joining me today. It was a pleasure to have you on.
Speaker 1:And where can our listeners find you find you online?
Speaker 2:I have an Instagram. It's Kaboushe. Kaboushe is K A B E A U S H E. And I'm on Twitter as well. Kaboushe, K A B E A U S H E.
Speaker 2:And then I have a new album that's out, came out November. It's called Hold On to Dear Life, There's a Black Boy Behind You. It's quite a roller coaster. It runs you just as long as your favorite sitcom, twenty nine minutes, thirty minutes. Listen to it.
Speaker 1:Of course. And that's that's all we've got for this. Thanks. Thank you for joining us here at Impact89FM. And when the Shays in town, they do not come to play.
Speaker 1:That's for sure.
Speaker 2:All right. That's a good one. Thank
Speaker 1:you. No. Thank you.