Following the release of their recent single ‘Serotonin’ in September, Kiimi recently sold out Soho’s intimate blink-and-you’ll-miss-it hideaway The Social for their first ever live show.
The audience were agaze under the beaming lights as they swayed to a complimentary contrast of delicate twinkles and deep bass; products of Kiimi’s multifaceted musical talents in the form of sax, synths, keys and angelic vocals.
We caught up with Kiimi to discuss the events of the live show and hear more about the journey and inspirations that led to this career-defining moment:
Hey Kiimi, thanks for chatting to Broke Magazine – tell us a bit more about who Kiimi is and where they come from?
Hi! I’m Kiimi, I’m an electronic music producer living in South East London. I grew up in a small village in Somerset, but I’ve been in London 13 years now, so this feels the most like home to me.
We were mesmerised by your performance last Thursday! How did it feel to play your first live show?
Aw thank you! It felt amazing. I really feel like that’s the way my music was always meant to be communicated, and I’m so happy it connected like it did. It’s still so mad to me that we sold out the first show. It’s a moment I’ll never forget for sure.
How long have you been engaged in music? Was there a particular moment, artist or anything else that inspired this direction?
Music has been a big part of my life since childhood, but I’ve been releasing under the Kiimi project for just over 2 years. Like a lot of people, I went through a big transitional period during Covid in 2020. When the second big lockdown happened, I moved to Lanzarote for 2 months with a group of mates to escape London and completely stopped making music while I was there. When I came back, I felt like a new person. I sat down at my laptop and produced ‘Lanzarote Howl’ and ‘Trust’, and they would later go on to be some of my first tracks as Kiimi.
Watching you play (and making it look easy!) we couldn’t help but wonder how many instruments and forms of music equipment you’ve mastered in your lifetime……. And what’s your favourite to play?
My main instrument is saxophone but I’m also classically trained in piano, guitar and clarinet. On stage I had a couple of my own synths – the Korg Minilogue and the TD-3, but the other hardware was new to me as I was borrowing it from my MD, so I had to learn how to use it for the show. My favourite instrument is probably my laptop though!
Can you enlighten us on a specific highlight of your journey so far?
There have been so many moments! This year I loved playing my set at Lost Village festival – it felt like a really special one – and going to Ibiza for the first time with BBC Intro and Radio 1. Doing remixes for Depeche Mode and George Michael also felt pretty unreal!
You’ve been killing it in the electronic scene with your productions, radio presence and Hunni Sound network (highlighted in Broke Mag’s Get To Know Vol. 1). What’s next for Kiimi?
Aw thank you so much. What’s next for Kiimi.. you’ll have to wait and see. But I’m really looking forward to next year 🙂