British musician Jon Kennedy comes across as a confident man. He begins by telling me that he's currently working on "one of [his] best tracks," and later jokes that one of the most successful names in the genre in which he plies his trade (who shall remain unnamed) is just "yoga bells and tantric wanking sounds."
But it is perhaps this very confidence that helped make Jon Kennedy one of the most important names in downtempo electronic music. After all, this is a man who got his big break in 2000 by walking up to UK music legend Mr. Scruff and putting a demo CD in his hand. The result – getting signed to the hugely respected Tru Thoughts label – came as little surprise.
"I knew that they – and labels in general – were releasing similar and much shitter music," he explains. "[Getting signed] was of course great, but I knew someone would sign it if they just heard it."
A well-received 2001 debut, We're Just Waiting For You Now, vindicated the self-belief. While the record sat firmly in the realm of downtempo, it displayed a refreshing eclecticism, encompassing influences from across soul, hip-hop and rock. Over the course of a further two albums, numerous EPs and remixes (he estimates that he's produced over 150 tracks), Kennedy has proven himself to be a talented multi-instrumentalist.
Having started life as a drummer, he now plays guitar, bass and vocals on his own records. When we speak, he's in the process of learning an "Arabian bamboo flute thingy." Oh, and he's a writer, currently contributing to Vice in the Czech Republic, where he now resides.
"I can just do things," he explains, with an apparent sense of self-awareness. "I'm one of those super-annoying dudes that is good at stuff. My old bass player used to get pissed off at me all the time for it. [He'd say:] 'You just fucking pick something up and turn it into a cool sculpture.'"
He's right: humble non-polymaths do find it annoying. But although Jon Kennedy comes across as a confident man, he also comes across as a genuinely likable one. Before our interview he sends me links to his new album and seems to value the feedback. He communicates in endearing emojis (a favorite appears to be d-_-b – a guy with headphones, presumably), and offers all readers of That's a free download that you can find below this article.
Kennedy's attitude to making music is also wonderfully positive; something best summed up by his views on the release of two remixed versions of his latest album, Corporeal. Featuring reworkings of his songs by over 30 artists, the records traverse a dizzying array of genres and tempos.
"It was a risk [but] I wanted it to span everything and I think it does. Psych to house to live funk to poppy drum and bass," he explains, before addressing the concern that its variation might alienate some listeners. "I think it's great that you can pick and choose which track you want, unlike the old days when you had to buy the whole LP and skip the lesser tracks to get to your favorite. It is wholly reliant on the listener and that is the beauty of music."
> Shanghai: Jan 8, 10pm-late, free entry. DADA.
> Beijing: Jan 9, 10pm-late, RMB50. DADA.
FREE DOWNLOAD: Jon Kennedy is offering readers a free track ahead of his Dada shows, just go to https://jonkennedy.bandcamp.com/track/sik and enter $0 to download.
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