The Mix 051: Kassian

Forged from a joint taste in dance music, London-hailing outfit Kassian have proven to be a winning combination since their 2018 inception. From releases on Phonica Records and !K7 to tours across the world, Kassian are hitting successful heights just a handful of years in, and with a healthy string of releases under their belts, they’re ready to step into a new chapter that takes their sound back to familiar beginnings.

After a chance meeting at a club night in Peckham, Warren Cummings and Joe Danvers bonded over “old, dusty funk, jazz and disco”, and a shared interest in “heavily-textured electronic music”. Since their early releases toying with those warm, groove-focused sounds, Kassian made a gradual but assured shift into UK bass and techno territory, a sound that quickly became synonymous with their beloved record label, Faux Poly, launched in 2022. As a tastemaking imprint that catches talent at the fledgling stages of their music careers, including the likes of Jay Carder, No Sir, and Joe Milli, Faux Poly has gained a reputation as a pacesetting imprint with a distinct, UK-focused sound.

On their debut album ‘Channels’, due to be released this month, Kassian are returning to their original sound, one imbued with the hazy glow of house and groove, an 11-track warm-up to the summer months. “We knew we wanted it to be more of a home listening vibe rather than something made for the club,” the pair explain. “It’s been a great and challenging experience to make something outside of our comfort zone.”

Alongside a “curveball” mix made for a relaxed, at-home listening experience, Kassian talk us through their shifting sound, the evolution of Faux Poly, and some unexpected collaborations on their debut album, ‘Channels’. Check it out below.

You two met at a party in Peckham – quite a fitting start to your story! Can you tell us how you formed as a duo, and what your shared vision was at the beginning?

Joe: We were on the same line-up at Rye Wax (RIP), and Warren approached me saying he was into my solo releases on WotNot and CoOp Presents. We met outside my studio soon after for a beer and to chat about our influences, and realised that there was a lot of crossover – old dusty funk and jazz and disco, and on the contemporary side, heavily-textured electronic music from artists like Leon Vynehall and Djrum, and labels like Money $ex and Tartelet Records. We realised that we shared an interest in texture and a specific forward-leaning sensibility to the groove that’s prevalent in all of the above. Neither of us were putting out straight 4x4 tracks at the time, so we agreed to give it a go together. Over the years, we’ve evolved our sound and moved steadily towards UK bass, techno and electro, but the ethos still remains the same.

Were you both working and dealing in music before you joined forces as Kassian?

Joe: Yeah, I’ve been DJing for a long time but when I moved to London in 2014, I started getting a lot more involved in production. I was picked up by a great boutique label called WotNot Music, and the crew mentored me and helped me get my first releases out into the world. Through them, I was introduced to the CoOp collective (IG Culture, Alex Phountzi, EVM128, etc.), and for a while I was releasing and playing with them. I didn’t quite realise at the time how much weight CoOp carried in the scene, so I’m very grateful that they took me in.

Warren: I’ve been involved in music for as long as I can remember, starting out DJing and producing while still in school. That led me to working across different areas of the industry, including radio, where I spent time on various shows and worked as a producer for Gilles Peterson for a while – that experience really deepened my appreciation for curation and broadcasting. On the production side, I’ve released solo tracks alongside my work with Kassian, and funnily enough, WotNot were one of the first labels to approach me about signing my music, so there’s a nice full-circle moment there.

Since putting out your early releases in 2018-2019, you’ve shifted from a warm, house and groove-focused sound to one that deals more in UK techno and bass stylings. You’re heading back in that original direction on your debut album, ‘Channels’. Can you tell us about this change?

Our sound has steadily evolved over the years that we’ve been working together, and we try not to think about it or worry about how it’ll be perceived. We started making these sketches at home during lockdown in 2020, and we knew we wanted it to be more of a home listening vibe rather than something made for the club. It’s been a great and challenging experience to make something outside of our comfort zone, perhaps not something we’d repeat for our next album, but it was a valuable experience either way.

'Channels' was a few years in the making, what was the production process like?

We actually left the sketches for about two years untouched before we worked on them again in 2022. In that time, our process had changed quite a lot as we’d acquired more hardware, and naturally our tastes had changed a little too. We followed our usual process of picking up the sketches we liked and going again on them, where we basically removed any elements we didn’t think were good enough, and then filled the track up again in the space we’d created. We do this a lot with our club music, too, and it’s how we give our music depth. The final push took maybe four to five months, and became our sole focus.

How did you come to work with collaborators like Joe Armon-Jones? You also worked with Joe’s neighbour and cellist, Timothy Kraemer, right?

We’ve been friends with Joe Armon-Jones for a long time now, since before we even started the Kassian project. Danvers (Joe's solo project) had an EP out on WotNot in 2018 called 'Interludes', and Warren remixed a track on there called ‘1997’, which included Joe’s keys. We always had Joe in the back of our minds to work on the album and thankfully, we got him on board.

Timothy Kraemer is actually Joe’s next door neighbour. He used to be a professional cello player, but now he’s retired and teaches in the local schools. He agreed to come over to play over some of the tracks, most of the recordings on the album are his first takes and his first time even hearing the track. There’s a great improvisational feel to it, particularly in 'Channels' and 'Mockingbirds', where you can hear him find his footing and get more confident as the track goes on.

The tracks on this record are all named after places, animals, seasons, etc. You’ve said that they each “tell a story” – can you tell us more about that?

Joe: We often talk about our tracks as if they’re physical objects or locations, because it helps us work out the creative direction that we want to take. It could be made out of wood or metal, or maybe it needs to be left out in the sun or dunked underwater. A lot of the tracks on the album are pretty watery. The album cover has actually been around longer than Kassian has – my good friend and housemate at the time, Lee Burnett, showed me the photo in around 2016, and I showed it to Warren, and we instantly agreed it had to be the cover of our first album, whenever we might get around to making it. The photo has served as a great reference for the mood of the whole project, almost like we’re building a soundtrack for it.

You run a music studio in Tottenham, 38East, which you rent out to other artists. Why did you decide to start that project?

Joe: I’ve had a studio for as long as I’ve been in London. When Warren and I met, I was working at Boiler Room, and I had a tiny spot nearby in Hoxton. The renting part is simply down to the rental costs being so high in London – a half decent studio space costs a lot of money, and since we’re not in there full time, we’d rather our friends use it so that we can make it cheap for everyone. Our Tottenham location is actually the third iteration of 38 East, before that we were in Hackney Wick until we got fed up with our awful landlord. The best part about it all – other than affordability – is that it’s a great way to foster a community of producers and build a friendly network around ourselves and the label.

Your label, Faux Poly, has become a real tastemaker hub and an outlet for producers cutting their teeth. What do you look for when signing artists and releases?

There are no specific rules for the label when it comes to genre or mood, as long as we both get excited when we hear it, we’re good. In terms of what we look for, usually it’s music that sits comfortably between sub-genres. We get pretty tired when we start hearing tropes in a specific genre, and we’ll actively avoid playing those tracks in our DJ sets. The label is no different, we want artists who are pushing themselves to take a risk and try something new, it doesn’t really matter if they’re established or not.

Where do you see Faux Poly going in the future?

We’ve only done label parties in London so far and we’d love to start putting them on around the world when we’re touring. Also, a London residency would be a great way to bring the whole roster together.

You’ve put out over 50 mixes and counting on your long-running Rinse FM residency. How do you curate your shows?

We never plan our sets on radio or in the club. We’ve both been resident DJs for years, and we much prefer improvising and reading the room. We treat the radio like a test drive for the new music we’ve found in the previous weeks. We’ll pretty much only play tracks in the club that we’ve tested out mixing on radio together, so we’re confident it’ll work.

What have you got coming up next?

We just got back from two shows in Vancouver and LA which were both quality. In May, we have a handful of shows that we’re looking forward to – our agency is running a stage at Queens Yard Summer Party in Hackney Wick, and we’re also playing all night long at Paloma in Berlin on May 10. Straight after that, we’re heading to Coalesce Festival in Wales. No doubt we’ll be back in the US later on in the year, too.

Can you tell us about your mix?

This has actually been a real curveball mix for us. We wanted to focus it around the album and curate a much more relaxed, home listening experience. Other than our own tracks, it’s mostly music from artists who have directly inspired the album like Leon Vynhall and Djrum, plus some more downtempo tracks from artists that we’d usually play in our club sets, like Klon Dump and K-Lone.

'Channels' is out via !K7 on March 21. Buy it here.

Gemma Ross is Mixmag's Assistant Editor, follow her on Twitter

Tracklist:

Kassian - Mockingbirds
Klon Dump - Room One
K-Lone - Clouds
Kassian - Limoncello
Carl Craig - As Time Goes By Sitting Under A Tree
Phil France - Joy Of Brass
Cody Currie - Vignettes From New York
Kassian - Aeolian Harp
Joe Armon Jones & Maxwell Owin - SE Discoteque
Kassian - Sun
Djrum - Creature, Pt. 1
Leon Vynehall - Inside The Deku Tree
Kassian - Channels
DJ Counselling - Kite Day
Kassian - Invision
VKira, Sanio & Zarth - Zizi
Ted Jasper - Get It Together
Kassian - Joss Bay
Ludwig A.F. - Ginko
Barker - Gradients Of Bliss