With over 200,000 monthly listeners on Spotify, Kamandi’s music is on the rise. Listeners describe the artist’s work as chill with a perfectly timed energetic pulse — it’s music that sounds right at home in an Adidas commercial to vibing perfectly at a yoga retreat type of atmosphere.
New listeners should start with “Icy Heartthrob” for a taste of Kamandi’s mastery in creating electronic soundscapes. The instrumental song showcases how electronic pop can be punch, edgy, and smooth simultaneously. For dance infused beats, turn to Kamandi’s “Clone Phone,” the song’s multiple ascending arcs and rhythmic synth are energetically charged and engaging.
Originally from New Zealand, Kamandi remembers music always being present in his childhood, recalling how the songs he’d hear naturally sticking with him in an emotional manner. Kamandi would carry this emotive influence over to his own music once he began performing in bands, then moving onto produce his own work.
“I really just wanted to make music that gave people a strong feeling,” Kamandi says. “It didn’t even really matter what that feeling was.”
As the beats artist became more comfortable making his music, Kamandi discovered how his work was an impactful channel for communicating with his listeners; it became a bridge for connecting with others while also being able to own a channel in outpouring his own thoughts and creative energy. The significance of his work heightened when the artist discovered his music began helping others through particularly difficult and monumentous life struggles.
“Hearing this showed me I have the potential to make a real impact,” says Kamandi. “And that helps me feel like my music has some worth.”
Despite hearing this type of feedback from his listeners, there’s still a difficulty in viewing one’s work from a disconnected standpoint. It’s something Kamandi notes as challenging, yet something he strives in applying within his musical endeavors — to place himself in his listeners’ shoes and hear his work outside the context he knows.
“It’s hard to step outside of myself after hearing a song on repeat, to hear the song from a different perspective — I wish I could do that,” says Kamandi. “But hopefully I’m feeding an appetite that people may not even realize they had. To fill a place in music that’s interesting and maybe hasn’t been filled yet.”
While operating as a solo artist and producer, Kamandi has invited collaboration from the likes of Polo, creating an original spin on electronic instrumental hip hop that was well received by his growing fan base. Later, Kamandi would join forces with a prominent and well-known MC Azizi Gibson — several hits including “Crown Violet” came out of the fruitful collaboration.
With “Red Bull Sound Select Presents: 30 Days in LA,” Kamandi was invited to perform in the United States for the first time; the concert’s bill included a high caliber of artists, including Azizi Gibson and Chance the Rapper.
Intermixing talent brought exciting evolutions to Kamandi’s work, remixes and new approaches being integrated into the artist’s upcoming music, all while retaining his signature style and sound. The collaborations proved that no matter the varying influences, Kamandi could enhance his music without sacrifice to his creative vision.
The beats instrumental artist is currently halfway through releasing his upcoming EP The Four Aves along with recently releasing two singles, “Moorhouse” and “Fitzgerald.” With The Four Aves, Kamandi sets out to paint an audio portrait of a city environment — although he describes the vibe as “cold” and moody, there’s an underlying pulse that propels each song forward. Stay tuned!
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