Kaya

What's the meaning behind the band's name?

“The name ‘Kaya’ actually came initially from Matt’s (the Guitarist) mate’s dog, which we recently found out means many things, including ‘enlightenment’ and ‘togetherness’. It is also the name of one of our favourite Bob Marley songs.”

How did the band come together?

“Well it was very organic; we all new each other well from previous music projects and bands, things were slow and we wanted to play and create some fresh music. We all got on well and respected each other as musicians and performers so we decided to set up this band, and the rest, as they say, is history...”

What's the message you transmit with your music?

“We put out a number of things with our vibe; Kaya can be about anything from Politics, Love, Hate, Current Affairs, but always Fun and Energetic! We have played to all kinds of people in many different places and we have always received an amazing response.”

What's your method when writing songs?

“Wow, that’s difficult to answer, we don’t really have any set way or formula to writing our songs. We really feel our way through the process. One of us may have a vocal or tempo idea then we’ll jam together and come up with riffs and hooks, or one of us may have a hook and we build around that idea. Its so varied, and in all honesty we like it that way, otherwise the process would be less creative and more constructed. We like to be free when creating music.”

What are your musical influences?

“This is very broad, from Hip Hop to Rock, Soul to Drum and Bass, Reggae to Pop. We have a respect for all genres and we like to think we take the best of all of them, add our twist, and present it in true Kaya fashion...”

What plans do you guys have for the future?

“To build a planet just next to Mars and have a state-of-the-art recording studio, then we plan to kidnap Richard Branson and travel to and from Planet Kaya on his Virgin Galactic rockets, free-of-charge of course!”

What has been the funniest prank you guys have been part of while on tour or after a show?

“Well we could totally lie and make up some brilliantly funny prank, but in all honesty, we haven’t played any pranks! Maybe we’re a bit boring in that way! But who knows, maybe one day we’ll do something really really funny.. We’ll let you know!”

If you guys were stranded in the middle of nowhere after a show or while on tour, and help is 65 miles away, then who would you guys send to look for help? And if, while the rest of you wait for help, there's no food and the only way to survive is by eating each other, who would you eat first?

(Rapper Natty says) “I would stand up and nominate myself to go for help! And if the only choice for the rest of the band is to eat each other whilst waiting for me to come back and save the day, then I think the rest of the band would agree that if they had to eat anyone, it would need to be Aina (Kaya singer), as she would taste nicer than all the others! hahaha. I've watched the film ‘Alive’ so if it really came to it, I guess I'd have to eat them all. But I'm vegetarian, so it would be a tough call for me!!! Hahaha”

Which country would you guys love to play?

“We would love to play Japan, we haven’t played there yet. But it would also be interesting to see how we would be received in a country like Iraq!”

With which other bands would you guys love to share the stage?

“To perform with ‘The Wailers’ or ‘The Clash’ (original line up) would be amazing, or for jokes, with ‘Westlife’, so we can mess around with their live auto-tuner and backing tracks. hahahaha....”

Are you guys OK with the direction of where the band is going?

“Like any band we have had our ups and downs, it can be a long long road for an independent band to achieve success, but right now we are fully-charged, focused, and ready for action! Our album ‘Look Ben

eath The Surface’ is coming in early 2011 and we are the most excited that we’ve ever been! Bring on the future!”

 

Check out more: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XknFz88cHI