The first signing to Duke Dumont’s Blasé Boys Club imprint, Kiwi caught the UK dance scene’s attention after establishing his own Orlando Boom and Kate Boss club nights. “After working at Erol Alkan’s DURRR and a few other club nights in London, I saw a gap in the market for a rave nightspot, so I just went for it. The rest as they say is history, and we will be celebrating our 7th anniversary this year. Kate Boss is Orlando Boom’s sister night, spawned from a love of disco and not having enough opportunity to play it out. It’s a lot of fun, and were relaunching it next month with Tiger and Woods at the newly refurbished Hoxton Bar and Kitchen”
The success of these in turn led Dalston nightclub The Nest to take him on as booking and promotions manager. “Working at The Nest was a lot of fun, it’s a great club and I got to know a lot of great people who I still work with very closely, but ultimately I had to leave to pursue my own music. At some point, I do definitely see myself starting my own label and nightlife brand myself, though”
Taking to DJing and then production, Kiwi made 2014 his own with releases on Days of Being Wild, Sneaky and Defected, as well as remixes for Wankelmut, Duke Dumont and Bonar Bradberry. “I wouldn’t say I prefer remixing, if anything its more challenging in many ways, but its a challenge I really enjoy taking on. I usually start by taking out all the elements that I don’t like or don’t fit with my sound or direction and then go from there.”
Now signed to Blasé Boys Club, the interplay between Duke Dumont’s hits on the label and Kiwi’s more underground production is interesting. “I’m not completely sure that they do fit together, but I think we both quite like that. I don’t really see music like that, I see music as good, bad or boring, and I’m only interested in good.”
Having already earned support from Andrew Weatherall, DJ Harvey, Daniel Avery, Erol Alkan, Duke Dumont, Annie Mac, Skream and more, the future is bright for Kiwi. “I have a single out in a couple of weeks, which im really excited about, with two great remixes from Mark E and Horse Meat Disco. There are also going to be several other releases with Blasé Boys Club, and an EP with one of my favourite labels. I have Breakbot in my sights for a remix, amongst others.”
Listen to Kiwi’s Animals EP above.