What’s your stage name and where are you from?
Kai David Under an Assumed Name. I was raised in the largest city of one of the smallest states: Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
What’s the story behind your stage name?
Some of my favorite artists use band names as nom de plumes; I’m too pretentious to do that without calling attention to it.
Describe your musical journey in three sentences.
The first album I fell in love with was Stunt by Barenaked Ladies, which has producing that still holds up. I’ve continued to follow Steven Page even after he left the band and am also a huge fan of The Divine Comedy/Neil Hannon, Duke Special/Peter Wilson, Leonard Cohen, Phil Spector, The Mountain Goats, Chappell Roan, Kate Nash, and a few cliches like The Beach Boys, The Beatles, and, uh, ABBA. I’ve always been obsessed with playlist creation and curation, and in many ways my first album (coming out sometime in early 2036 based on how slow things seem to be going) is an attempt to create the feeling of a multi-genre playlist.
Share an interesting experience you had while creating your latest track.
I’m a fan of some works by The Avalanches (and the day I don’t remember the creepy kid from the Frankie Sinatra music video is the day I need to be put in a memory care unit) and had considered trying my hand at a “plunderphonics” track. It was simply a thought in the back of my mind until I happened across a vocal sample that gave me inspiration for the song (though the final result was much different than my idea based on that sample).
What message do you want to convey through your music?
Perhaps it should be plural—messages. On the album (which will have the understated title “A Little All Over the Place”), there will be songs advocating for victims of genocide, criticizing the absurdity of certain religious views, examining the aftermath of suicide, and looking at eco-terrorism as a reaction to climate change; yet there’s also a song about being young and horny, a song about being old and horny, and a song about surviving a zombie apocalypse.
Tell us about a challenge you faced during production and how you overcame it.
I made one rule for myself on the track “On the Origin of Dance”—I couldn’t create anything from scratch. Every single sound had to be a sample. Yet I struggled to find the right sample for one key moment. In the end, I broke the rule—but only once.
If you could collaborate with any artist, who would it be and why?
Leonard Cohen was always a masterful poet and lyricist, so if I could choose anyone dead or alive, I’d love to just create lyrics with him. Sticking to the living, Duke Special/Peter Wilson—he’s a much better piano player than I am, and I’d love to co-write a song or two in his vaudevillian style.
Where do you see your music taking you in the next year?
Although I half-joked earlier in this interview about the album being released decades from now, my main goal is to get the album completed and out into the world by year’s end. Hopefully not at the same time Taylor Swift is releasing something.
What’s the next big step for you as an artist?
The album. Most of the songs are mostly written; I’ll probably end up releasing many of them as singles prior to the album’s release.
Where can we hear/watch your most recent work?
The new single comes out February 7th; you can hear it on Spotify, Apple Music, and the like. I also have a single from last year mixed and mastered by OK GO’s Dan Konopka that’s out everywhere digitally; it’s an old folk song called “New York Girls”. You can also sign up for updates on my website kai-david.com (don’t forget the hyphen; I’m too cheap for the unhyphenated version).
