Today we’d like to introduce you to KTCHN.
Hi KTCHN, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
My first memories with music are in circles, around fires and in my grandma’s living room. A guitar always came out, a piano was always played and the same songs were always sung. I played a little guitar and trombone growing up but piano, singing and producing really stuck. As a teenager I would play before I left for the bus and I’d sneak into my school auditorium to play the piano at lunch almost every day. That was around the same time I started writing songs and teaching myself how to produce. I would make my own homemade music videos (which thankfully never saw much daylight). As I got older, I began playing my compositions live and arranging my music for a band. I started playing in other people’s bands, performing, band leading, and music directing. For so long I didn’t even know what I was capable of, and was living within that perceived limitation but the more I just started trusting myself a whole new world of possibilities began to emerge. Eventually, I began teaching piano, voice, composition and production, which has become an incredibly meaningful part of my life.
I think I’ve always come back to music because it’s always been a way of sense making. I really resonate with that quote from the great Geri Allen “music is a way of understanding the world and our place in it.” It’s also an art form that allows me to combine so many of my creative passions. My love for visual art is channeled into flyers and album covers, my love for acting and directing can be channeled into making music videos, my love for writing is channeled into lyricism, and so on. The nerd in me has also always loved music because it’s a place where creativity and math come together. My talented cellist friend, King Sophia and I always joke about our love for math when we start talking almost entirely in numbers. Today I am living, performing, and teaching in Detroit. Playing with my band KTCHN as well as on some other awesome local projects. I’d say I got to where I am with a lot of patience, love, and perseverance.The music I create has become more experimental and exploratory and that really excites me.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The road has been winding, with a lot of detours along the way. There were times I thought I knew exactly where I was going and there were times I didn’t even feel like I was the one driving. There have certainly been external challenges along the way, but if I’m being completely honest my biggest road block has often been internal. It’s taken time for me to sift through what is actually my voice and what is the voice of my inner critic or someone else’s voice entirely. It’s common for us to collect other people’s gunk starting from an early age as peoples standards, opinions and expectations are put onto us, but it’s important to be intentional about what actually matters in this life. For this reason, I’ve taken as much time to find myself as a human being as I have to find my sound as a musician. The two really work in tandem. The more I’ve developed as a person the more I have developed as an artist. One of the things I’ve found is how important fun and play are to creativity and learning. The audience or the listener can really feel when you’re enjoying the ride versus when you’re only focused on the destination. I have to remind myself of this when I start taking myself and life a bit too seriously.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
One of the things that I am really interested in is vocal harmony. I have written and arranged a lot of vocal harmonies over the years! I love when vocals can together become an instrument of their own. I grew up doing theater and choir in school and those experiences still have an influence on my sound. Being a keyboardist as well as a singer has also inspired me to play with vocoders during live performances. This allows me to create harmonies live using the notes I play on the keyboard and my voice.
I am proud to be a DIY artist. Though it can get exhausting to play so many roles, I’m grateful to be multidisciplinary. The majority of the time, when it comes to my work as KTCHN, I’m the one writing the music, producing it, making the cover art, and flyers, sometimes even putting on my own shows in my back yard through my event series “A Home Grown Series.” In a world of algorithms and AI, I choose to be even more raw, human, and creative. I am proud to be someone paving my own path, doing things on my time and on my terms.
My band recently made it into the top ten finalists for WDET’s Detroit Tiny Desk Showcase. The next time you can hear my original music live is at the Detroit Public Library on July 24th at 4pm. The next time you can see me play will be at the DIA on June 25th for a fabulous event called Danceability where we play live music for dancers of all abilities to come out and boogie. You can listen to Mundaze any time anywhere you listen to music. New music is coming out very soon so stay tuned via my website at KTCHNmusic.com or on all socials at KTCHNcooks. This is also where to reach me for producing, live sessions, to book performances and lessons.
We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
There are so many ways I could answer this question. The idea gets me very existential, so it’s a bit difficult to answer. Success is so relative. It’s like music: how a note feels is entirely dependent on its context. There is so much I would love to experience in this life, while there are also core values that feel the most important. I would love to travel and connect with musicians and music lovers around the world. I would love to spend my life being creative and be able to support myself doing so. I hope to make a unique contribution to music by being my authentic self, by creating from my soul. But if you asked me what really makes for a successful life while I was lying on my death bed (hopefully a very long time from now), I’d say there is nothing more important than having a positive impact on the world. Did I act with kindness, love and compassion? Have I pushed myself to be my best self? Have I been present? Have I lived fully, boldly and generously? Have I been a supportive neighbor, community member, friend, lover? Have I left the world a better place for the next generation? Have I honored those who have fought for a more loving and just world. That’s what really matters most. I’m realizing more and more that creativity is not antithetical to that, but essential.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://KTCHNmusic.com
- Instagram: KTCHNcooks
- Youtube: KTCHNcooks
- Soundcloud: KTCHN
