Interview by Brooke Gibbs.

Blues-Americana electronic act/band, Kerala Dust, will be heading off to play their debut shows at Sydney’s Oxford Art Factory and Melbourne’s Corner Hotel.

Formed in London in 2016 and now based between Berlin and Zurich, Kerala Dust is a four piece band including Edmund Kenny on vocals and electronics, Tim Gardner on keys, Lawrence Howarth on guitar, and Pascal Karier on drums. Having grown up to the sounds of iconic indie acts such as CAN, The Velvet Underground and Tom Waits while spending blurry mornings in London nightclubs, Kerala Dust combine the disparate influences of psychedelic rock, blues and techno into one, resulting in the hypnotic sounds for which the band has become known.

Edmund Kenny (vocals and electronics) joined us from Berlin to chat about the Australian shows, the Violet Drive album and their signature improvised shows.

FMM: Thanks so much for joining me, especially all the way from Berlin. How are you?

Edmund: I'm very good. It's a little bit early here, but I had quite a late night out. Berlin really heats up in October, November, and there was some really good stuff on. So, yeah, I've just come back from hearing some great music.

FMM: Sounds amazing. We're here today because your band is doing your debut Australian shows next week. That sounds really exciting. How are you feeling leading up to that?

Edmund: We're really excited. Yeah, I just saw our guitarist last night and we were saying how much we're looking forward to coming out. It's been a couple weeks since we got back from the States, so we've all had a minute to kind of rest up and collect ourselves and we’re really looking forward to getting back out. It's the last shows of the year for us. We've had quite a long tour that started in February and has been carrying on all the way through the year with the new album. So, yeah, it's really exciting. First time in Australia.

FMM: Will you have much time to explore Australia while you're here or with the tour, will it be very on the go?

Edmund: Well, we're doing four dates in India on the way back, so we won't have too much time, unfortunately. I think we would have all preferred to have a bit more time. We were all also saying that if we could have done New Zealand at the same time, it would have been great, too. But, yeah, we're heading straight to India afterwards, but I think we've got a day off in Sydney and a day off in Melbourne. We've heard great things about both cities. I've got a bunch of food and bar recommendations from people, so I'm gonna go check those out.

FMM: Yes. They're both great areas for all the food or the beer.

Edmund: Yes.

FMM: I've seen some videos from your previous tours, and it looks like you guys always have such a high and positive audience interaction, so I feel like your Australian crowd has got a lot to live up to for your first Australian shows.

Edmund: Yeah, yeah, and I've heard things about certain traditions in Australia as well. My front-of-house was warning me about shoeys.

FMM: Yeah, you got to be familiar with that if you're coming to Australia.

Edmund: Yeah, I mean, I kind of imagine it a bit. People love going to Scotland as well, in Europe and Ireland as well, and I kind of imagine it a bit similar. I'm half Irish, but that kind of really positive, sort of upbeat interaction you have with people. And also the ability to just chitchat and small talk in shops and stuff kind of seems similar.

FMM: Of course. What I love most about your shows is the uniqueness of it. I know you guys are known for doing somewhat improvised live shows. Can you tell me more about that and why you decided to take that approach?

Edmund: Yeah, it's really about just like what you said with audience interaction. I think that's the main form of audience interaction, is really feeling where we're at on a night. It's very influenced as well by being in Berlin and being around the sort of the techno and house scene, which is, in a way, kind of always an improvised interaction. So we take the songs… I mean, we're always playing the songs, but then there's often sort of on the tail ends or leading into a song, there are these improvised stretches. That's really about interacting with the audience in some way and feeling where they're at, feeling where we're at, feeling the space and also keeping ourselves interested. We've played 90 gigs this year, so finding a way to make each show also feel a little bit more unsafe for us as well. So we're not just rattling off a set list. We're really there to kind of play that set in that particular space every night and give people a unique experience as well. Over so many gigs, what's been quite special is to have people turn up at different shows and see quite different shows as well, and feel like they were hearing a slightly different set every time, rather than just the same thing.

FMM: That's incredible for fans that go to multiple shows, because each time they go, it's a whole new experience for them as well.

Edmund: Exactly.

FMM: But in saying that, when you do your improvising, has there ever been a time where something's gone wrong or not so to plan if you don't have that structure?

Edmund: Yeah, for sure, and I don't know whether it used to be different, but I think that these days, a lot of bands and a lot of artists have a very, very safe sort of way of performing because they're so scared to fail. So, part of that improvisational approach is also to sort of remove our fear of failure and also make it okay for people to do something that's a bit dud and then you kind of save it. And, I mean, I would say that, like, 90% of the time, it's the band that knows that we've kind of gone in a strange direction, and you kind of have to veer it back a bit. I mean, we rehearse a ton as well to kind of get these things right. But, yeah, it's about not feeling too safe. I think so much of live music now is so kind of rehearsed and produced down to the T, that having a slight feeling of insecurity there creates a really interesting space.

FMM: I like that you say that, because I guess with the whole improvising, when things do go wrong, it's a lot easier to be flexible and kind of bounce back into the direction that you want to go in.

Edmund: Yeah, our drummer is usually the one who saves it. He's there at the back, sort of looking around, brings it back in.

FMM: This tour is to celebrate, the Violet Drive album, which has been out since February, so people have had a lot of time now to sink their teeth into it and get used to the sound. How's it reaction been like to it since releasing in February?

Edmund: It's been really good, and it was a really special one because I think it was quite a big departure for us in terms of sound. We really brought in the drums as a very new element on this album, but then also had slightly different sounds in terms of the guitars and the song structures. There are quite a few more, sort of classic songs on there than what we used to do. What's been really invigorating is to have people that came to see us a couple of years ago or last year, and then come back and see a very different show and to have this feeling that what we've got is an audience that is also willing to see us change and happy to come on that journey with us as we sort of change sounds and evolve. It's been really special to play it out and see people's reactions.

FMM: Yeah, it sounds like you guys have gone through a lot of growth and new directions, and it's all working out for you guys at the moment. Is there any particular songs from that album that you're most looking forward to performing live?

Edmund: I really like playing a song called Still There, and there's also a song called Future Visions that I really like playing.

FMM: And obviously, without giving too much away, what can people that haven't been to one of your shows before expect from the Sydney and Melbourne shows?

Edmund: What can people expect? Well, I guess that's the whole point is like, every night's quite different. Well, I think they can expect to hear us play our last record, Violet Drive, almost in full, and then played some of the old tunes along with it. But what we try and bring is almost like a timeless moment. I guess what we try and create is like Communion. A sense of togetherness with everyone and a feeling that for a minute there, everyone stops looking at their phones and forgets where they are and just becomes themselves for a quick second.

FMM: Yeah, it sounds like an incredible experience. I'm kind of bummed to be in Darwin at the moment and to not be able to see one of those shows, but hopefully one day I do get to see you guys live.

Edmund: Yeah.

FMM: I know you mentioned this is the last couple of shows with the tour. What do you guys have planned for the rest of the year? Or what's next for you guys?

Edmund: We're back in the studio at the moment as well, so we're working hard on what's next, really. We've got next festival season coming up as well next year, and we really want to change up the show again for that. Then, after that, we'll have a new album on the way. Yeah, that's what's on the horizon.

FMM: Really sounds exciting. We're definitely very excited to have you in Australia, and we hope you enjoy your time in Australia and come back and tour again.

Edmund: We're really looking forward to it.

PURCHASE TICKETS HERE FOR KERALA DUST’S DEBUT AUSTRALIAN TOUR

Thursday, 16 Nov - Oxford Art Factory, Sydney

Sunday, 19 Nov - Corner Hotel, Melbourne