KAYBLE is the solo project of Ben Kay, former frontman of Kaleido Bay. Ben saw opportunity in a solo career to experiment and expand the true potential of his song writing whilst utilising previous experience of fronting a band that has played shows all-round the Southwest, amassing a total of 10,000 streams online. Self-recorded and produced with Industry professional Matt Bentley, “Thorns In A Glass House” is a deeply evocative journey that simultaneously explores themes of both unrequited love and dealing with addiction, from the non-addicted perspective. This unique take is nurtured through a balance of delicate and fierce instrumentation, with wistful intentions. “Thorns In A Glass House” is a continuation of KAYBLE’s alternative sound, a fusion of Art Rock and Hip Hop.
By Kamil Bobin
Discovered via Musosoup
What first got you into music?
It's quite funny really, I had very little interest in music growing up! All I knew was chart music and I distinctly remember trying to 'get a music taste' at the age of 14 to be like the other kids at school. This meant listening to the charts and seeing what I liked (hint: none of it). I couldn't get why people were so obsessed with this whole music thing...
Then one day one of my closest friends reccommended me some music - Oasis to be specific. This quite literally opened up a whole new world for me, I had no idea this sort of music existed and thus began my love for alternative stuff! I began exploring many new bands, mainly Britpop at first, but it was Muse who inspired me to become an actual performing musician - I have my friend to thank for all of that! (He later became my bandmate and we enjoyed 2 years of gigging together).
What do you think your role is in this world?
I believe my role in the world is to help people with my music, I have always turned to music in times of hardship and I want to provide that for other people too. I want the language of my songs to exceed the capabilities of our typical ways of communicating - essentially connecting on a deeper level.
Your latest track is 'Thorns In A Glass House'. Can you share with us the background of its creation and did any unusual things happen during its creation?
Thorns In A Glass House was first conceived around 2 years ago, just the verse chords on an acoustic guitar to which I converted into a piano pattern. The song was kinda shelved after that for a while but I knew it was going to be the successor to my debut single as it had some musical similarities and themes. The song went through many iterations, the bridge was the prechorus at one point, the intro was the outro and the chorus was going to be a breakdown. After much work though, I'm happy with its final form - and working with Matt Bentley for the final production elements was an amazing experience, I learnt so much!
What is one message you would give to your fans?
When you have something you want to do, do whatever It takes.
How do you spend your time?
I spend alot of time at my desk on my laptop managing admin, writing music and surprise surpise listening to music. Outside of that, I'm either at a uni lecture or a band rehearsal. I would like to rekindle my passion for fitness at some point, as well as finish The Walking Dead with my flatmates.
What are you most proud of?
'Thorns In A Glass House' has bought some proud moments this year - my first BBC Radio play and first American Radio play. I'm also proud of the sheer amount of effort, dedication and perseverance I've put in to not only making the track, but producing, marketing and directing of it too. It's a lot of work, and I'm proud of what I've done :)
If you could go open a show for any artist who would it be?
It would have to be Radiohead. But I'm worried my head wouldn't fit through the door after that, so maybe Quadeca instead
What are you doing to ensure you continue to grow and develop as an artist?
Right now I'm in the depths of learning about advertising analytics and marketing but I know after this promotional campaign I'll be straight onto the next single -- which is already half written. With the amount of effort i'm putting in, i'm manifesting that its only a matter of time before something breaks through.
Do you think that technology is improving lives?
To be honest, I feel like certain technologies are doing more harm than good, I definitely have a more negative view on it but we are all trapped in this world of mass consumerism/commodification/trends so if you don't play by its rules you are simply left behind. It's on my bucket list to retreat to a cabin in the woods for an extended period of time with just an acoustic guitar and see what happens - much inspired by Bon Iver..
What are your plans for the future?
My plans are to keep going with KAYBLE, and release singles more consistently and see where it takes me... hopefully you reading this now will join me in my journey and together we'll see just how far we can go...