We spoke to french artist Kuna Maze about his musical heritage, jazz, and his upcoming project Night Shift.
Based in Brussells, Parisian-born artist Kuna Maze has a unique approach to music production which has seen him release on labels such as Cascade and Gallant Records. As a traditionally trained multi-instrumentalist, he has played alongside some reputable names including Nosaj Thing, Lapalux, and Machinedrum.
His upcoming release on UK label Tru Thoughts is a jazz-inspired ode to the night in which he threads live and electronic instrumentation along with elements of Dub and UKG, to produce a vibrant tapestry of funky, spacey beats.
Tell us about your early beginnings. How was it that you became involved with music?
My parents sent me to a music school when I was about 7 years old. It was just kind of an initiation to music. One day a guy came and played trumpet for us, and I thought, ‘OK, I wanna play that’, and that’s how it all started, I think.
You have studied at various music schools in France. Can you share some details on your experiences there?
Yes I studied at Conservatoire de Lyon and the Conservatoire de Chambery. We had instrument, theory, and group lessons.
It was nice being around people your age and focusing on music, even if, at some point I thought it was a bit too narrow for me. I wanted something else. It was too academic for me, I think. I needed more freedom in the way that I experienced music. But I had some good times there.
“Jazz, in the past, was played in a night club (sweaty and full of smoke) same as electronic music today. I wanted to go back to that in a way”
Electronic musicians don’t make music in the same way as someone who has had a traditional musical education would. How did you find it when collaborating with other artists? Did you adjust quickly, or was there a learning curve?
I think that because I experienced both, I adjusted quickly. After music school I dived deep into producing, and I kind of put away what I had learned there because I wanted to do music in other ways, not thinking and focusing on the techniques or theory, but to just go with the flow and experiment with music production and electronic music. Later, I went back to what I had learned at music school and mixed both approaches.
In that way, I think it gave me both points of view, and made it easier to work with people with a classical or non-classical approach to music.
You are a multi-instrumentalist capable of playing bass, trumpet, and Djing. Do you have a favourite?
I think right now I’m more into playing bass, but it shifts regularly, haha!
Let’s talk about your new album that is releasing on UK label Tru Thoughts. What was your inspiration behind this project, and how is it different to some of your previous works?
Night Shift is a journey into the night.
I was kind of tired of the image of sunlight that is sometimes associated with Broken Beat, House, or Jazz. For me, this music, my music, is something for the nightlife. That’s what I had in mind while making this album. I wanted to make this album about the night and night life.
Jazz, in the past, was played in a night club (sweaty and full of smoke) same as electronic music today. I wanted to go back to that in a way, and it’s what I tried to combine with live elements and the live band, mixing the feeling of a jazz club back in the day and a club now. I wanted to make music on this album that could be played in a club or listened while wandering in town at night.
This album is a kind of ode to the night, the party, the wandering, the weird things that can happen at night, almost supernatural sometimes, the people (weird or not) you can cross, the night shops, the people working at night, etc.
There’s a lot of different influences on this album, from the broken beat scene to the UK jazz scene, but also from labels like Apron (Steven Julien, Zopelar…), the UKG/ Garage scene, there’s influence from Dub, and Sound System culture, from the retro sound of John Caroll Kirby, from 70’s jazz funk…
I really wanted to have a dub inspired approach of producing, re-recording a lot of Fx (delay, reverb, etc.) on different tracks, with everything going thru a mixing desk, muting certain elements, using dub sirens, that sort of stuff. I like this approach. Sound system culture is also a big influence for me and I wanted to use some other musical genres.
I don’t know how to explain it, but I was also really inspired by Donald Glover’s Tv show Atlanta, by how it is filmed, directed and constructed. It is a mix of weird and absurd things, supernatural sometimes, but really subtle, that tells the viewer a complex story. I think it really inspired me in how I constructed and imagined the album’s concept. One of the best TV shows for me!
It differs from my previous work in terms of sounds, production techniques and musical directions, even if it is in the continuity of what I did before, it goes further. I wanted to explore different genres that I like and thought fit well together. I tried various production techniques, and I wanted to have more guests and to record more real instruments.
I wanted this album to sit between a producers album, and an album recorded in a studio with only musicians. I tried to blur the line between what is recorded and what is programmed to be able to have, at the same time, this live and human feeling with the power of electronic music production, which can, in a way, also refer to me as the similarity between jazz clubs back then and electronic clubs nowadays.
I also wanted to introduce more vocal elements with Reinel Bake and Steve Spacek. I recorded myself speaking/singing on some of the productions too, as well as using vocal samples.
What have you got in store for people in 2023? Aside from the album?
I am planning a tour with my live band; I really want to play and represent this album live. It allows me to bring a different energy to the music, rework it for the live show and share it with the public. I can’t wait for that!
I’m also working on a side project at the moment. I might release some stuff with it later this year.
Do you have any personal goals for this year? Outside of music I mean.
Maybe stop smoking, haha! Otherwise, I don’t know. I would like to be able to find the time to travel a bit.
If you were stuck on a desert island with only one record. What would it be and why?
This is a hard one, haha!
Maybe Curtis Mayfield – Curtis, a timeless classic! I have so many others I would like to bring, but I know I would not get tired of this one, and it bring back a lot of memories.
You can see more from Kuna Maze here.
Purchase Broken Light/Late Night Tales EP here.