Name: Kancho Club
Members: Benjamin Fitzgerald (drums), Thomas Dixon (saxophone)
Nationality: British
Current release: Kancho Club's new single "Cobalt" is out via Mambo Divino.

If you enjoyed this interview with Kancho Club and would like to know more about the duo and their music, visit them on Instagram, Facebook, and Soundcloud.



What were some of your earliest collaborations? How do you look back on them with hindsight?

The first collaboration that springs to mind is a track we worked on with Neo-soul artist and composer Frankie Jobling called ‘Drown’.



This track was our first introduction to collaborating on a fully fledged dance track and we remember it as the moment we realised how special this project was. It was a big moment to hear all of our influences combined with Frankie’s vocals, and we saw the true beauty and potential of collaboration there and then.

There are many potential models for collaboration, from live performances and jamming/producing in the same room together up to file sharing. Which of these do you prefer – and why?
 
It’s very hard to compare the two and to prefer one over the other. We’re both extremely practical musicians and composers and there’s a certain quality to each strand.

However, nothing beats playing live together, especially with the addition of live instruments and feeling the reaction from the crowd, knowing you’re giving them something they’ve never seen before.

How did this particular collaboration come about?

We had been playing and creating music together for around five years at the point of creating Kancho Club.

Through our studies and practice, we have explored many different musical avenues from experimental Jazz, Afro-Cuban, Samba, Bachata, Merengue - you name it. But there was always the underlying love and obsession with House, Techno and the rave atmosphere that brought us together.

We had been working for around three years as session musicians, playing percussion and saxophone in nightclubs around Europe with DJs, and it was in this environment we thrived. It wasn’t until we started producing our own tunes that we realised we could do everything all at once and could create this outfit, and now - here we are.

What did you know about each other before working together? Describe your creative partner in a few words, please.

We actually met because of a creative project. We started playing as a jazz band called “Portraits” in Newcastle Upon Tyne, where we focused heavily on improvisation and organic composition.

It was this environment we realised we both obtained the one quality that was essential to us both moving forward and lead to finding the nucleus of our work ethic: the ability to tell the other what they had just created/suggested was absolutely terrible.

What do you generally look for in a collaborator in general and what made you want to collaborate with each other specifically?

We definitely lead with the idea that you have to understand the ethos of what we’re doing with the track and what we want our crowd to feel in live performances.

Having unique skills is obviously vital, but to truly empathise with what we’re trying to do and to collectively push towards that goal with us is invaluable, and super important in our eyes.

Before you started making music together, did you in any form exchange concrete ideas, goals, or strategies? Generally speaking, what are your preferences when it comes to planning vs spontaneity in a collaboration?

When we began, our creative method focused heavily around spontaneity. We wanted to find our sound and focus through trial and error and we did that by locking ourselves in the studio for a good while.

However, now we have an idea of what we want to do and the things we want to create, we plan what we want to do pretty meticulously. We’re a bit anal like that.

Describe the process of working together, please. What was different from your expectations and what did the other add to the music?

When we began working together, we were already at an advantage as we knew exactly what the other was bringing to the table. Over the years, we have learned each other's tastes, specialisations and talents, what we like, and what we don’t like. So when it came to creating this project, we knew the areas we both fitted in to.

Furthermore, what makes this project work so well is that every single area is covered by one or the other, and there’s never a moment when we’re at a loss or when the other can’t explain how to solve an issue.  

What tend to be the best collaborations in your opinion – those with artists you have a lot in common with or those where you have more differences? What happens when another musician take you outside of your comfort zone?

We always think the best collaborations are those that push you outside of your comfort zone. Working alongside someone that comes from a totally different practice of thinking and frame of mind can extend your boundaries and allows you to consider areas you wouldn’t have otherwise been able to.

As long as everyone is striving towards a common goal, a juxtaposed collaboration can be invaluable to your personal development.

What are your thoughts on the need for compromise vs standing by one's convictions? How did you resolve potential disagreements in this collaboration?

As we mentioned before, we work so well together because we have the ability to tell the other if we don't like something they've done. We know we both want to create work that is without a doubt "ourselves" so when we disagree about something, we don't compromise and agree to scrap the idea entirely.

This has actually been a super refreshing way to collaborate, because we have total trust in one another and know that when we're both happy, it's going to sound amazing.  

Was this collaboration fun – does it need to be?

This collaboration is/was extremely fun. There’s honestly no better moment of realising you’ve clocked a harmony or a bassline together, or troubleshooting something and eventually hearing it take the track to a place you’ve both been striving for. Turning to each other with a vicious stank face and playing that over and over again: It’s what it’s all about.

We wouldn’t say all collaborations need to be fun, but it certainly helps if they are.

Collaborating with one's heroes can be a thrill or a cause for panic. Do you have any practical experience with this and what was it like?

This was certainly the case with André Espeut for our new track “Cobalt”. We’ve been huge fans of his for a while, seeing him live a few times and eventually supporting his band Afriquoi last year in Newcastle Upon Tyne.

It’s always a daunting prospect working with artists you look up to, but interestingly, we only felt gratitude for the experience. He’s an incredible musician, and we feel extremely honoured to have made a track with him.