Breaking the down genre borders and kicking ass, K.Flay has been quickly rising on top of the music scene. Mixing some hip hop, electornic and indie, this Illinois native has been paving a way for herself in the music scene. After her most recent album release, Life as a Dog, she began touring and continues to draw crowd and create fans. This past weekend, at Pygmalion Festival in Champaign, IL, we got to sit down before her show and talk music, festivals and future plans.

Steph: Thank you for meeting with me and agreeing to this interview! First, tell me what life is like always on the road as an artist.

K.Flay: I think it varies pretty significantly depending on how you’re traveling. From flying versus a van, versus a bus, versus whatever the hell else. I think it sort of approximates a strange routine overtime, even though it’s very disorienting generally speaking. You sort of have a similar schedule each day, there’s a similar way of operating. Overall I think it’s a very interesting way to live. I don’t know if psychologically all that tenable. But I find it really interesting and really fun, but it can be hard sometimes. You know, just not having a traditional routine. I found myself, especially in a previous incarnation of my life finding a lot of solace in that. And now that its been removed, so has the solace.

Steph: So do you enjoy life on the road?

K.Flay: Totally. Obviously there’s the opportunity to travel and meet people and be immersed.. Cause I think to play a show, you’re not just visiting a city. You’re participating in that city. And that’s quite rare, often, when you travel for work. So, you get this unique glimpse into actual personality of all these different cities and all these different places, which I think, for me, is really interesting. I’m always very appreciative and very grateful for that. Even tonight, we get to really interact with people who live here and work here, and spend time here and understand what the culture is like. So, it’s really fun.

Steph: Where has been your favorite place to travel to thus far?

K.Flay: I am kind of obsessed with Berlin. I’m going back in a week. The record was re-released there, in Germany, this summer and we’re doing some more dates in Europe in October. But I’m going out a week early just to sort of hang in the city and spend time there. Its got good Energy and its still kind of cheap for artists, and I’m sure in two years it won’t be but right now I feel like it’s a good time for it.

Steph: How about festivals? Outside of Pygmalion, do you have any other festivals that are coming up?

K.Flay: We have done a bunch of festivals in the past and I’m sure we’ll continue to do them. They’re part of the music landscape at this point. And from a financial standpoint too, festivals can be a financial anchor to help fund the rest of what you’re doing…like playing club shows. So yes, I imagine that barring some strange eradication of festivals, we’ll keep doing them.

Steph: What festival has been your favorite up to this point?

K.Flay: I was actually just reminiscing with somebody that I ran into… I don’t know if this is my favorite of all time but it is definitely one of the favorites. It’s called Treasure Island Music Festival, its in the Bay Area in San Francisco. And that’s kind of where I started doing music and a bunch of my family is out there. We’ve played at festivals in the city as well, but its between Oakland and San Francisco so you have a view of the whole Bay. It’s really pretty.

Steph: What have been some of the biggest changes that you’ve seen so far in the music industry?

K.Flay: I think the biggest change over the past couple of years has been this insatiable demand for novelty. There’s kind of an unfair premium based on things that are new. I think particularly, lets say 20 years ago, being new was good in a sense but you also had to be tested. I think those things went hand in hand largely due to the technological limitations in that era. And now there’s sort of the blessing and the curse of being a new artist or band and being able to disseminate what you do really easily but not having experience on the road, or playing shows, or not understanding what your vision is. And for me especially I started putting out music and I didn’t really know what I wanted to do, or what I saw myself as. And you can get caught up in this maelstrom of activity without a clear direction internally. So I think.. its crazy because there’s this currency of new and I think sometimes it’s a disservice to artists that are still trying to figure out what they’re doing . So its interesting,. And for a lot of blogs, all they need is new, they’re always going to need new so it doesn’t really matter who it is or what it is to some extent. There’s a different sort of investment that happens. So I don’t know what it’s going to mean long term, hopefully nothing bad.

Steph: How do you think that social media has played into your music specifically? Do you think it’s helped you out, being able to share music through platforms like SoundCloud? How do you think its played into you becoming this up and coming artist?

K.Flay: I think its been a huge component of it. Its sort of eliminates that barrier of access between consumers and people who make things. So long as both parties are onboard for that interaction to happen and flourish then its great. And certainly in my case that’s true and what’s cool about it as well in between times of “official releases” it’s a way to interact and keep engaging people. Even when there’s not a new record. Especially for me too, a lot of the music is a little bit on the darker more introspective side, and a lot of my social media is lighthearted. Cause I’m not like, super bummed out all the time. Sometimes I’m bummed out. So it’s nice to have some sort of balance there to sort of counter what you’re conveying in your artistic life with the way that you operate in your day-to-day life.

Steph: What inspired you to get into music, to be an artist and put yourself out there? Where did that come from?

K.Flay: I don’t know. It was actually kind of unexpected in a way. I never did music growing up; I never was on stage or anything like that. But yea, it slowly sort of insinuated itself into my life as I began to perform and write music. There’s something really cathartic about it and it helped me to address certain things in my life that I feel like I couldn’t ordinarily. Not like it was therapy or therapeutic, but it did feel like a unique release, something I didn’t experience before, and there’s something alluring about that.

Steph: I know that you’ve also been collaborating with other artists, like Louis the Child, and I love that song by the way! I’m sure that collaborating adds to your music career, so what other artists do you hope to collaborate with in the future, and how do you think that affects you and your music?

K.Flay: I think the collaborating component is interesting, because to me at least up until this point. Anytime something isn’t totally just you, you feel very free. You’re like “Eh, ok, I’ll do that”. And in a great way. You’re more willing to not impose restrictions upon what you do, and whether or not that’s authentically you. So for me its been good in the sense that I focus a bit more on song writing and melody than I do sometimes with my own stuff. And also not caring if it’s a little cheesy. And not that the song with Louis the Child is cheesy, but it’s kind of like a sweet sentiment, a nice sentiment. And I feel like often, with my own stuff, I’m a little reluctant to convey that. So in terms of future things, I’ve been doing a lot of stuff in the electronic world recently but I don’t know. You know, I listen to a lot of different music and its been cool to do stuff outside of that realm as well.

Steph: Anyone specific you’d like to pair up with?

K.Flay: I don’t know, a lot of people. I think it’d be fun to do a Run the Jewels thing, we were just talking about that. Their second record was one of my favorites of last year. I’m a big Metric fan, I always talk about them. Its kind of beating a dead horse I think, but a good horse! A nice horse.

Steph: What’s next for you? What are some things you’d like to do as an artists?

K.Flay: Always uncertain, but partially certain. So the rest of this year, more touring in support of the record. But that’s kind of coming to an end a little bit. It came out last summer, so its kind of just finishing up with that. And I’m starting to write my next record. And hopefully have something new out the top of the year. So working hard to try and do that and figure out the sonic tenor of the next project. But God only knows! But it’ll be good. You never know, move to Berlin forever, get married much to the dismay of my family. [Laughs]

Steph: Thank you so much for you time and this interview today, I look forward to seeing you live this evening.

Connect with K.Flay’s here:

K.Flay’s SoundCloud (Click Here)

K.Flay’s Facebook Page (Click Here)

Thanks for reading! Check back later this week for another interview from Pygmalion Festival!

XO Steph

Like what you see here? Be sure to follow me on Instagram @SightsNSoundsWithSteph

[fts instagram instagram_id=23550403 super_gallery=yes image_size=250px icon_size=65px space_between_photos=1px hide_date_likes_comments=no center_container=no image_stack_animation=no type=user]