NEW ARTIST FINDS: KAYEX

4/19/17

Kayex is an Australian electronic-dance duo featuring the talents of Tom Derickx and Palassi Kailis. Currently based in Sydney, not much is known about the Perth-natives outside of the “Land From Down Under” other than the fact they just started making music in 2016. Within his native country, Derickx is known for being a forward for the Sydney Swans of the Australian Football League and spends the rest of his time as a fashion model, while also taking photos with some of the most beautiful women on the planet. After his retirement from the sport, he got together with childhood friend Kailis and Kayex was born.

Just how new are they? There is a grand total of one track on their Soundcloud, their website is still under construction, and the only source of solid information exists on their newly-minted Facebook page. Luckily, Tom and Palassi took some time to talk to me a little bit about their very interesting new project. On behalf of We Are: The Guard, I will gladly introduce this fresh, new duo to the wonderful readers of our website.

 

KAYEX - MY FRIENDS

Starting as primary school friends to studio compatriots, there is much more to their vision than the typical pop fare. When asked about what made their music unique, Kayex responded, “[we] fundamentally truly embrace the epitome of art, fusing electronic music with the daily facets of humanity, while engaging a plethora of widely talented icons within the music industry”. The goal is to produce “fluid and thought provoking aura” and go across several different musical genres, from indie pop to electronica. Listening to their debut, the amalgamation of genres form the signature sound of the Aussie duo.

Their debut single, "My Friends," is a composition filled with promise, mixing heavy synthesized instrumentals with what can only be described as surreal-sounding vocals that borderline on hypnotic. It starts off so subtle only to change direction nearly a minute into the song. Seems like a tale of two different tracks, but the deviation back-and-forth somehow works in this case. "My Friends" is one part calm and one part progressive. Kayex explains the song is about “shaping the slice of life of an individual who has overcome adversity through family, friendship and union, leaving listeners with a funky, glowing record.” Dennis Dowlut (Deutsch Duke) and Lionel Towers (Gypsy & The Cat) provided the cowriting effortts, while Peter Mayes (Pnau) mixed and Mike Marsh (The Exchange) mastered the very complex and multilayered track. Bordering on the strange, it just has enough gusto to garner the attention from the discernable indie connoisseur. Don’t be surprised if it is in a lot of online indie playlists in the forthcoming months. It is really that damn interesting. I’m pretty sure Miranda Kerr likes it, too.

Only one song into their careers, there is much to speculate about this Aussie duo, as there is so much to wonder in terms of their future. But if their subsequent releases are as thought-provoking and daring as their debut, this will surely not be the last time we hear from them.

Thanks to Palassi and Tom for their time.

Official: http://www.kayexlife.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kayexlife/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/kayexlife