Denis Expert began the compositions in 2020, on a corner of his dining room table, with a mini master keyboard, which allowed him to record everything on his computer, also composing the melodies he hummed in "yoghurt"(french expression used for the action of singing in fake english). His friend Dan Burkhart, composer, arranger and sound engineer, came in to help. Thanks to him, the sound and harmonic production took on a strong meaning. The only thing left to do was to find a singer! As Denis is constantly searching on social networks, he solicits several singers, but his choice quickly goes towards a female voice to avoid a "male competition" with David Bowie's voice. This collective named DAMde8, born in 2019, based in Bordeaux (France), gathers about thirty people (artists and contributors from different countries). Fifteen of these people have put into practice their skills and the principles of collaboration instilled by DAMde8. Today they present the album MAJOR JONES, sung by Major Kami and their guest, Sarah Jay Hawley from Massive Attack. The challenge they set themselves for this electropop album, visited by the spirit of David Bowie, was to talk about his life without his name ever being mentioned in the lyrics.
By Kamil Bobin
Discovered via Musosoup
Interview conducted by Major Kami/SJ Hawley (singer, co-writers) and Denis Expert (independent producer of DAMde8, co-writer and co-composer)
Hello Major Kami. What strengths do you have that you believe make you a great musician?
MK: We are a collective of artists from all over the world.I believe this is what gives the project strength.Collectively we have a lot of experience and have worked hard at our individual crafts.
Who inspired you to make music?
Major Kami has been inspired by: David Bowie; M83 and Kae Tempest.
Your latest release is 'Wild Bo...'. Can you share with us the background of its creation and did any unusual things happen during its creation?
MK: The biggest unusual thing during the recording of this EP is still the fact that only Denis Expert and Dan Burkhart have met each other. All of the writing and recording was done online and this obviously has its challenges. Denis and Dan both speak French, and myself and SJH speak English,so all communication is through translation...On top of this, the time zones made the process even more of a challenge! haaahaa. We also have a DB cover on this Ep and getting final permission to release it had its challenges for sure. We are very happy with the outcome.
DE : I was inspired by William S. Burroughs' book "Wild Boy". There's also the fact that David Bowie and this novelist have done things together. So the "cut up" process allowed me to propose the theme to Major Kami (Camille Miller), to write Smuggle In The Strange herself.
Can you shortly describe each of the tracks that are on the EP?
Wild Bo: Created and recorded during the Covid 19, this track is a tribute to the mysterious David Bowie.
DE: How lucky we are to have SJ Hawley with us! (singer of 'Dissolved Girl' for Massive Attack in the album 'Mezzanine'). She acts here as a guest star for the song "Wild Bo..." (this title is written with the 3 small dots to leave room for the missing letters you can imagine!:).
Wild Bo... SJH: "We came together to create Wild Bo - Denis Expert of DAMde8 - a French artist collective - invited me to celebrate David Bowie... Dan Burkhart, a glorious producer, shaped the sound - Grace Griffin re-enacted the cosmos for the video - Laure Fescourt danced so beautifully - Phil Cheshire recorded my voice and masked my kitchen on a green background - ..... So, in the middle of Covid 2020, from a backyard in Reims for the dancer and a kitchen sink in Yorkshire for me, we made something beautiful, music, new friends, art, love, laughter... Video youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nX8AwRNVEQ&ab_channel=DAMde8
Smuggle In The Strange- A track written using William S Buroughs' method 'Cut Up', which also was a favourite go to for DB. MK: "I printed off Bowie's biography from his website along with many reviews from albums and singles and began reading, highlighting anything cool that popped up!After many edits, Smuggle in the Strange is the final result. The intro lines basically sum up how I was feeling about working on this project.."A story of a lifetime." It was fun creating a story that could be related to in many ways ».
Modern Love- David Bowie cover. DE: I suggested to Major Kami that she create a repetition in her words and at the same time take over David Bowie's vocal melody with the same intonations (which she did admirably), in order to combine the whole with this musical revised by Dan Burkhart, whom I applaud here for what he brought to the table in terms of his arrangements and his mixing.
How do you stay up-to-date with the latest musical trends?
MK: ALL of the social media platforms...Here we can see artists from all over the world and within all age groups...Live music is still my favourite classroom though.
DE: For me, my priority is intuition and then a choice on the musical genre to adopt. I don't dwell on fashion or on trends that are too "jaw-dropping" to compose. Afterwards, if one of our songs works and enters the hits/charts, then we will have been understood and the scenes will come. That's all we hope for!
What makes you different from others?
MK: The LARGE amount of artists involved is what makes us different! Possibly also, the fact we have never met...HaHa.
DE: Creating an alternative electro-pop album, 80's vibe dedicated to David Bowie also gives a difference to a "classic" concept. It's a bias.
What's an average day like for you?
DE: To create without doing it on purpose, because everything is a pretext to be inspired by what surrounds me. The day can be average if the clouds that cover my creative flights are too low to find the escape of my thoughts.
Please discuss how you interact with and respond to fans.
We are waiting for them on our social networks
https://www.instagram.com/major_kami/?hl=fr
https://www.facebook.com/majorkami.music2022/
https://www.tiktok.com/@major_kami
Come and talk to us, we will be delighted!
What advice would you have for someone wanting to follow in your footsteps?
DE: In the snow, it's much easier to follow our tracks ! Hahaha We don't have an example to give; imagine: Major Kami sings on this electro pop EP (an album is coming in May), while her vocal style is folk/rock (artist Camille Miller). Camille Miller has dared what others would think impossible. My only advice would be to leave your convictions aside and give free rein to any expression that excites you.
What are your plans for the future?
MK:We are in the very early stages of trying to plan a week of shows in France at the end of this year.It will take a lot of people to pull off this showcase as it's not ONLY about the music, but visually it's very detailed. HOPEFULLY, we will see you soon!