An Interview With Cash Money Records Producer, KYLE DENMEAD!

For every tortured artist, the deepest output can come from the darkest corners of the mind and soul. Orlando, FL singer, songwriter and producer Kyle Denmead knows that pouring heart and focus into his music serves as the ultimate method for getting through anything.

His latest project Therapy is the embodiment of this challenging process. The melodic, dark, larger-than-life soundscapes drive the genre-bending record on an emotional journey. It may be difficult to label Kyle’s unique brand of alt-pop r&b, but that’s beside the point: Label it therapeutic.

From opening track “Easy”, the flowing production and melody sets the mood for the entire project. As the first track written for the project, Kyle took notes from the grand feel and emotion of film scores while drawing from personal experiences:

As one half of The Avengerz Production Team and 212 Recording ownership, all writing, production and mixing duties were handled exclusively in-house creating complete cohesion from project start to finish. The result? A universal sound that moves like a soundtrack, tracks creating movie scenes that listeners instantly connect with and feel.

Learn more about Kyle in the following All Access interview:

Thanks for your time today! So, what were some of the highlights of 2015 for you? What are you most excited for this year?

Man, 2015 was rough. It was a rebuilding year for me. Mentally and physically went through a lot. I guess a good highlight would be finding myself as not only an artist but as a person in general. I was lost for a very long time. Making “Therapy” helped me find it all. Along with the support of my partners and friends.

In 2016, I’m just excited to finally release finished product. And everyone can hear it as a whole instead of as singles. It will form a story when listened from start to finish.

Growing up, did you always want to be a musician? Can you recall your earliest musical memory?

I actually wanted to play basketball growing up. I had played my entire life thats all I did as a kid. It was either that or be a comedian or pursue acting. People still tell me I need to be on screen. I have a huge passion for it so I would definitely love to do it.

My dad was always into music. He was in a band and I would hear him practice all the time. He’s a great singer. So I knew I always loved music. It took me a while to get out my shell though.

Can you talk about the inspiration behind your current single “Easy”? What was it like shooting the video for it? How creatively involved were you with it? 

I had just got out of a long tough relationship. It was the first song I wrote maybe a few days after. I started playing the piano and humming melodies and I would record the melodies onto my phone. The high falsetto “easy” kept on coming out and I later wrote the lyrics based on that.

Shooting the acoustic video was cool. I got to do a little intimate setting in my own studio 212 Recording. I thought it was cool to do an alternate version.

The real video for Easy is super dark and not what everyone expects it to be. So I can’t wait to get feedback from it. It will be released in a few weeks. Myself and JP Botero (Other half of The Avengerz) sat down and wrote the treatment for it together. We write all of our own treatments.

What was the process like of putting together your album “Therapy”? How long did it take? 

I was in a very dark place when starting this project. If I wasn’t distracting myself somehow I was going to lose my mind. I would just be locked in my room with headphones on and a piano and just lay it all out.

I took my time with this project. I started working on it in January 2015 and finished it in January 2016.  Im a huge perfectionist. And everything said is very personal to me.

Who are some of your favorite artists? Who would you love to work with in the future?

Coldplay is what really made me want to start singing for sure back in 2009.

The Weeknd was HUGE for me when House Of Balloons came out. Kanye West, The-Dream, Justin Timberlake’s Future Sex Love Sounds. Drake as well – he doesn’t miss.

I was listening to a lot of 808’s and Heartbreaks around the time I did “Easy.” I think thats why it has some similar elements to it. I didn’t even notice until someone pointed it out to me.

Where can people see you perform next? Do you have any live shows planned for the near-future?

Right now we are just focused on putting Therapy out the right way. Hopefully not too long afterwords we can start lining up some shows.

Can you talk about being one half of The Avengerz Production Team? 

Definitely. The Avengerz consists of JP Botero and myself. We’ve been making music together since 2004. We started getting really serious about production in 2009 and we ended up linking with Cash Money Records in 2012. We are really into developing artists and making a niche sound. Really producing things from the ground up.

What do you hope is the message of your music? What do you hope listeners take away from your songs?

I just hope it can be connected with. I know their are people out there that are going through similar things that I talk about throughout the project. My message is that they are not alone. And it WILL get better. The project begins with the heartbreak and ends with the healing process. Every song is a different stage in the process and a different story that I hope can be connected with as soon as the first line hits.