Toronto Artist/Producer KITSUNA Discusses His Newest Single and Forthcoming Album!

Get to know the Toronto artist/producer Kitsuna.

“Don’t Forget” is the first first single out now from his forthcoming second full length album which is set to release later this year. Specializing in pensive R&B, cold synths, and solitary imagery, Kitsuna’s entirely self-produced music straddles the fine line between classic and modern, familiar and unfamiliar.

Listen to “Don’t Forget” here: https://soundcloud.com/kitsunamusic/dont-forget-kitsuna 

“This song is the first release under a style I’ve been calling “deepnight”; running on the border somewhere between R&B and electronic music with themes of exploring inner darkness and solitude. The song grew out of bittersweet reminiscing, and is a small taste of what’s to come in a few months with the album.” – Kitsuna

Learn more about Kitsuna in the following All Access interview:

Thanks for your time today! Where does this interview find you now?

At my place, halfway through a cup of tea at 1:43 on a February afternoon.

Now that 2019 has started, what musical goals do you have yourself this new year? Did you make any new years resolutions?

First is finishing and releasing my second album, which will happen in the next couple months. The next album is already well underway, so getting right into Kitsuna III is the plan.

Growing up, how important was music in your life? Can you recall the moment when you decided that you wanted to be a musician? Was it an easy or difficult choice to make? Was there ever a time when you thought about doing something else?

My family is very musical, so it was always a natural, almost unnoticed part of the dynamic growing up. People ask me that question a lot, about the moment I decided to pursue music, but honestly once I started playing music it just kept being fun and interesting, so I just kept doing it. Simple as it sounds, that pretty much takes things up to right now. It wasn’t so much of a choice as it was that there wasn’t anything else I’d rather be doing.

What has been the biggest surprise so far about making music your career? What has been an unexpected or welcome challenge to it all?

I think it was realizing that no matter how long you’ve been doing music, you’re still a student. I’ve played a lot with very seasoned, older musicians, and as experienced and amazing as they were, they still knew there was so much they didn’t know, and that was a very interesting discovery to me as a teenager.

How do you think you and your music have been influenced by your hometown and where you live today?

I grew up in the countryside, and I think that has a huge part to do with whoever I am today, and I carry it with me always. I love the city as well, but I think it’s important for people to experience and have both city and country in their lives to a certain degree, and I think I try to reflect that thinking in my music.

Let’s talk about your new single, “Don’t Forget”? What was the inspiration for this track? Can you elaborate on your new style “deepnight”? Where did it originate from?

I wrote it years after a thorny breakup, and was interested in how sometimes a rough ending can taint the entire relationship as it remains in your mind. I don’t think that’s a good thing, though, I think just as the bad remains, so should the beautiful times that made it a relationship. I think that will become more clear when the full album comes out, but this upcoming album explores a dark world, sort of lives in the night, so this song is the entry into that phase.

How excited are you to be releasing your first full-length album this year? What was it like making this collection? Did anything surprise you about the overall process? How will you celebrate the release?

Very excited for it to be done. It was a brutal process, to be honest. Both enjoyable and loathsome. I think I might take a walk and throw a copy of it off a cliff to celebrate.

What has it been like keeping up with your social media accounts and all of the different platforms? Is it hard to stay up to date on it all? What would you say is your favorite way to connect with your fans now?

Social media is definitely my least favourite part of it all—I love being able to get music and videos directly to people, to share visuals and ideas related to the music, but I think there is a large amount of pressure on artists to stay relevant and consistent on social media, even if it means posting meaningless content. I don’t want to assault people’s already frayed attention-spans with content even I think is useless, so I try to only share things that are important to me and to the music.

Who are some of your favorite artists or rather, what musicians have continued to inspire you and your music? Who would you absolutely still love to work with in the future?

Prince, Joe Hisaishi and Lewis Taylor are always big for me.

If you were going to be stranded on a deserted island forever, what musical item would you take with you and why?

A set of large timpani drums, so I could establish my dominance over the other creatures on the Island.

If your music was going to be featured on any TV show that is currently on right now, which would you love it to be on? Or if you prefer, what is a movie that you love that you wish your music was featured in?

I love Makoto Shinkai’s movies, and having a song in one of them would be great.

What has been a favorite show of yours in the past? What do you think makes an ideal show for you? Do you have any tour dates you would like to tell our readers about?

I haven’t done any live shows as Kitsuna yet. It’s been solely a studio-entity so far. Not to say that I’m not dying to get it on the stage…Soon, soon.

At the end of the day, what do you hope your fans take away from your music? I’d like to know more about how you want your music to be timeless?

I’d never want to impose a predetermined emotion upon people who listen to my music—I think whatever they take from it is what is right. I just make the music, and hopefully people will get something from it, maybe, hopefully, something I never even thought of myself. My goal isn’t really for my music to be timeless, I just think music that has roots in what came before naturally stands the test of time a little better. I like to stay educated on what came before.

Is there anything else that you would like to share with our readers about yourself or your music?

Only a ‘thank you’ to those who have been listening to the music, and a ‘thank you’ in advance to anyone who might give it a go after reading this interview. Thanks for having me!