Hiatus Kaiyote

Hiatus Kaiyote
Hiatus Kaiyote in 2013
Background information
Also known as HK
Origin Melbourne
Genres Neo-soul, future soul, jazz-funk, blue-eyed soul [1]
Years active 2011 (2011)–present
Labels Flying Buddha, Sony Masterworks
Associated acts The Bamboos, Q-Tip, Clever Austin, Swooping Duck
Website http://hiatuskaiyote.com
Members
  • Nai Palm
  • Paul Bender
  • Perrin Moss
  • Simon Mavin

Hiatus Kaiyote (/haɪˈeɪtəs keɪˈjoʊti/) is a future soul quartet formed in Melbourne in 2011.[2] The members are Naomi "Nai Palm" Saalfield[3][4][5] (vocals, guitar), Paul Bender (bass), Simon Mavin (keyboards) and Perrin Moss (drums, percussion). They have been nominated twice for Grammy Awards.

In 2013, they were nominated for a Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance for their song "Nakamarra", performed with Q-Tip.[6] The song appears on their debut album, Tawk Tomahawk.

The band released their second album, Choose Your Weapon, on 1 May 2015. The review aggregator Metacritic has given the album a normalised rating of 88 out of 100, based on 6 reviews.[7] On 9 May 2015, Choose Your Weapon debuted at number 22 on the Australian albums chart.[8]

The song "Breathing Underwater" from Choose Your Weapon was nominated for Best R&B Performance at the 58th Grammy Awards.[9]

History

2012–14: Debut

"Kaiyote" is not a word. It's a made up word, but it kind of sounds like peyote and coyote – it's a word that involved the listeners creativity as to how they perceive it. So it reminds you of things but it's nothing specific. When I looked it up on online it was like a bird appreciation society around the world, so for me that was a great omen, because I'm a bird lady. A hiatus is essentially a pause, it's a moment in time. So, to me, a hiatus is taking a pause in your life to take in your surroundings, have a full panoramic view of your experiences and absorbing, and "kaiyote" is expressing them in a way involves the listeners creativity.

– Nai Palm, explaining the band's name[10]

The four band members met in their native Melbourne, Australia.[11] Singer songwriter Nai Palm stated she had a vision for Hiatus Kaiyote's brand of future soul. "I always knew I wanted to be in a band, but I never knew it could be my own conversation."[11] Following a performance by Palm, bass player Paul Bender decided to seek her out; one year later, the two began to collaborate on compositions that felt intuitive.[11] Bender brought multi-instrumentalists Perrin Moss and keyboardist Simon Mavin into the equation, which led to Hiatus Kaiyote playing their first gig at the Bohemian Masquerade Ball among sword swallowers, fire twirlers and gypsy death core bands.[11] Gilles Peterson named them the Breakthrough Artist of 2013.[11]

The band released their debut album Tawk Tomahawk independently in 2012, which was noticed by numerous musicians including Q-Tip, Animal Collective, Dirty Projectors, and Erykah Badu.[10][12] Shortly after, the band was noticed by Salaam Remi. Remi had been working in A&R for Sony, who had given him the opportunity to start up his own label, titled Flying Buddha.[10] The band signed to Remi's label shortly after, who distributed their debut album worldwide. Remi later introduced the band to Q-Tip, which led to him featuring on a remix of "Nakamarra" which was included on the re-release of their debut.[10] Following the release of "Nakamarra" the band received public endorsements from both Prince and Questlove via Twitter who urged their followers to listen to the song.[13]

In 2013, they were nominated for a Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance for their song "Nakamarra", performed with Q-Tip, but lost out to Snarky Puppy and Lalah Hathaway's recording "Something".[6] In 2014, the band joined forces with hip hop artist Remi, the multi-faceted Kirkis, producer Silent Jay and vocalist Jace XL to embark on an Australia-wide tour titled "The Sonic Architects National Conference".[14] Three additional backing vocalists, Jace Excell, Loreli, and Alejandro Jay Abapo were added for this tour.[15]

During the tour Hiatus Kaiyote met Taylor McFerrin, whom they credit with bringing them further international attention after seeing them perform in January 2014.[16][12]

2015: Choose Your Weapon

The band released their second album, Choose Your Weapon, on 1 May 2015. Nai Palm described the album as an "extension" of their debut, and stated she and the band had no intention to make a one genre body of work. Many of the songs on the album derived from Palm's original ideas that were later flavored by the other band members. During the recording the band wanted to pay tribute to the format of a mixtape, so they incorporated interludes.[17] The review aggregator Metacritic has given the album a normalised rating of 88 out of 100, based on 6 reviews, indicating 'universal acclaim'.[7] On 9 May 2015, Choose Your Weapon debuted at number 22 on the Australian albums chart.[8] The album also became the band's first release, to chart in the US, reaching #127 on the US Billboard 200,[18] and #11 on the US Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.[19]

The song "Breathing Underwater" from Choose Your Weapon was nominated for Best R&B Performance at the 58th Grammy Awards, but lost out to The Weeknd's recording of "Earned It (Fifty Shades of Gray)".[9]

2017: Needle Paw

In 2017, Nai Palm released her debut solo album Needle Paw and toured in support of it. She said that Swooping Duck (the trio of Bender, Mavin and Moss) would release a mixtape in 2018, and Hiatus Kaiyote would record a new album in 2018.[20]

In June 2018, Nai Palm was featured on Scorpion by Drake, who has spoken highly of both her and the band, and has also sampled one of their tracks in a song of his.[21][22]

Discography

Albums

Title Details
Tawk Tomahawk
  • Release: 2012
  • Label: Flying Buddha
  • Format: Digital download, CD and vinyl
Choose Your Weapon
  • Release: May 2015
  • Label: Flying Buddha
  • Format: Digital download, CD and vinyl

EPs

  • By Fire (2014)
  • Recalibrations Vol.1 (2016)

Singles

  • "Live in Revolt" (2013)

Music videos

  • "Nakamarra" (2013)
  • "Breathing Underwater" (2015)

References

  1. ↑ http://www.stampthewax.com/2013/07/17/artist-spotlight-hiatus-kaiyote-interview-session/
  2. ↑ Andy Kellman. "Hiatus Kaiyote | Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 5 May 2015.
  3. ↑ True, Everett. "Hiatus Kaiyote: Choose Your Weapon review – psychedelic adventure land". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
  4. ↑ Todd, Bella. "Premiere: Listen to Hiatus Kaiyote's New EP". redbull.com. Red Bull. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
  5. ↑ Fusilli, Jim. "Hiatus Kaiyote's Musical Mosaic". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
  6. 1 2 Michael Dwyer. "Independent Melbourne band Hiatus Kaiyote gets Grammy nod". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 5 May 2015.
  7. 1 2 "Reviews for Choose Your Weapon by Hiatus Kaiyote". Metacritic. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
  8. 1 2 "ARIA Australian Top 50 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association. 11 May 2015. Archived from the original on 17 November 2015. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
  9. 1 2 "2016 Grammy Awards: Complete list of winners and nominees". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
  10. 1 2 3 4 "what a kaiyote is". Okayplayer. Retrieved 10 December 2015.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 "Biography". Billboard. Retrieved 10 December 2015.
  12. 1 2 "Interview: Hiatus Kaiyote – ACCLAIM". Retrieved 15 September 2015.
  13. ↑ "Hiatus Kaiyote get a tweet of approval from Prince". Retrieved 15 September 2015.
  14. ↑ "Hiatus Kaiyote, Remi and friends unite for national tour". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 30 September 2014. Retrieved 5 August 2015.
  15. ↑ "Hiatus Kaiyote at Federation Square". thedwarf.com. 19 September 2014. Retrieved 13 May 2015.
  16. ↑ "Taylor McFerrin (US), Hiatus Kaiyote & The Gentlemen of Leisure". allevents.in. Retrieved 15 September 2015.
  17. ↑ DanMichael (27 April 2015). "Interview: Nai Palm Discusses Choose Your Weapon". Revive-music.com. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
  18. ↑ "Hiatus Kaiyote – Chart history". Billboard. 23 May 2015. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
  19. ↑ "Hiatus Kaiyote – Chart history". Billboard. 23 May 2015. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
  20. ↑ http://www.mixdownmag.com.au/nai-palm-out-crush-your-assumptions
  21. ↑ "How Drake's Love of Australian Band Hiatus Kaiyote Turned Into a 'More Life' Sample". Billboard. Retrieved 2018-07-13.
  22. ↑ "Nai Palm on Contributing to Drake's New Album 'Scorpion'". Complex. Retrieved 2018-07-13.
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