Boorloo groovers Ken Paolo & The Space Cadets have captured a mesmerising momentum with a trio of singles since launching last year.
Now the Perth collective (lead singer Ken Paolo, with Cass on bass, Bob on keys, Kuda on drums and Persia on vocals) continue to ride that gnarly wave with the release of another sublime journey into fluid soul-R&B-funk-pop via the new single 'Natural Ways'.Lifted from the their forthcoming debut EP, it's a cruisy ride through suave instrumentation, soaring melodies, a beat that entraps you into twitchy shoulder shimmies and Ken's beautiful vocals that project a relaxed coolness that oozes laid-back charm.
"'Natural Ways' is a high-energy affirmation about moving on from toxic situations," Ken says. "It is our most ambitious track with an addiction of a horn section."
Quickly becoming regular live favourites, having supported Siobhan Cotchin, DICE, Supathick, Anesu, Nectar and King Blue, while selling out Mojos, The Bird and Four5Nine Rosemount, here each band member shares a songwriting tip related to their role within the group.
Kuda Mateta (drums): "For me, my role is to lay down the foundation of the song which is the groove and flow with the rest of the band within the progression of the song."
Persia Najafzadeh (backing vocals): "My tip for singing harmonies is to make sure you're listening to and watching the lead singer at all times. Matching their phrasing, mouth shapes and the tone quality is important to achieve a well-blended harmony.
Bob Tweedie (keys): "Be flexible and serve the music. Ask yourself: 'What does the music need?' Forget about yourself and what people will think of you or your song.
"It's ok to love your song, but don't be too attached to the way it currently is that you're afraid to experiment and try new things. Sometimes what the music needs is a complete reimagining, and that's ok."
Ken Paolo (frontman): "My advice for writing lyrics and melody is to write with words/ phrases that you actually use. For example, in our new song 'Natural Ways' I use the words/ phrases 'manifest', 'we gave what we gave', and 'find peace', so I incorprated them into my song. I'm a very forgetful person, so if I come up with a melody that I keep going back to, then it's probably catchy."
Cass Evans-Ocherern (bass): "Listen to as many different kinds of music as you can and break down/ steal their structure. By listening to as many different kinds of music, you will be training your ear to become more familiar with a wide variety of sounds. These sounds will start to naturally assimilate into your composing and give you more musical tools to compose with.
"Also if you break down the structure of these songs in an attempt to model your own compositions after them, (eg. intro, verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, double chorus) it will give you enough restrictions to give a direction to the composition, but also still be free enough to allow plenty of creative expressions."
Ken Paolo & The Space Cadets play In Dreams Festival at Rosemount Hotel (Perth) 5 November. They join the likes of Ghost Care, Nectar, Siobhan Cotchin and others.
