Atmospheric electronic rock artist Kai Altair offers an insightful opinion in her interview with Gadfly Online: “All genres of music are beginning to fuse as the world comes together in global connection. The music I am creating is a product of a planet in communication.” In addition to creating a product of planet in communication, Altair wants her music to “communicate that which cannot be spoken in words alone.” Her new album, Dreamwalker, is set for release in February of 2015. The album “explores themes like lucid dreaming, time travel, metamorphosis, and sacred bliss all with the goal of conjuring alternate realities and transporting audiences to a dreamlike place.” Continue reading to gain some more insight on Altair’s philosophies and beliefs and take a listen to one of her latest singles, “Shadows Dance,” here.
Gadfly Online: Can you provide us with some background? Where are you from? What made you pursue a career in music?
Kai Altair: I come from an ancient line of forest people. My namesake and bloodline reach back to a time when people were in love with the earth and sky. My parents tell me I have been singing since I began to make sounds. The pursuit of a career in music happened when I was around 15 and started dreaming of sounds filtering down from the stars at night. I also saw Nine Inch Nails play in a big arena and realized how much music when performed with power can move people. I wanted to get on board and take part in creating music that would inspire people to live life with hearts wide open.
GO: How would you characterize your music? Do you fit into a stock genre or create a fusion of genres?
KA: It seems that all genres of music are beginning to fuse as the world comes together in global connection. The music I am creating is a product of a planet in communication. Living in New York City, I am influenced by the sounds of many countries and cultures living closely with each other. I am influenced by global rhythms, melodies, and electronic frequencies of the ancient past and distant future.
GO: Who would you cite as your musical influence?
KA: Kate Bush, Dead Can Dance, Kalya Scintilla, Azam Ali, Fever Ray, Bat For Lashes, Massive Attack, John Lennon, Nine Inch Nails, Bob Marley
GO: What project are you promoting right now? How does this fit into your overall career arc?
KA: Right now I am preparing to release my first full-length album: Dreamwalker. This is an album of my deepest dreaming: a collection of songs all the others have been leading up to. I am blessed to be working with a dream-team of producers (Dave Sharma & Dhuva Ganesan of Sub Swara) who have helped me make the sounds I have always wanted to make. I believe that it will be a jumping off point to take my music around the world and manifest collaborations with other like- minded artists and creators. Dreamwalker is a song of my heart.
GO: What do you hope to communicate to listeners through your music? What does music mean to you?
KA: I hope to communicate that which cannot be spoken in words alone. I hope to spark communication with the unseen world and create an altered state on the dance floor or in headphones late at night with eyes closed. I hope that my music will be a bridge and part of a moment when the world is being re-enchanted by imagination and dreams by many artists. Music is a universal vibration that unites people, places, and planets. I hope to add my voice to the great chorus that flows from the River of Song.
GO: What can we expect from you in the future?
KA: Expect performances at festivals around the world focused on transformation, electronic music, and wild imagination. Expect sounds, imagery, and words that invite audiences to journey into worlds beyond ordinary reality and into the unknown.
GO: Whom is your music geared towards? How is it impacting them? In other words, why should we listen to your music and message?
KA: I like to think that I create music for all people but especially those who believe in magic. I write for the whispers at the edge of sleep and dream and the ancient-future dance that our ancestors and future generations are a part of. I write for all that are curious to know more. Imagination is our birthright, and the time is Now.
For more information about Kai Altair, visit her
