KESHO
Southampton, United Kingdom | Established. Jan 01, 2019 | AFM
Music
Press
‘I've been following Connor for a few years now and he's always surprising me which is unusual in the music industry and most welcome. I love his new style and know he's gonna get there soon!’
- Rob Da Bank (Bestival Founder / Ex BBC Radio 1) - - Rob Da Bank (Bestival Founder / Ex BBC Radio 1)
KESHO is rapidly evolving beyond an experimental studio project. Attention-grabbing new songs show ambition, updating contemporary RnB with neon-tinged synthpop and global beats in a way reminiscent of breakout acts such as Bondax and Mura Masa'
'The word is out: KESHO is on a mission to liberate your mind, body and soul.' - - Rupert Howe (The Independent / Q Magazine)
'Well produced polished pop with a very impressive vocal range. Tracks like ‘Riddle’ could catch on very quickly!' - - Stephanie Nieuwenhuys (BBC INTRODUCING Solent)
'Fire Love' is an unabashed, epically catchy and commercially fuelled pop song. It is the kind of smoothly crafted pop hit that echoes round your head for weeks and has summer radio hit written all over it. This 22-year-old Kenyan music artist cut his teeth on experimental, underground, future bass and hip hop, but won’t be confined by one genre alone, he unapologetically embraces pop music as an art form, not a guilty pleasure. It's not as pretentious as it sounds I mean, don't we all like artists who are honest in their intentions? It is an refreshing admission from an artist, I'm sure we can all agree.
Kesho sings; “you and I were never meant to be friends, so tell me can I make first move, because I’ve got a lot to lose…” in a song with a gritty edge, describing the thrill of the chase, brimming with possibilities… dancing your ass off in the sunshine to it being my personal preference, although it would work equally as well in a club environment. It's the kind of track that makes you want to hit the dancefloor the moment you hear the vibey opening bars. It also oozes sun and fun and passion in each line and beat.
Kesho’s own more experimental music prowess can still be heard within these beats, Trap-infused synth brass and silky vocal chops a trademark, he uses them to perfection here.
Kesho’s studio skills and musically open mind have ensured 'Fire Love', unbelievably written in just one day with collaborators Lady V, Paul Whalley and Amber Van Day, sounds vital, fresh and immaculate. Whether you regard it as an art form or simply as unpretentious pop: if you dig good, vibey pop music and slick dancefloor summer grooves, this is definitely a must-have for your mp3 player. - Subba-Cultcha
Discography
Still working on that hot first release.
Photos
Bio
KESHO (pronounced 'kay-sho') is 22 year old Kenyan born Connor Daniel, an artist whose music knows no boundaries. The name means 'Tomorrow' in Swahili, as KESHO is out to be the sound of the future. Bringing together dance, electronica and R&B, the sound is a vibrant fusion that takes up today’s post-genre challenge to create soul-infused, modern pop equally at home on radio or the dancefloor.
“The mix of weird sounds which you can do now in pop really excites me,” says Connor (vocalist, songwriter and producer). “Pop production now is the most exciting I’ve ever heard it.” Connor has been making music since his early teens, when he began uploading unofficial Dubstep mixes of Drake and Usher to YouTube. He now describes the tracks as “awful”, but they showed impressive studio skills for the then 14 year-old, clocking up 2 million plays, and later, earning him a feature on BBC Introducing.
It turned out he had his sights set well beyond the Dubstep scene. Born in Kenya, Connor spent his early years in the coastal city of Mombasa before his parents moved to the UK when he was six. “My mum’s family have been in Kenya for generations,” he says. “I’m proud of my Kenyan roots, for sure. I have tattoos to prove it!” His parents also encouraged an early musical flair. “There’s videos of me when I was four years old dancing to the beat of a Michael Jackson song,” he laughs. Later he developed into a gifted pianist, with a soulful vocal delivery that elevated early efforts at writing pop songs to echo those he was hearing on the radio. “I was trying to do really experimental, underground, future bass hip hop stuff,” he laughs. “But from there I discovered that you can mix all of that into pop music, which is more what I'm pushing towards now.” Currently holed up in his studio where he's constantly creating new material, KESHO is rapidly evolving beyond an experimental studio project. Attention-grabbing new songs such as M.I.N.M., Riddle and Thirsty show ambition, updating contemporary RnB with neon-tinged synthpop and global beats in a way reminiscent of breakout acts such as Bondax and Mura Masa (“a huge inspiration, production-wise” says Connor).
He insists there’s much more to come – he has hundreds of melody lines and vocal fragments recorded on his phone. He’s also still restlessly seeking out inspiration from unlikely sources, whether it be his mum (she recently clued him into Disco maestro George Benson) or Justin Timberlake. “Songwriting and vocal-wise, I love Justin Timberlake,” he says. “People say to me, Is he a guilty pleasure? But there’s nothing guilty about me loving Justin Timberlake!”.
With ideas flowing so fast, it’s not surprising KESHO is eager to get out on the road and test the songs on live audiences, but for all the stylish sophistication of his new material, Connor says his aim remains the same as when he played student clubs at Uni: to make people dance. “Put me on a stage in front of a crowd,” he grins, “and I think I can do the rest.”
The word is out: KESHO is on a mission to liberate your mind, body and soul.
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