Real name Pim, Sebastian Kamae talks about ‘Sebastian Kamae’ making music that’s chill, ‘KAMAE’ creating more danceable tracks that feed the soul, and his anonymous alter ego ‘Intoku’ joining the mix.
The following recaps an interview with Sebastian Kamae as part of Downtown Music’s series, The Music Industry Lives Here. Downtown Music is a company DMN is proud to be partnering with.
“My name is Pim, and I make music as Sebastian Kamae and KAMAE.”
KAMAE reveals multiple genres have always influenced him. Currently, he’s blending soul, hip-hop, R&B, jazz, and electronic music into one cohesive sound. “A lot of my sound revolves around the keys. There’s always an element where you can recognize it’s me because of that little part. It has warmth to it.”
Speaking about the evolution of KAMAE, the artist says, “Sebastian Kamae has been a project that I’ve been developing since I was seventeen, and has a very distinguished sound. Dusty drums, lush keys, and chill sounds. It’s like a warm bath.”
The sounds he creates are distinct under each avatar. “Where Sebastian is chill and in the background, KAMAE is more danceable and has a soulful, warm feel. Then there’s this alter ego called Intoku, which is completely anonymous. The BPM is lower, and it’s almost ambient music with drums. It’s a different realm.”
Speaking about the distinctive sounds he produces, Pim reveals he reflected on the concept of branding and made some changes. “I was kind of all over the place, so I decided that Inoku is going to have this slow tempo, chill. Sebastian Kamae is going to be my instrumental producer project, where it’s jazzy, it’s fun.”
As for KAMAE, Pim wanted his artist profile. “I want to do live shows, DJ, and it needs to be a mix of all my backgrounds. It also has to be a new wave of influences and electronic music. That’s where my music is living right now.”
Revealing the intricacies of the Amsterdam music scene, KAMAE explains how it is unique, limited, and has its challenges. “I feel like if we were all to come together to hang out, it would be a group of guys in the park. It’s not like hundreds.”
His first project was a crossover collaboration called Mainlanders with artists Styn, Bertholet, Dontcry, Nokiaa, Sleepermane, and Sinh. “We dropped that tape because it was a fun thing. Then everyone thought, Why aren’t we collaborating and putting out beats every week?”
That realization led to a period of one release every week. “It caught the wave of Lo-Fi hip hop becoming super popular. We were making beats for fun.”
Ultimately, the people he worked with moved away from Lo-fi and took on other projects. Everyone was moving in a different direction, and KAMAE was ready for new adventures. “I wanted to see the world and do stuff in other places.”
KAMAE has always been a fan of the Chicago hip-hop sound, so he knew where everyone was recording. “I decided to email 150 studios.”
“An insane amount of emails to L.A., London, Chicago — all the cities that appealed to me. Chicago was probably top of my list, and I ultimately accepted an apprenticeship there. It was an unpaid internship for three months.”
KAMAE established a relationship with the studio’s owner. “He had me clean the floors and the toilets and shit like every American studio would. But very quickly, he let me also produce for artists on the label and sit in sessions and be the fly on the wall.”
“I would give him information like, yeah, you have to sign this guy. He’s amazing. I very quickly became part of that little ecosystem. I was living in that studio for three months, so everyone got used to me.”
“My love for the US was already there. But what I always missed in the Netherlands was being able to work with rappers or singers that were living what they’re talking about, and sound authentic.”
Being surrounded by incredible artists was what KAMAE wanted, because he saw the opportunity to build with them and ‘tap into their vibes.’ “A lot of people in the Netherlands who tried to rap in English, you can still hear they’re competing with U.S. artists, and it’s not the same.”
After the owner sold the studio, KAMAE felt it was the perfect time to move to LA and began collaborating on projects in San Francisco and California.
KAMAE says his dream would be to set up base in LA. “I think the network and opportunities are insane.”
Speaking about his first interaction with Downtown, KAMAE says it all began with an email from Rod Linnum. “He loved my music. I think he found it through a community with Glimlip.”
“Rod really has got something — a whole wave of music that’s streaming extremely well, has the potential to grow bigger and bigger over time. But also a community of friendly people, and easy to work with.”
“Now I don’t want a hundred distributors to work with, so I work more with Downtown. It’s nice to have one company that’s highly responsive when I need them. The KAMAE branding is now becoming clearer to me, and I have a clearer vision of where I want to go. ”
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