Karizma Interview for Boiler Room & Ballantines True Music Project

 INTERVIEW 

MUSIC LEGEND KARIZMA SUPPORTING BOILER ROOM GLOBAL & BALLANTINE’S ‘TRUE MUSIC’ PROJECT

BALLANTINE’S SCOTCH WHISKY AND BOILER ROOM HAVE ANNOUNCED A MAJOR NEW GLOBAL PLATFORM CALLED “TRUE MUSIC” HEADLINED BY MAYA JANE COLES. WITH THE FIRST STOP BEING JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA WE GOT TO INTERVIEW THE TALENTED SUPPORTING ARTIST KARIZMA.

The very fabric of house music has been woven by names like Karizma. A veteran selector since day dot, Kris Klayton came up amongst the (then) nascent Baltimore club scene in his home city. His work with partner DJ Spen & house music production group the Basement Boys is now considered legendary, featuring remixes for (no less than) Mary J. Blige, Bob Sinclair & Michael Jackson. Today, he remains a totem of true house music with all of its original values. Prepare for a masterclass! We caught up with him ahead of the latest Boiler Room & Ballantine's Global "True Music" project headlined by Maya Jane Coles where he part of the supporting lineup!  

1. In 2010 you were nominated as a Baltimore Hometown Hero, how much of that city and your surroundings influenced your music?

I tend to think, your environment always influences the music you like, make and play, there's definitely a lot of Baltimore in my sound and my Dj sets.

2. You were an active participant in the early house music scene which at the time held symbolic significance for people of colour and minorities who originated that scene, with conversations around cultural appropriation in dance music becoming more frequent do you feel there's a history being erased in contemporary narratives about house music's origins?

Music histories have always been a thing we constantly keep updating because there are so many points of view and people to track down that we had no idea of…it's always interesting to me, I'm glad to see it's now coming into the forefront and now we can get to the truth.

3. What's your view on where house and electronic music at large are going and their role in influencing and creating narratives for future generations of club-goers?

I think Electronic Music is at its most creative and at the same time its most stagnate, I hear what's going and appreciate where it's going, but I also think creative isn't always music, its own thing..and I think people confuse the two

4. You've played at legendary venues over the years that have come and gone, now with the closing of Fabric what's your take on the importance of club spaces in driving culture and the communities around them?

Its terrible, human beings need a release and it hurts to see places that allow us to play dance and let go for a minute disappear without a replacement.

5. Are there any promising producers of the newer generation you feel are taking the house genre forward with innovative ideas?

I like a lot of what Nacthbraker, Julian Gomes, Crookers, Pablo Fierro does just to name a few. I like that they take it future with a nod to the old.

6. South Africa has a unique history with house music, many of the millennial generation here have grown up with the music you were instrumental in shaping. What do you have in store for your set in Johannesburg?

If you know my style, I like to push the envelope and tell a story at the same time..I'm sooooo looking forward to it!

Check out the Event details below and live stream here http://truemusic.boilerroom.tv/

For more information on Karizma, check him out on the following socials:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Therealkarizma/ 
Twitter: @KAYTRONIC
Soundcloud: http://soundcloud.com/kaytronik
Instagram: https://instagram.com/kaytronik/