HEADS KNOW TAPE 032: Keys N Krates
An interview and DJ mix from the Toronto trio.
Photo: Vanessa Heins
HEADS KNOW TAPES is the mix and interview series curated to introduce you to the most interesting innovators, selectors, and artists from New York City and beyond.
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Anyone who succumbed to the EDM trap boom of the 2010s knows about Keys N Krates. The trio, made up of Adam Tune, Matisse, and Jr. Flo, flipped the whole scene on its head with their captivating performances that incorporated DJing with live drums and a keyboard. It helped that their songs were catchy, too, using repetitive vocal samples that made it as fun to sing along as it was to dance. As time progressed, so did their sound. Projects like A Beat Tape For Your Friends, Cura, and Original Classic, proved Keys N Krates’ constant evolution as songwriters while their DJ sets solidified their roles as music-obsessive curators.
In 2023, Keys N Krates embraced their electronic music roots with IN:TENSION, and the group’s penchant for the groovier side of things keeps growing. Encompassing their love feeling-driven dance music with Odd Soul — the name of their party and now, their new imprint — Keys N Krates are pushing their take on the genre with sounds influenced by Chicago, Toronto, and beyond.
Roll the tape to hear them have fun with some IDs and their favorite tunes, and keep reading to dig into their relationships with house music, their retrospective on the trap craze, and how they’ve managed to stay together for over a decade.
This year has been a lot, but what have you been up to lately?
Just making music, collaborating with people, listening to music, learning new things, and doing our party “Odd Soul.”
Congratulations on your new record label! What’s the idea behind Odd Soul Sounds?
Thanks! It’s really meant to be an extension of our party. The party really reflects our taste in dance music, house music, and house-adjacent stuff. It doesn’t stick to one thing. We might play tribal stuff, jackin stuff, UKG stuff, Brazilian kinda stuff, vocal-driven stuff — but it all has soul, groove, and energy.
Why did you choose “Ruafreak” to be the first release?
It felt like a true collaboration, for starters. As much as the label is about allowing us to self-release, it’s also about building community with producers and DJs we are fans of (many who have or will play the party). This tune felt like a true big collaboration between Afrique Like Me, 96 Vibe, and us. It also has both Carnival and warehouse energy. It feels influenced by ‘90s tribal house, Afro-brazilian, and Afro-carribean grooves. This blend of styles is very Toronto, particularly the Afro-Carribean influence.
You’ve always been unique curators, whether it’s through the people you collaborate with or putting together a lineup for your party. Everyone has their own flavor, but in your opinions, what truly makes someone an odd soul?
We think having a vibe that doesn’t fit neatly into a box, that plays by their own rules but makes total sense, and has to have soul.
I’ve said this before, but I really appreciate how you’ve evolved over the years and always bring something new to the scene, even when you’re being referential. When you’re experimenting, is your goal to create something nobody’s ever done before or is it more about self-expression?
Photo: Vanessa Heins
Definitely more about self-expression. We are fans of music, and to put the pressure of every tune being something that’s never been done before sounds like a joy-killer to us. With that said, we get joy out of making tunes that we want to hear and play, and we aren’t trying to make the same version of things we’ve already heard. We are always attempting to add something fresh that’s maybe a little different than what’s out there, but complimentary to our favorite things.
How does self-expression work in a group dynamic anyway?
We share ideas and the cream kind of rises to the top. Whatever everyone is most excited about is what we work on and finish.
I’ve seen lots of my favorite groups change or split over the years. What keeps you going strong?
I think being reasonable dudes and more and more in our evolved years, listening to one another and honoring what everyone needs.
Back to the music, I’d love to hear more about your relationships with house music.
Greg grew up hearing it in the record stores in the 90s when he was grabbing rap records and scratch sample records. He ended up buying Masters At Work and Armand Van Helden records that felt like hip-hop to him. Matisse and Tune heard it more through the radio and the odd club experience coming up. We mutually started just gravitating to the 120-130 BPM tempo a few years back and wanted [more] four-on-the-floor, [so] we really started diving in and a lot of our youth exposure to house kinda dictated our taste. We all love great songs, great soulful vocals, great drums, great samples, and loops, and house is such a great space to explore all this stuff combined or separately, from a really underground level to a really pop level. It just felt fun and natural for us.
With Odd Soul, you’re really embracing your dance music side, but you were definitely more hip-hop-heavy when you started off in 2008. How does hip-hop still influence your music now?
I think our taste in dance music always has a hip-hop sensibility to it because that’s where we all come from. It has to have some grit.
In 2022, I talked to Hudson Mohawke about the beginnings of EDM “trap” and he expressed discontent about the whitewashing of its rap roots. I remember when we spoke the year before, you mentioned how what you were doing was no different than making a beat like “A Milli,” but I know that wasn’t the case for a lot of artists in that era — some who don’t even listen to hip-hop. Looking back, what do you make of that era of electronic music and how it impacted the scene and the sound today?
Hip-hop is definitely what drew us to it. We were like, “Wow this is such a cool space where we can make cool, instrumental, quirky rap beats, and have it be a party.” It was almost going to help bring different cultures in America to experience dance music together. Remembering the early days of doing shows with Major Lazer, Baauer, and Flosstradamus [in the] early days felt like this. But in America, there were a whole lot of producers that were coming up in trap that came at it from a more angsty, aggressive US dubstep perspective. A lot of wild, polished sound design stuff, but without much groove or rawness and [instead] this aggro, short-attention-span, white fratty energy to it. A lot of times, popular rap vocals got mixed in, but just a popular hook to set up a super aggressive synthy drop that felt like the opposite of what was being referenced. When this started to feel like the predominant vibe, we felt really out of place and had to come to terms with that. That era and the way it evolved feels like it really made American EDM what it is today. Kind of an everything all at once sort of thing. Why just have piece fried chicken when it can be wrapped in bacon and served on a waffle sandwich, we guess?
I’m 100% with you, but still, this is all making me nostalgic for a Keys N Krates live set. Will we ever get one of those again?
Not sure. We are pretty focused on building our party and label now and just making tons of music right now. The live set would be really fun to do with our new style of music though, but we’ll see. It’s not on the immediate priority list for us right now.
Maybe you can relate to this, but I definitely go through phases with what I like to listen to and even DJ. How do you stay true to your tastes while also cultivating, or in your case maintaining, a sound that’s distinctly you?
There’s stuff to be fans of as spectators and there’s stuff that feels like it fits into our style and naturally gets tried or flipped or referenced. At the end of the day it comes from a feeling.
Say you’re making a beat tape for your friends and you can’t include your own tracks. Which 5 songs would have to be on there?
Photo: Vanessa Heins
Without going [into] specific songs, would say stuff from Geotheory, Kaytranada, knxwledge, Jansport J, and Demuir.
Time for something silly now. Rate my business pitches:
A house music show at a roller rink called Keys N Skates
LOL, it’s a solid 7.5/10.
Rare beats and rare meats at a restaurant called Keys N Steaks
2/10 because we aren’t in the food business :)
A music taste-matching dating app called Keys N Mates
You get a 10/10 for interesting ‘cause feel like musical taste is a nice place to start.
A party and charity food drive called Keys N Plates
Like this one. 8/10 for philanthropic angle.
A cereal that plays songs when you open the box called Keys N Flakes
If it plays our songs, it’s 10/10.
Back to business: Which artists, DJs, producers, labels, or collectives should heads know?
Club Bad (great tribal and afrohousey, and disco house label headed up by the don Melé), Jackies Records (great jackin house label out of Barcelona), Bare Selection(UK rap and UKG focused label by our friends jayemkayem and Freeza Chin, are all dope labels with their own vibe. Our homie Flohio a sick left-of-centre UK rapper is gonna make some noise this year. This cat Scruz we linked with in London is sick producer and comin with fire UKG stuff. Demuir from Toronto is one of our favorite house producers and has a real hip=hop kinda flavor to his stuff that we love. Afrique Like Me are such fun DJs to watch. So is LOSTBOYJAY. People should travel to watch Rimarkable play ‘cause she’s so god damn good at playing house music. 96 Vibe has that crazy tribal bag and is comin with stuff. Kiinjo and Pat Lok are making uplifting bangers and are such beasts of producers. Karim Olen Ash from Toronto is one of our fav DJs to hear play; impeccable taste. Too many to name honestly, though.
What can we expect from this mix?
It was honestly whatever tunes we were feeling that day we made it. Quite housey but a mix of stuff. Some I.D.s from us and tunes we love.
Support Keys N Krates on Bandcamp, SoundCloud, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.
This interview has been edited for clarity.
TRACKLIST
The Phantom’s Revenge - Commercial Break #26
ID - ID
Gene Farris - The Spirit (2016 Mix)
Keys N Krates & Rimarkable - People Were Dancing
Ce Ce Penniston - He Loves Me To (Just Drums Ra-Arrange-Edit)
Keys N Krates & Pat Lok - Samba Surprise
Marlene Shaw - Woman of the Ghetto - (Catz N Dogz Rmx)
Olive F - Hot Sauce
Tip Toes - The Record Business
Keys N Krates - ID
Di Saronno - Flower Power
Rochelle Jordan & Keys N Krates - What Ya Done (Late Nite Mix)
Ruze - Hardwire
Soul Vision - Don’t Stop
Keys N Krates - Beep Me 911 Flip
Basement Jaxx - Fly Life (Hilit Kolet Edit)
Keys N Krates - Back For More
ID - ID
Tip Toes - Hi On Ya Luv
Girls of the Internet - Never Ever Ever (feat. Shiv)
