KFIR – One Time With You

By starrymag | November 7, 2019

By: Jamie Steinberg

 

 

Q) How would you describe your sound?

 

A) I think my sound is a melting pot, very worldly but still pop. I grew up in a household with many musical influences. I love pop, R&B and dance music. My training as a classical dancer was accompanied by the magic of classical music and its composers and I was exposed to the best orchestras while performing in the biggest opera houses as a dancer. In my core, though, I’m very attracted to anything that has a great beat and drives with emotional melodies and lyrics.

 

Q) Who are some of your musical influences?

 

A) I have so many. I can’t name them all. Today, for example, I listen to Travis Scott. I started listening to Duke Ellington. I love discovering music in any genre or style. Tribal beats and sounds have always made me move. So, when I get to do my music, I try to create something that has a heartbeat to makes one want to move and a good strong melody to try and connect with the listener on an emotional level. Melody is very important to me. If someone can hum the melody to a song of mine than mission accomplished.

 

Q) Talk about the story behind your new song “Ocean Breeze.”

 

A) “Ocean Breeze” was born while I was on my winter break in South Beach. I was seated under the palm trees on Collins Ave listening to some beats that were sent to me. I came across one track that as soon as I heard it, I started humming the chorus to “Ocean Breeze.” Right there I FaceTimed my co-writer Javier Cardellino who resides in Uruguay and twenty minutes later we had created verses, pre-chorus and a bridge. An hour later I got back to Javi with a full lyric sheet. We recorded the demo. It was a very fast and smooth process.

 

Q) How did you and co-writer Javier Cardellino make a good team when it came to creating this song?

 

A) Javier and I have great working chemistry. We are both very passionate and fiery so we feed off each other. He also always listens to my initial ideas and never shuts it down. He helps me get my ideas to where I hear them the way I dream them up. From there Javi helps us discover new ways and new ideas to explore. He is a great musician and an artist himself. I always find him very inspiring and I trust his experience and ear. I’m so blessed to know him.

 

Q) What do you think it is about the song that fans connect to?

 

A) All of my songs and writings are mostly inspired by my life experiences. Sometimes I like to imagine scenarios and create them in my mind and try to imagine what would the characters in my story might say or feel. Though funny enough, almost always when I hear the final product, I can totally see myself in them. “Ocean Breeze” is about spending time on a beautiful vacation while meeting an unexpected love interest. Getting carried away, refusing to go back to the grind and even entertaining the thought of giving it all up and just bask in the moment of freedom and love.

 

Q) How will the video for the track play into the message behind it?

 

A) The video is a lyric video, though now after all the great editing work that my talented friend and graphic designer David Lajara did it actually captures the moment and feelings so well that I don’t feel it’s only lyric video. It will take you into the track visually and will carry you through. The subject is so global, all of us felt it. Kids don’t ever want summer to end. Adults love vacations. It’s hard to think of leaving all that behind and going back to reality. Almost everyone met someone they have felt so strongly about that they felt like they wanted to stay with them forever, even if it’s just a fling. Also, my cousin Oren Stalkol who has a film company filmed some sections of me in Israel just a week ago.

 

Q) What is your songwriting process? Do you need music before you can create lyrics?

 

A) Not at all! Many times I hear or read a word that for some reason grabs my attention and it’s like an instinct. I feel something about it and I know it will be the beginning of some sort of writing. Many times, I dream melodies in my sleep. I wake up in the middle of the night and record them as a voice memo. So, if you ever sleepover don’t be surprised when you hear me humming from the bathroom in the middle of the night. [laughs]

 

Q) Majik Reed helped produce the song. How much of a hand did you have in the production of your music?

 

A) This is the first time I worked with Majik. He has a big history and experience in songwriting and production from his previous works with Mariah Carey and Asher to name a few. That man knows his way around the studio. Me, I love to come into the process with a solid demo lyrics and progressions. It gives me a specific starting point. This time around I wanted to stay true to my original writings. Majik is phenomenal. He challenges me as an artist. He sees beyond the music. He looks at it from all angles, especially the business one. With Majik you create a brand and, hopefully, people will connect with it.

 

Q) What can fans expect from a live KFIR performance?

 

A) When I get to do a real live performance as I dream about, I will be delivering a theatrical experience. I would love to have a show with great musical material and a message with a theatrical arc. A show that will also be an inspiration not only to the audience but also to the artists that will perform it with me on stage. I think about it all. When I finish a song, I think about how will other performers such as musicians and backup singers will connect with the material. I want it to be a great experience for all, on and off stage.

 

Q) What songs off your One Time With You EP are you looking forward to performing live?

 

A) All of them for sure. Most of all the title track “One Time.” It’s a really big track. It’s coming up next! I can’t wait to create visuals and to figure out the best way to interpret it for the stage. Get ready to dance!

 

Q) What do you hope listeners take away from listening to your new EP as a whole?

 

A) I think my only hope is for them to make it their own. The material is so strong, so authentic and full of love and life. I think the beauty of it is that it’s for everyone. It’s hot, warm and loving like summer on an island and at the same time full of static power like lighting in winter. In one word it’s life and love. I hope everyone feels it.

 

Q) Where are some of your favorite places to perform and what makes those locations so significant to you?

 

A) I love Japan. Though I performed there only as a dancer, it’s definitely on my tour stops wish list. I would love to perform in places like Mexico and South America. But, in general, I would love to perform anywhere there’s a stage. I love connecting with people like that it’s a big part of why I love doing music. I just hope to connect with others.

 

Q) Who would you most like to collaborate with on a song in the future?

 

A) I would love to do a duet with Beyoncé. Hey,but who wouldn’t? She is the ultimate stage performer in American music. I would love to collaborate with people who inspire me no matter what their status or where they come from.

 

Q) What album/band are you currently listening to and why do you dig them?

 

A) Now I’m home in Israel for one more week, I’m spending lots of time on the beach and when I do that I love listening to Bob Marley and King Tubby. Reggae music is my sun and beach sounds.

 

Q) We loved seeing you performing on the series “Flesh and Bone.” Where did your love of dance originate?

 

A) It’s very strange. Before I started dancing, I wanted to study how to play the accordion, which then I considered as an upside-down piano. Though on my first day of studying the teacher never showed up to class and that was it. After that my mom enrolled me in dance class since I always loved moving and my love affair with dance had begun at the age of six.

 

Q) With dance shows being so popular these days, do you think early on in your career you would have wanted to be a part of “Dancing With The Stars” or even “So You Think You Can Dance?”

 

A) Getting that kind of exposure is a gift to anyone who wants to do what I do. I don’t think it would have hurt me, so if you know anyone on “DWTS” it’s never too late. [smiles]

 

Q) You are a part of social media. Why is that such an important way for you to connect with your fans?

 

A) Social media is great for me and bad at the same time. I truly try to connect to people and social media has helped me to do just that. I’m really involved in the interaction with my followers. Above all they are people and I always try to answer in real-time to all that contacts me. On the other hand, there’s so much of everything out there in the social media ocean that in many ways it makes it even harder to break through all the clutter and get discovered.

 

Q) What would you like to say to everyone who is a fan and supporter of you and your work?

 

A) I always say this to people who contact me…It means the world and I will never take it for granted. If I touch someone’s life with my music and they become part of mine they have touched my life in the same way. I am always thankful and looking forward to our journey ahead together.

 

 

 

KFIR On Spotify