Kimyou [Interview]

The debut release on Modern Nostalgia, titled Family Affair, offers a compelling introduction to the ethos of this new underground electronic label. True to its name, Family Affair brings together a carefully curated selection of tracks that define the label's mission-blending nostalgic elements of early house and techno with modern-day techniques, while maintaining an emphasis on authenticity and timelessness.

We speak to Kimyou, the mysterious mastermind behind Modern Nostalgia, about the label's ethos, it's inaugural offering, remaining anonymous, DJing and more. Enjoy.

Hi Kimyou, I hope all is well and thanks for speaking with us today. How has your 2024?

It’s been a year of a lot of contemplation and making plans. I’m super happy my brainchild ‘Modern Nostalgia’ has finally launched and I can’t wait to show everyone the releases that are already lined up for the future!

For most artists, originality is first preceded by a phase of learning and, often, emulating others. What was this like for you?

I think originality comes with experience blended with a creative mind and the openness and willingness not to conform to the masses.

You are the mysterious mastermind behind the new Modern Nostalgia imprint. Tell us a bit about your vision and plans for the label.

I felt the strong need to start a label that would focus on my own early days of electronic music, which go back to a time where genres were few and the internet wasn’t really a thing yet. I think the best word to describe the label’s vision would be ‘pure’. Releasing music without a set plan for hitting numbers—where it doesn’t matter whether the artist is completely unknown or a big player. Simply put, it's a label that’s all about the music and nothing else.

Why is it you wish to remain anonymous as an artist? And I guess this rules out any potential live DJ gigs as Kimyou? Or does it?

I want Kimyou- and the Modern Nostalgia label as well- to be about the music and not about the person behind the alias- or the person behind the record label because that will immediately pigeonhole the project and set certain expectations for people. I feel the whole electronic music scene- even the “underground” music scene has lost a lot of it’s purity these past years. Most of it is driven by concepts, social media presence and the need to fit in. With Kimyou I want to go back to the basics. Where the music is leading, not the noise surrounding it.

And indeed the ambition isn’t to do live or DJ gigs. I did just launch a podcast series (MONOCAST) though. Who knows whenever there is a demand for gigs how I would feel about it, though I don’t see myself wearing a mask or anything like that. That would feel like a gimmick and gimmicks aren’t something that match the Kimyou project.

Modern Nostalgia’s first release ‘Family Affair’ has just come out, it features three new cuts from Resonant Robot, Gerwin van Engelenburg and yourself, please tell us about the tracks and why these were the right pieces of music to set a tone for the label going forward.

I think the first release is a perfect example of what you can expect from the label. Resonant Robot has got that old Plastic City / Terry Lee Brown Jr. vibe going on (even more present on the labels second release, which is a solo EP by him). Gerwin van Engelenburg is a producer I really admire because he’s very versatile but always has that oldschool openminded vibe, often with a hint of Detroit or old German trance music, sometimes even electro / broken beats. And as far as my own track goes, it’s an ode to Steve Bug / Poker Flat – I don’t think I need to explain why, as he and his label have been at the top of what I love so much for many many years.

Let our readers inside your studio for a moment, what is your current setup and what studio tools are featured heavily on ‘Flop’ which features on ‘Family Affair’?

I’ve just redone my studio setup actually, buying some more vintage gear, or at least replicas of vintage gear. For instance I’m really enjoying Roland’s boutique series but also Behringer’s clones like the TD3-MO is a clear favorite at the moment. I’m using an MPC One+ for sampling, cutting samples, and for working as much “outside the box” as possible but still use a DAW for final editing and mixing.

Let’s talk a bit more about Modern Nostalgia, what led you to start the label initially? And is this your first foray into running a record label?

I’ve been working in the music industry for approximately 25 years now, so this is definitely not new territory for me. Call it a midlife crisis project as you will, but I felt a strong need to reconnect with the roots of electronic music. I fell in love with electronic music in it’s pure, original form, and I’ve seen it being pushed more and more to the background in recent years. With Modern Nostalgia I hope to support artists that are true to their craft with the hope of giving this artform a platform.

What advice do you have for artists hoping to get signed to Modern Nostalgia?

Reach out to me and send me timeless underground music. Who knows? It might resonate with me, and you find yourself on the label. It’s really not more complicated than that J

So will your Kimyou productions be exclusive to Modern Nostalgia? or will you be shopping them to other labels? And if so, how do you decide which of your tracks you want to release on Modern Nostalgia as opposed to shopping them to other labels?

Right now, Modern Nostalgia is my home. I am not planning to send any demo’s to labels, but if a nice label reaches out to me, then I will definitely consider it.

As mentioned previously, i’m not sure if live DJing is something that is possible with your elusive nature but I understand you are doing online mixes however, so let’s discuss your approach to DJing, what were some of the main challenges and goals when starting out as a DJ and how have they changed over time?

I’ve been DJing for the better part of 30 years now so I can honestly say the main challenges when I started out were firstly saving enough money to buy a pair of belt drive turntables, mastering these, and then learning to beat match on proper direct drive turntables after that haha

What is it about DJing, compared to producing your own music, that makes it interesting for you?

Storytelling and taking people on a long journey. Some songs can of course be a story or a journey too but it’s much shorter. On top of that I do like that as a DJ you control the energy, you can also play more “DJ Tool” kinda groove tracks which as stand alone songs aren’t super interesting to listen to, but work magic when placed correctly in a DJ set.

Can you tell me a bit about how your work as a DJ has influenced your view of music, your way of listening to tracks and perhaps also, your work as a producer?

You get to know what works and doesn’t work on a dancefloor, so when you are a DJ next to a producer I think you tend to make more “DJ friendly” music, so to speak.

How much prep do you put into the sets you play, or are they spontaneous for the most part?

I’m pretty much still oldschool, but instead of packing a bag of vinyl, I now make a selection of songs in a folder- without any idea which exact songs inside that folder I’m going to play and when during a set.

Current Top five tracks in your sets?

Since this is a Kimyou interview and, apart from the MONOCAST, I’m not really doing any sets under this alias, I’m going to refer people to listen to the MONOCAST podcasts which includes music from the late 80s until brand-new and unreleased stuff.

If you are not DJing, producing or socializing at clubs, where do we find you? And doing what?

I am a big fan of nature- walking, bicycle riding. Next to that I enjoy a good documentary or movie.

Who would you most like to collaborate on a track with and why?

Steve Bug would be the first one that pops to mind right now, but there are so many great, timeless, house and techno music producers out there- I could name plenty!

What TV series have you been enjoying recently and what are some of your all time favourites?

I grew up watching Miami Vice and would love to watch the original series again haha. Recently, I didn’t really watch any series- I’m more into documentaries in most recent years.

What can we look forward to from yourself and Modern Nostalgia in 2025? Any releases you are looking forward to?

Yeah! Release number 3 will be a solo EP by Gerwin van Engelenburg which is very much worth checking out. It will be out on February 21^st. Also confirmed is a very cool EP by Ian Daniels, and we’re going to do a remix EP for the tracks Resonant Robot has released so far, one of which will be mine. I also hope to release the first Kimyou solo EP on the label later this year as well.

'Family Affair' is available now via Modern Nostalgia: https://tinyurl.com/4m49rzz5