Prog Rockers, Kindo, are have released a brand-new track “Return To Me” via Relix Magazine. This is their first release in over four years and is off their new album Happy However After. The band which was previously known as The Reign of Kindo, officially changed their name to Kindo.
The track “Return To Me” is a musical playground, mixing several genres of music, while staying true to the band’s core sound. It starts off calm with a rhythmic piano melody then picks up to a sophisticated jazz influenced bass sound with a drum beat that make up a more layered melody. The band sticks to its roots by having a slightly heavier guitar riff that channels their progressive rock sound. The vocals are soothing and harmonic while tying together the calming feeling the track gives off along with the meaningful lyrics about heartbreak and hopelessness.
Kindo have become modern music phenomenons with their unique piano-driven, complex songs. Through all the blood, sweat, and tears from their decade long journey they racked up 3 million views on YouTube, 2.5 million Spotify plays, and sell over 30,000 records across the globe without the help of a major label. They’ve worked alongside major artists like Andy McKee, Cynic, and Matthew Santos as well as toured with multi-platinum artist Gin Wigmore.
INTERVIEW
Popdust: You had a great following as The Reign of Kindo. What inspired the name change?
Kindo: In short: It feels way more natural for us.
To start, we realized that we were always asking each other questions like ‘When is the next Kindo practice?’ ‘Are we going to do a Kindo tour this summer?’ ‘Why haven’t we released a Kindo record in almost 5 years…?’. We have referred to ourselves internally as Kindo from the very beginning.
It’s also not uncommon for our fans and friends to naturally refer to us as ‘Kindo’ in conversations and in AOL chat rooms. Additionally, there hasn’t been a soul who has asked me the name of our band without immediately regretting having done so.
‘Wait, rain of… what?’, ‘Oh… say that again?’ , ‘You might have to write that down for me…’
That inevitable exchange soon becomes a source of dread. It also seemed a bit arrogant to expect a newcomer to retain a 5 syllable name with the last two forming a word we just made up. (Even though all words are made up, it feels greedy.)
While we are officially referring to ourselves as ‘Kindo’ in the public sphere moving forward, we are not (too) ashamed, nor do we discourage fans from continuing to refer to us as ‘The Reign Of Kindo’ if they prefer. It’s become a part of our band mythology now, and will bear the mark of an OG Kindo fan who’s been with us from the days of old. Also, we’re not sure how to change over our digital store and streaming platforms to fit the new name, so there is that too. I can’t find the number for tech support on all those sites.
Popdust: What was it like working together again after four years?
Kindo: While we’ve been relatively quiet in the eyes of the public for the past four years, we’ve actually spent the past two years laying the bedrock for a whole new paradigm of music creation.We launched a Patreon campaign in 2016 with the basic premise being ‘Get a new Kindo song every month.’ Since then, for as little as $1 a month, our most devoted fans have been hearing us craft this upcoming record one song at a time. Higher tier patrons get audio commentary on the creative process for each song, even gaining access to live-streams of us writing the songs, or producing them in the studio. A ‘fly on the wall’ sort of experience. (Don’t forget 8-bit remixes for every song, produced by our own Steve Padin.)
It has evolved, though. By the time this new record drops, we will have about 3/4 of the next record written and produced, and our Patrons will have access to those songs as well. Essentially, we started our own record label and the investors are our hard-core fans who get early and exclusive access to all kinds of gross Kindo stuff. We plan on releasing a new record almost every year while building support on Patreon to create more and more ridiculous shit until we can make a proper living at this.
It feels so good to be making music regularly with these guys. We’re as inspired as ever.
Popdust:What inspired the hiatus? Did you have solo projects?
Kindo:Aside from launching Patreon campaign, a number of us perform with other artists to help us make a living. Steve, Rocco and I perform with a New Zealand artist called Gin Wigmore. We toured on and off with her during that time. Steve also tours with country/pop-artist/reality TV star Jessie James. Jarvis also plays bass with Vertical Horizon. Also, for a while, we just didn’t know what we should do next. We each went through some pretty big life transitions. I got married. Sorry, ladies.Popdust:What music did you listen to growing up? How did that color your experience in learning to make music?
Michael Jackson, Earth Wind & Fire, Stevie Wonder, Prince, James Taylor, Carole King, The Beatles… They have shaped everything I know about music. I studied jazz through grade school. My high school Jazz Ensemble studied Duke Ellington for 4 years. Even today, I remain one of their countless and humble students; there is enough wealth of musical knowledge in each of these artists to last a lifetime.Popdust: Where do you draw inspiration from?
Kindo: My dear friends, my wife, the vibrant and ever-changing NYC music scene, comedians, podcasts, Quentin Tarantino, Alan Watts, Fr. Anthony DeMello, Jordan Peterson, Sam Harris.
Popdust:What was “Return to Me” inspired by?
Kindo: We hadn’t written together in quite some time and when we started to jam on this idea, I went to my laptop (a much less romantic version of pen and paper) and felt a bit puzzled… “What do I write about? What if I can’t think of anything good to write about? My lyrics grow more cliche with every verse… eww. What if I can’t write anything worth singing anymore? You wouldn’t have this problem if you weren’t whoring your muse out to companies and other artists in exchange for money. You pimped your muse, you disgusting human being…” That’s all well and dramatic, but my emotions were a bit peaked with panic.
So, I wrote about having pimped my muse. My muse is personified in the song as a lost lover, and I am ever yearning for her return. Eww.
Popdust:What have your fans reactions been surrounding your return?
Kindo: From what I can tell, people are mostly excited. Though to be honest I’ve never heard of a fan making a statement about how bummed they are that one of their favorite bands is “putting out another dumb record again”.
Some people are bummed about us losing ‘The Reign Of’. That was to be expected. Humans generally don’t respond well to change. Especially when YOU are changing THEIR band’s name. Let’s face it, it’s their band. Without them we would just be some weird guys who ‘weren’t gay or anything, we just spend a LOT of time together laughing, arguing, smiling, crying, dancing and playing music together.’ Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
Popdust:Are you planning any live shows?
Kindo: We got a sweet lil’ tour coming up in March with Little Tybee. It’s a co-headline and you won’t want to miss it. Get tickets here: http://thereignofkindo.com/livePopdust:What’s next?
Kindo: Lot’s of things. More new music. Audiophile’s 12″ 180 gram 45-rpm 2 disc vinyl. (They know what I’m talking about.) Also, we’re starting a cult. We should link up.
Follow Kindo on Facebook //Twitter //Instagram
Dan Victor is editor of Popdust and producer of Popdust Presents. He is also a music producer, bassist for Low Profile (live hip hop) & The Coldpress (indie rap) and front-man for Ductape Halo (indie rock). Follow on Youtube.
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