There’s a few things you need to know about Kissy Sell Out. Other than his heavyweight profile as one of the UK’s primary electro proponents with his on BBC Radio program and artistic other life, the man born Thomas Bisdee is a intensely charismatic with a likeable, affable nature on display at all times. He likes to laugh a lot. And despite being a party starting DJ, he has an intriguing thoughtful and introspective side to his persona.
When ITM’s Dave Ruby Howe caught up with the livewire deck hand to talk about his March club tour and new album Youth, all these qualities shine through.
Hey mate, how’re you doing today?
“All good man, just getting ready to do this Australian tour soon.”
Good to hear it, I know there’s some people pretty excited to see you return after your visit for We Love Sounds last year.
“Oh good, we had a lot of fun doing that festival. But, you know, I think when I came out to Australia last year and I brought the full band it was probably too soon to do that. It was a bit weird to be playing these songs that hadn’t actually been released yet!”
Yeah I always thought that was an odd decision since your album Youth has only now just come out in Australia.
“Well, we can only know that now in hindsight! But we did have a really fun time and played some great shows then. This time though I’m excited for the record to be out there now and to be there in the clubs. I’m really just loving DJing right now.”
In the current climate where anyone can download an album online and geography isn’t as important for a CD release, it’s almost as if we did get the record back then, because we could access on the internet if we wanted.
“Yeah, you know I think that’s really cool. Not that I’m supporting illegal downloading but I would be happy that people would just be interested in it. And then if they want to support the artist then they can buy because I think that’s the best thing about being a listener. I mean, I get the biggest bloody mailbag full of promos every single week, but I always find I appreciate and enjoy music more when I’ve actually gone out and bought it myself. I get the biggest buzz out of that because I’m a fan and I’m always looking for and collecting new stuff.”
Since it was released last year in the UK and completed even earlier than that, are the songs on the record old to you now?
“No I don’t think it will ever be, because it’s about something that’s very personal to me, it’s about my childhood. If it wasn’t about something, if it was just made to try and be cool then I probably would be over it all. I’m actually really glad it’s coming out over there now because I get to talk about it again and get into it all. I’m interested to see how it will go with you guys because it’s quite strange for a dance record, really.”
How so?
“Well, I realised when it was realised in the UK just how different it was. It’s such a personal record and to have that as my debut album, well, I don’t think people were really expected that.”
Yeah I did notice from a few lessons that it actually feels very complete, like it’s not just a bunch of singles slapped together, it’s a full story with a beginning, middle and end. I think in the current climate where things are so easily accessible and disposable, that’s a brave move – especially on for a debut LP.
“It certainly felt that way for me, and when the initial critics’ reactions came in you could tell that some people just brushed it off and dismissed it. I guess it was naïve of me to think that I could make something like this, make it so personal and have people get it. But having said that I’m really proud of what I did with it, I love everything about it right down to the cover art.”
Speaking of critics, I read a particularly savage review of the album in the NME. That wasn’t very nice!
“[Laughs] That was a very funny review, it was hysterical!”
I’m glad you’re laughing about it because I don’t know how I would feel about that if I were you.
“Yes sure, I mean obviously it was quite hurtful, but the NME has a reputation for being really bitchy, and I think that they went out of their way to slag me off. It was funny though because I think they called it something like ‘self-indulgent, neon-slattered electro pop’ and that is basically what I do. I didn’t really see a problem with that!”
Have you got plans to release a follow-up to Youth at all? Something that tracks the next chapter of your life?
“Yeah I have been working on a new record that at the moment has the working title of Family, which is about me growing up and moving on with my life. It’s going to be different to Youth in a lot of ways, I think it’ll be nearly all instrumentals on there and I’m going to try not to worry about what other people think and just get it all done.”
A brand new release by two massive producers!!
I must admit I’ve been hiding songs from everyone, for that I apologise! But from now on I will be sharing my most prized possessions with you! Little gems hidden in the giant jungle that we all call the internet! I must say, most Mash-Ups, Bootlegs and songs remixed by Nobodys are rubbish! But I persevere and filter through all that shit for you to find the BEST tracks that will make you DANCE!
Dirty South Vs Faithless - Let It Insomnia (D.O.N.S Mash-Up)
'with the 4 deck thing, yeah sometimes we freestyle, but the sets are heavily crafted, basically we have a bunch of little sections, so they're usually like 15 minute chunks, and then we choose throughout the night what to jump between depending on how stuff's going but since it's 4 turntables, and 3 or 4 tracks often playing at once, it needs to be pretty rehearsed that's why we're constantly glued to the screens, cause we're grabbing new songs, hitting cues, looping, mixing scratching etc' (hence in all the photos you're about to view, there are around about 2 with their faces in it.)
With a blog thats packed to the brim with music, mixes and general party stuff, one like myself can't help but be a tad envious, so when the chance to see these guys arose with the potential for an interview, photos and exclusive post, I couldn't help at jump at it. Anyways i figure its about enough from me, I'm going to let Mu-Gen tell the rest of their story, just a little note before I do though the interview was recorded on the night in person with no preparation on my mobile phones voice recorder, some words have been changed and the whole thing has been tidied up a touch as we were both absolutely blind.
oh, and here's another little Gem from Mu-Gen to get you in the mood, his most recent liveset containing 45 songs in around about 50 minutes, the boy is insane.
