Digital Cover Story 5: KUČKA

If you’re not yet acquainted with KUČKA, it’s probably because the LA-based electronic experimentalist has pretty much mastered the art of creative hybridity. Surely, you’ve already encountered the talented singer, songwriter, and producer’s ethereal voice. Whether you came across it captured in the “bang bang, boom boom, pop pop” sample that secured A$AP Rocky’s alias as the ‘Fashion Killa’ back in 2013, or more recently, as the reappearing vox on Flume’s critically acclaimed 2016 sophomore album “Skin”; no doubt, KUČKA’s capacity for harnessing her vocals as instrumentation is a novelty that’s put her on the map. Last week, in the highly anticipated, follow up to her 2015 sophomore EP “Unconditional”, KUČKA’s distinct voice will take centre stage once more, for the release of her debut LP “Wrestling”.

Words by Tahirah Thomas

“I’ve been up for an hour, but I haven’t really spoken to anyone yet” KUČKA chuckles as we begin our inter-continental Zoom-call. We’re still a few weeks out from the drop of “Wrestling” when we connect and as she sits across from me virtually, with two blonde braids falling on either side of piercingly blue eyes, she’s exuding infectious cheerful energy. “I’m writing more stuff right now, so I kind of want to get it out already”, she tells me of the daunting build-up to the release of her debut. “I mean, there’s something about writing new stuff when you’re holding onto older stuff that I can’t quite explain. It’s almost like being in this strange limbo where I’m focused on these twelve tracks that I wrote what feels like ages ago. I’m super proud of all the songs on there, so I want to release them and also sort of release myself from that mounting pressure”.

We unpack the source of that pressure together. As it turns out, living a stone’s throw away from Hollywood, perceptibly at the centre of all the creative mania of the music industry in LA, has had an equally calamitous effect on KUČKA’s working headspace as it’s had a positive one. “I feel like there’s this insane session culture here in LA” she says. “On one hand it’s great for inspiring a good work ethic in you, but on the other hand I think this environment and its inherent methodical divisiveness can take time away from necessary artistic exploration”. Briefly, she touches on how the political landscape in America affected her emotional state throughout the writing process for “Wrestling”. Similarly, to other future-facing contemporary artists, KUČKA’s political standpoint is left-leaning, which didn’t bode well for her mentally over the four years she spent recording within Trump’s ideation of ‘a great America’. “I moved here four years ago with my wife Dillon, and since then I’ve decided that I do and don’t like California” she admits, “there’s so many pros and cons to living in the U.S., but ultimately, I feel like the government doesn’t give a shit about the people here”. Her solution to that problem, well… “Burn the fucking system down and start again!” she gesticulates with her hands, playfully on the surface, but understandably giving away an air of frustration with her tone.

“…There’s something about being able to bounce off of somebody when coming up with exciting ideas – so, I do find I’m drawn to people who are creative.“

KUČKA’s stance on things makes perfect sense when you take into account her free-spirited approach to art and the resultant ebb-and-flow trajectory of her long-standing musical career. As a Liverpudlian girl, who moved to the “isolated” town of Perth (Australia) as a teenager; time and space to create were the driving impetus for her early inquiries into the musical world. On that particular life-changing re-location, she reflects, “I didn’t want to move [to Perth] – I spent two years arguing back and forth with my parents about it. Then when we moved, I had to take it all back because I learned pretty quickly that people in Perth are really fucking cool - it was a huge culture shock”. In hindsight, KUČKA ultimately cherishes the perspective Perth gave her, saying “In the end, I’m kind of glad that I moved because that’s where I met most of the musicians I know today - people who inspired me to make music in the first place. I’m not sure that would have happened had I stayed in Liverpool”.

One notable musician KUČKA came across whilst in Australia - Flume - is now a dear friend and studio-buddy. When I ask how she sparked up such a friendship with the EDM-wonderkid, she explains “I was in Sydney recording and one night I went to this wacky gig held at a bowling club. I ended up outside talking to this guy at 3 AM and as it turns out, he was running Flume’s label Future Classic at the time”. KUČKA kept in contact with the enigmatic said label executive, and through his recommendation eventually caught up with Flume; first over the internet, then over a beer. They organically struck up a friendship, bonding over their shared taste in music. “I guess the music we share with each other helps us get along quite naturally”, she tells me, “I mean, he just moved back to Australia a couple of months ago, but there was a time in the process of recording [Wrestling] when I’d go to his place every Monday to just write and jam”. So, it comes as no surprise that Flume features on the album. Though, I do wonder out loud how KUČKA went about realising the other two collaborations present on her most personal body of work to date. Working with Frank Ocean collaborator Vegyn on the single “Contemplation” and Kendrick Lamar collaborator Nosaj Thing on the track “Real”.

“I feel like there’s this crew attached to the studio in LA [Heavy Duty] that I used to work out of”, she explains of her connection with Vegyn. “There’s Buddy Von, Vegyn passes through from time to time; just a bunch of people. So, I’d see him around a lot and one day he sent me through this folder of beats”. On that beat-tape was a glimmer of the marvelry Vegyn’s production so often encapsulates. A melancholic, other-worldly loop that caught KUČKA’s attention, later using it to drive her introspective lyrical explorations on “Contemplation”. “I had the lyrics down in like 20 minutes” she explains with a light-hearted nonchalance; one that’s almost scary when you take into account how brilliantly the final product shines. “I sent it back to him, he laid down the second section and then we hopped in the studio to finish it all off – it was really fun” she continues with her characteristic bubbly charm. “Then with Nosaj Thing…”, she pauses, finger-on-chin, “I’d been a huge fan of his for ages and my old manager had a connection. I ended up going to his place and we immediately just hit it off – he has this amazing dog called Olive that I love to chill with” she jests. At this point it becomes crystalline that KUČKA isn’t an artist who views herself as part of LA’s wider music-making machine, pumping out hits with a capitalist motivation; this has never simply been a vocation for her – she’s all about making friends.

“It’s always fun at Nosaj Thing’s because he’s just got this immense catalogue of beats on his computer. He’ll casually just open 15 projects at once and play them all whilst asking me what I think”. For KUČKA it’s Nosaj Thing’s humility that always flaws her, “like here you have this guy whose musicality is just so mind-blowing and then he asks me my opinion on it – like what? Literally everything he makes is fire!” she laughs, tickled by the idea as if talking about some bizarre happening. Obviously, there’s an air of admiration that always precedes a KUČKA collaboration. Another example of this would be the ongoing visual alliance she’s cultivated with her wife Dillion Howl for the creative direction of the album’s rollout. Knowing this, I ask if she feels it’s an important part of her artistic process to work with people she loves, to which she replies, “I think it’s so important. I feel like the best ideas come to me when I’m comfortable; my brain just processes things differently. There’s something about being able to bounce off of somebody when coming up with exciting ideas – so, I do find I’m drawn to people who are creative”.

“Wrestling” arrives as a testament to this eagerness to exchange ideas; an amalgamation of KUČKA’s complex, ruminative self-examinations over the past four years. In a way, this collection of songs puts her thoughts and ideas into a succinct chronology and context. “I like that idea of context” she agrees when I put my perspective of the project to her. “I really wanted to release tracks that were super personal and reflect the different sides of my life. That’s why some tracks are more ambient and chill, some are more upbeat, there’s some that are more contemplative in a lyrical sense, and others where I attempt to examine the world outside of myself. She closes this line of thought by affirming, “I feel like releasing an album allows you to explore all of those facets of yourself - which is really cool’. As our conversation comes to a close, it’s become blindingly evident that KUČKA has surpassed what she initially set out to achieve with this body of work. In its entirety, “Wrestling” is a dazzling account of one woman’s dedication to artistically inspecting the vast scope of human emotion; and not only is it sonically sublime, but it’s also pleasantly grounding.

When I ask what’s next for KUČKA, given the immense amount of work she’s put into forging what will surely be a career-defining project, she exhales “I would love to go on a holiday for like two weeks. I’d not think about work or open my laptop and just sit on a beach eating food, reading books and swimming in the ocean – that would be so nice”. It’s clear, that like most of us still enduring lockdowns caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, KUČKA has been yearning for the outdoors. On the idea of getting out to tour the record at some point, she explains “I think it might be better to wait until next year to make sure shows don’t get cancelled. I mean, also from an artist’s perspective it would just suck if someone got sick at your show - I’d rather wait to make sure everybody’s safe”. We end off on a reassuring note, with KUČKA light-heartedly shrugging as she tells me, “I’m not worried – that’ll just give people more time to live with the project and learn all the words so they can sing them back to me when I do manage to get up there”.

YouTube/KUCKA

Stream ‘Wrestling’ HERE

Follow KUČKA on socials:

Instagram: @iamkucka

Twitter: @iamkucka

Credits:

Words – Tahirah Thomas @tahirahtho

Photographer – Dillon Howl @dillonhowl; www.dillonhowl.com

Art Design – Baris Ozdemir @baris.jpg