A sleazy mix from London-based duo Kiara Scuro.
Formed of Rosie Ama and Nadia (aka ZaaZaa), Kiara Scuro met through a mutual friend and started working together creatively when an opportunity to host a radio show on Reprezent Radio came up. This show opened the doors up to Kiara Scuro with further semi-regular radio slots and residencies appearing on the likes of NTS, Noods and Balamii. It wasn’t until their residency on Worldwide FM that the Kiara Scuro project was fully formed. A true testament to the power of radio, the experimentation and exploration it allows you to do and how it can propel an artist’s career, Kiara Scuro quickly solidified their name as a go-to in the London club circuit and beyond and continued their radio presence on Rinse FM up until recently. Some of their key dates have included Alexandra Palace where they supported Bicep, Glastonbury, Corsica Studios, Dimensions Festival, Gottwood, Field Manuevers, Secretsundaze and Love International to name just a few. Their creativity knows no bounds as in 2021 the duo took their first steps into the world of production, releasing their debut track on Accidential Meetings’ compilation AMF&F002 followed by releases on Fabric Originals, Ritmo Fatale and Armada. This is a taster of what’s to come from Kiara Scuro as they reveal in the interview below that their debut EP is in the works and scheduled to be released early next year!
Rounding off a very exciting year for Kiara Scuro, we speak to the pair about their first introductions, formative musical moments, Rosie’s approach to A&R and curation with her record label Human Endeavour and digging more into what’s on the horizon.
Hey Rosie & Nadia! How are you doing? What have you been up to lately?
Rosie: Despite the sub zero temperatures I’m really good. Looking forward to Christmas and being able to switch off for a bit.
Nadia: I’m deep in new mum life at the moment with my five month old son. It’s been a rollercoaster but I’m loving it 🙂
Let’s start from the very beginning, what was your first introduction to music in general and then more specifically electronic music?
Nadia: I can’t really remember an introduction to music, I feel like it’s always been there. I loved singing growing up, like a lot of our generation I’d watch music video channels endlessly and be totally fascinated. I started to get into electronic music around 14/15 years old after being introduced to some new music by my Lebanese cousins who were listening to Cream compilations with music from artists like X-press 2 and Laid Back.
Rosie: Similar to Nadia, music has always been around me. My dad came from a musical background, being a jazz musician and part of the Radiophonic Workshop, so from an early age there was always music in the house. Like a lot of people growing up in the mid-late noughties, I was listening to a lot of indie bands. Electronic music followed when I went to university.
Who was the first artist or band that you were a fan of?
Nadia: If we’re talking electronic music, I remember being into Underworld from a young age, went to see them at Roundhouse when I was fourteen!
Rosie: I grew up with a lot of Bob Dylan being played. My ex-stepdad used to call him the messiah. He definitely had an impact, as did Arctic Monkeys. I remember seeing them when I was 15 after their first album came out and thinking ‘yeah, this is a bit of me’.
Was there a formative moment growing up, whether that’s seeing your favourite band live or an incredible DJ set, that led you to this path?
Rosie: As a teenager I was a bit of a music hog… There’s probably something in that – being a complete control freak haha. I used to go to this club at uni called Warehouse – the only one playing decent music in Preston (shock horror) – and there was a DJ there who I’d always see play on a Saturday. I was fully in my mod wings, shift dress, loafer wearing era then and he was playing all the 60s and 70s stuff I’d have on the aux before we went out. I think that’s when I first thought I’d like to do that, have the power in my hands to make people dance. That said, it took me another seven or so years to actually start DJing…
Nadia: I went to Dimensions Festival in 2015 for the first time and remember coming back from it thinking it was the best week of my life! Shortly after I bought a pair of CDJs and said goodbye to my very basic controller, something about that experience gave me the courage to try and take djing more seriously.
Where do you look for sources of inspiration outside of music?
Nadia: Honestly, anywhere. I might hear something on the radio or stumble upon a word/phrase that makes me feel like writing a whole track around it.
Rosie: My friends; I have a lot of inspiring people around me doing amazing stuff. Pushes me to do better.
What has been your most recent musical discovery that you’re obsessed with?
Rosie: I wouldn’t say the project is a recent musical discovery but I can’t stop listening to the latest LP from Cindy Lee, ‘Diamond Jubilee’. It’s a little cheesy and cliché, but it’s legit a masterpiece.
Nadia: I haven’t been digging for as much music as I normally would since giving birth but I love Wallace’s latest track Cravings ft. Love Letters. Vocals are incredible.
Rosie, you run the Ransom Note sub-label, Human Endeavour Records. What has been your approach to curation for the label? Is there a specific narrative/concept you’re going for here?
Rosie: The catalogue isn’t characterised by one genre or style, but there’s a mood that runs through them all. I like hypnotic moody sounds generally, I think all the releases fall into that category in some way or form. I like supporting new or emerging artists too, people I feel deserve to have more people listening to their music.
What has your experience been like as an A&R? What are you typically looking for in an artist and/or release?
Rosie: I love it, working with other artists is really rewarding. It’s a great feeling getting something out into the world after all the time spent on it behind the scenes. Besides the artwork and mastering, I do everything myself; having a role to play in every step of the release process is what makes it so exciting.
How does this curation fit into your wider artistic narrative?
Rosie: That mood that ties the releases together definitely feeds into the way I’m digging for music when Nads and I play. Inevitably I play a lot of the music that I put out on my label in our sets; the last track in this mix is forthcoming on the next EP from LA-based artists Capes & Adult Hits. It’s great, you should go buy it.
You’ve also contributed a mix for the 909 series, what’s the concept behind this one?
Rosie: More and more over the last few years, I like to listen to DJ sets that lock me in rather than waiting for big moments and crescendos. I like slow builds in tension; hopefully this mix will lock you into some sort of zone.
There’s a few exclusives in there: the track on my label I mentioned, as well as a track from our debut EP which is finally coming out early next year. Honorary mention to Harut Hov’s ‘Off Beat Night’, it’s taken off a charity compilation raising money for victims of the Valencia floods. Show it some love.
When was the last time you were on the dance floor?
Rosie: I had a double header in South London at the weekend actually. Friday I went to my friend John’s night Orientate to see DJ Fart In The Club, then Saturday I saw Decius play live at Peckham Audio. Both were top tier.
Nadia: I don’t go out much right now unless it’s for one of our gigs so it would have to be our Halloween gig at The Cause – a lot of fun, really enjoyed the crowd.
What are you most excited about right now?
Nadia: New music on the horizon! Getting our debut EP out into the world plus some other bits too.
What’s on your vision board at the moment?
Nadia: Sleeping through the night 🙂 and some cool gigs in new places.
Rosie: Christmas is coming, so probably some kind of cheese board.
Tracklist
Marco Biagioli – Gate 5 [RPX16035]
Decius – So, So Strong (Vinyl Edit) [Decius Trax]
Kiara Scuro – Twilight Tool [Forthcoming]
Auguste Safar & Raphael Graham – Za Ria [366 Days]
LUCIDUS – BRUNO SCHMIDT EDIT [Amor Fati]
Thomass Jackson – Space 2 – Unknown Location Edit
Oshana – Acid Disco (Oshana Reshape)
Fabio Monesi, Tom Carruthers – The Bass Theory [Wilson Records]
Theus Mago, Dominik Marz – Bring The Feedback (Ambitions Mix) [Duro]
131bpm – Do U Want Me [Step Ball Chain]
Harut Hov feat Fabio Vinuesa – Off Beat Night [Ransom Note Records]
Bryan Kessler – Punx Eat Little Kids [Pets Recordings]
Capes & Adult Hits – Move Your Body [Human Endeavour]