Artist Profile: I Know Karate
Of all the artists we've profiled, I Know Karate certainly seems to have the most kick. Between his music, his stories and his songwriting philosophy, he shares some pretty interesting ideas and productions. The Electric Love team caught up with the bad boy of bunny rap in his studio for a chat...
Electric Love: We’re super excited to have you out at Electric Love this year! Can you tell us about your wildest festival experience?
I Know Karate: To be honest… I don’t really remember all of it. All I remember was basically it being like “The Hangover.” I remember taking, grabbing a Mickey, slamming it back, and not realizing what it was… There’s videotape of it, apparently. Apparently I was laying in the mud, I remember waking up dirty. I remember knocking off the speakers off the stage after someone else’s set… So basically I drugged myself without being cautious... Is that a good story?
Electric Love: Yeah for sure! So was this a festival you were performing at?
I Know Karate: Yeah, it was for APEX. So APEX was like basically still in the glory days of the rave scene in Vancouver when everyone went to raves. And basically, you could still make money—a lot of money—doing it, without much effort. It was out in Chilliwack, so in around the same area, that same area [as the Electric Love Festival].
Electric Love: How would you explain your sound to someone who’s never heard it before?
I Know Karate: I would describe my sound honestly as raunchy sex—if you can even describe music that way. When I make a song, I literally ask myself 3 questions: 1) Could you dance to it? I would actually get up in here [in my studio]. Like, oh yeah, ok, you can dance to it. 2) If you listen to it on a long road trip, would you get really bored and sick of it after like 6 hours—like, that style? 3) And then third question is… Would you f*** to it?
Electric Love: What are you currently working on?
I Know Karate: My next release is an EP called The Orion Syndicate EP that’s coming out on Prison Entertainment in July. We’ve got so new much music, like 9 new tracks—it’s almost overwhelming.
Electric Love: You seem really busy making new music. What else do you have coming this year?
I Know Karate: Yeah, I have been pretty busy. I’ve been finishing up a contract because I also edit and compose and score for the Discovery Channel, so I haven’t taken as many bookings as I normally would have, but I’ve got some time off now. So I’ve got Electric Love, and I’ve got another festival coming up in Japan, one in Brazil, and one in South Korea.
Twitter: @iknowkaratemuzk
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/i-know-karate