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Kirklandd shares the tracks that inspired his new live set in celebration of new single ‘man of my word’
We pick the hottest new acts so you can tell your friends you heard them first. Meet Canberra rapper Kirklandd on his new single 'man of my word'.
It is easy to describe Canberra artist Kirklandd as a rapper, but as he continues to prove with each new release, the MC is determined to push the boundaries of his sound and remain genre-less.
Since childhood – thanks to family members entrenched in rap and R&B culture – Daniel Kirkland was on a path towards music. Back then, it was classics like Lupe Fiasco and Nas that spelled out his musical direction, but a quick stroll through Kirklandd’s catalogue showcases a world of sounds and influences.
From the blend of hip hop, off-kilter trap beats, and pop punk that has become Kirklandd’s signature, to sweeps of percussive acoustics, electronic experimentations, soulful R&B grooves, and pop and indie melodies – Kirklandd is an artist unafraid to bend genres and expand listeners’ ideas of what hip hop can sound like.
After making his entrance on the local scene back in 2015, and catching the attention of the music industry with a steady stream of releases across the following two years – including team ups with Canberra heavy hitters Citizen Kay and Genesis Owusu –Kirklandd was well on the way to carving out his own corner of the national music scene.
Following a huge 2019 that saw the release of two singles and spots on Australian festival lineups including Spilt Milk, NYE on the Hill, and in his hometown at Groovin’ The Moo – the pandemic threatened to halt his growing momentum.
But instead of slowing down, Kirklandd instead turned his focus to the studio. The buzz culminated in his long-awaited debut EP The Love Divide. Arriving in the back half of 2020 and catching the attention of critics and tastemakers around the country, it was clear the rest of the industry was finally catching up to what fans have been saying all along.
Since then, he’s built a live band, dropped nine-track live EP The Live Divide, and even received a nod from T-Pain in support of his track ‘Knowbody’.
Now, we meet Kirklandd at the beginning of his next chapter, with his just released duology, SUCCESS $TAINS – and its lead single ‘man of my world’ featuring Sydney hip hop artist Lil Spacely.
Exploring the complexity of ego, self-belief, and self-doubt while showcasing his knack for intimate, personal lyricism, the release continues Kirklandd’s musical evolution both on and off stage, leading into his anticipated punk mixtape.
The supporting tour – heading to Canberra this weekend – introduces the emerging punk direction of his sound, visual effects, and stage presence of his live band, further proving there is no limit to Kirklandd’s creative direction.
‘man of my word’ was written in lockdown while I was working on ideas for the new punk mixtape I’m working on with Taka Perry for next year, called SUCCESS $TAINS.
Daniel Kirklandd on new single ‘man of my word’
I started writing it to a beat I was sent one night, and at this point, I’d been writing a song a day all of lockdown just to try and keep myself sane. I felt a new sense of confidence from spending that much time writing, and what emerged was a demo that I recorded entirely in one take – the final vocals you hear in the song are actually what I recorded that night.
A couple of weeks later, I sent the track to Spacely, who sent me back his verse in less than three hours. I recreated the beat with my homie Cam Bluff over Zoom, and I released it a couple of months later with another track called ‘idwbf’. These tracks didn’t fit the mixtape, but I wanted to release them separately to introduce people to the concept and what lies ahead with SUCCESS $TAINS. Now my band and I – the homies Viktor on guitar and Jables on drums – are touring the tracks from the mixtape before they release next year, and it’s been a wave seeing the response to these tracks from crowds hearing them for the first time.
To celebrate the release of his new single ‘man of my word’, Kirklandd is sharing the tracks that inspired his new live set.
Kirklandd will bring his SUCCESS $TAINS live show to Canberra’s UC Hub on Saturday 18 December. Tickets are on sale via Moshtix.
Check out ‘man of my word’ by Kirklandd:
Kirklandd shares the tracks that inspired his new live set:
Jon Bellion – Stupid Deep (Live)
“Jon Bellion is my favourite artist of all time, period. I came across a video of how he made his biggest song, ‘All Time Low’, in 30 minutes at an Airbnb in the States. His passion for what he does and his creative energy is infectious, and I was a fan for a couple of years before I saw him live at Enmore Theatre on the tail end of 2019, with his full eight-piece band. The way he recreates all of his tracks in a unique way each time they’re performed is wild. Jon’s ability to craft a sonic and visual journey with his live sets inspires the more musical approach the band and I have taken with these shows.”
Nas – NY State of Mind
“I saw Nas live at The Tivoli in Brisbane when I was 18. He’d just turned 40, and was doing the 20th anniversary tour of Illmatic, and I was the same age he was when he first released the record – which in my opinion is the greatest hip hop record of all time. The way he assembled a masterclass of producers – Q Tip, Large Professor, DJ Premier, Pete Rock and others at 18 years old, and the stories he crafted over their instrumentals, is truly incredible. Watching an entire room of people rap ‘NY State of Mind’ word for word made me feel the power of his street storytelling I’d studied ever since I was a kid.”
Stormzy – Big Michael
“My guitarist Viktor and I were watching Stormzy’s set at Reading Festival, and we thought Rabea Massaad’s guitar tones in ‘Big Michael’ would be perfect for our live version of ‘man of my word’. Vik actually patched his pedal into our set, and we made a Tik Tok on how it sounds that Rabea shared when we put it up. Using these tones in ‘man of my word’ makes the track so much bigger and grungier live.”
KennyHoopla – how will i rest in peace if i’m buried by a highway?
“It’s pretty safe to say Kenny Hoopla is at the forefront of new wave punk. I first heard this track mid last year and it instantly reminded me of the OG Bloc Party era, and Kenny’s vocal tone is so powerful and unique. I love the emotion his voice carries amidst the punk production, and he’s inspired a number of the vocal effect triggers I’ve used in Ableton to enhance the bigger punk moments in our set.”
Jean Dawson – Clear Bones
“Jean Dawson is crafting intricate, experimental alt-rock/punk/grunge that speaks to so many of the influences I absorbed growing up. Similar to Kenny, a lot of Jean’s decisions in mixing and recording his vocals have inspired the vocal effect triggers I’ve incorporated into our live set – the way I pan different adlibs, use and harmonise vocals at random times is largely inspired by Jean – particularly in the opening track in our set, called ‘OUTSIDE’.”
Bloc Party – Like Eating Glass
“This record makes up such a huge part of mine and my band’s childhood that we constantly reference Bloc Party for various guitar tones, drum fills, and overall energy. We might just go ahead and do a cover of one of their songs. Who knows.”
Slowthai X Mura Masa – Doorman
“I watched the live video of this at Glastonbury and just thought the energy was lit. Taka and I actually referenced this for ‘OTHERSIDE’, one of the unreleased punk tracks we’re touring, and definitely absorbed its live energy for the live version…‘OTHERSIDE’ has by far the biggest moment of crowd interaction in the entire set.”
Moses Sumney – Virile
“Everything Moses does has such a clear sense of vision and aesthetic. When he performed ‘Virile’ as part of his Planet Afropunk performance, he was lugging a truck that was playing a video of his band on the side of it. The costuming, performance and vision were phenomenal. The attention to detail and creative scope to his performances inspired me to craft the SUCCESS $TAINS live outfits, which when hit with UV reactive light illuminate the original designs by Tommy Balogh, a Canberra based photoluminescent artist. Creating a visual concept like this to introduce our fans to the world of SUCCESS $TAINS is going to be a dope entry point before the music drops next year.”
![Moses Sumney - Virile [Official Video]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/-Cq8zRq0G9I/0.jpg)
Check out the full playlist:
Kirklandd will bring his SUCCESS $TAINS live show to Canberra’s UC Hub on Saturday 18 December. Tickets are on sale via Moshtix.
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