Multi-Artsing
melanie jones interviews katrina steinmetz
PrintKatrina Steinmetz is not one to settle down. Currently in San Francisco California, she and husband Jeff worked for Microsoft before a singing lesson, taken on a lark, bloomed into a dance music career. With her husband as accompanying DJ Kepi, the group Kepi and Kat have become a West Coast staple in the dance-club and outdoor-festival scene for six years running, voted "Best Electronic Music Act" in the Bay Area four years running. They've headlined across the United States and performed internationally at the dance music world capital of Ibiza, Spain and the Diversity Festival in Canada. With their debut EP "Limelight" featured in the Xbox 360 game "Perfect Dark Zero, the two have branched out from music to the world of fashion, with Steinmetz modeling and working as a makeup artist and her husband photographing. Melanie Jones talks with Steinmetz about the growth of dance music, holding down multiple jobs, and why she's creeped out about "settling down."
You and Kepi have both had many jobs over the years and continue to hold multiple jobs today, from makeup art to photography to DJing. Do you feel like you'd better happy settled down with one? What are some of the greatest advantages and disadvantages of having multiple, higher risk jobs?
I really love having many interests and multiple outlets for my creativity and mind to develop, so I don't plan on ever having just one "job" and in fact I really never have. From a young age, I've always had lots of interests and been very involved in life...I love challenging myself to learn new things, it keeps me young and it sure makes life fun and exciting!
... The only disadvantage is that sometimes my many interests/jobs can start competing for the same time (unfortunately there is only so much time in a day...dang it!) and if I'm not super conscious of keeping my life balanced I can get overwhelmed and stressed out. I have done a lot of learning and
development around keeping a really good balance in life and staying very present - this is very key to living this kind of lifestyle and why it's not for everyone.
And I hope we never "settle down"...that phrase creeps me out! ;)
Do you think it's a good idea for people to ever limit themselves to one career path/ "chosen" profession?
I don’t think I can answer that definitively for everyone – it depends on the person and what their personality/style and goals are. I know for myself and Kepi, our style is that we love being involved in lots of different things (we’re kind of obsessed with “being involved”), building our skills and experiences, expanding our horizons and learning new things…it’s just the type of people we are and it’s important to us. It’s absolutely possible/workable as a life path and it’s always exciting, engaging and fun. I personally feel it makes me very flexible and adaptable to change and therefore gives me leverage in our modern society/culture.
That said, I also know many people who chose one career path early on and stick with it their whole lives and become incredible masters at that chosen field. That’s inspiring and fascinating to me and I really respect that ability because it’s not something I feel I could do. The most important thing to remember is not to compare yourself to others or “societal standards” and feel you have to be the same. I did that a lot when I was younger and I let myself feel bad for not being able to pick one career path and stick to it. Now I realize it’s my advantage and gift to have lots of interests, skills and experiences and that I can be inspiring to others by being true to myself and modeling how this can work.
How do you balance professional work with your personal life? Are you able to be honest with each other about your work?
Good question! Overall, we haven’t struggled with this too much and I consider us blessed to have the kind of relationship where this works well for us. I think it also helps that Kepi is not a singer or lyric writer and I don’t play any instruments and only do minimal production (as well as Kepi doesn’t know the first thing about makeup or styling and I’m not as interested in photography), therefore our lines in the sand are pretty well drawn and the division of work is well understood between the both of us. In addition, we have a lot of respect for each other’s abilities and skills and we’re super honest with each other about everything…very important to being able to work well together!
One of your other jobs is a professional makeup artist (you were nominated for Best Makeup Artist in the 2008 San Francisco Fashion Awards), and Kepi is a noted photographer. Do you feel there's any separation between your work in music and in fashion?
All of the jobs and interests we have influence and feed off of each other. Each new thing we become involved in opens doors to other opportunities and networks and so on, and so on. I think fashion and music are quite closely linked and always have been - they both feed off and drive each other. Fashion, music and the arts are what make life exciting and inspire the culture - they're flashy, fun, and filled with wild personalities. It's no different for us and the work we do.
Dance music is usually seen as restricted to clubs, often boxed into the umbrella term "electronica". Is dance starting to branch out more? How has the genre changed over the last ten years?
I think electronic and dance music has definitely branched out quite a bit over the last ten years. Pop stars like Madonna and Justin Timberlake have made it much more mainstream and have put out whole dance-themed albums and remixes. People like Britney Spears and Kylie Minogue are winning Grammy awards in the Dance categories (which is kind of annoying for all of us "indy" dance and electronic artists...we want to say "hey pop bitches, step away from our categories and stay in your own!"). Dance/electronic artists like Moby and Fatboy Slim have licensed many of their tracks for big commercials and movies.
But the publicity's good for everyone, right?
All kidding aside, I think the publicity probably is, because it becomes more accepted as an integral part of the culture and people get used to hearing more of this style of music. There are parts that could be construed as the “selling out” of the genre by these mainstream artists (i.e. the “cheese” factor) and I completely understand and get that but I think overall it’s been good for the genre and that ”indy” artists end up getting more respect, pay, and opportunities when something becomes more understood and accepted as legitimate.
"Limelight" has gotten big play across the West Coast, and has even popped up on the East. What is it like to walk into a store and hear your song playing?
"Limelight" is has been a very magical song for us - it's the very first song we ever wrote together and started from a dream that Kepi had. It's been played all over the world in clubs, stores, and radio... Victoria's Secret has a monthly soundtrack that all of the stores play worldwide and they licensed "Limelight" for their January 2006 soundtrack. A friend of mine called me from a store in Seattle and was so excited to tell me that our song was playing. We were thrilled and figured it was just that particular store. I happened to be at the main San Francisco Victoria's Secret store in Union Square that same week and was trying something on when I suddenly heard "Limelight" playing. I burst out of the dressing room half dressed and started telling the woman who
worked there (and anyone else that happened to be standing there) "this is me singing!" The store manager was more excited than I was.
What inspires your songs? Do you start with lyrics or with the beat?
I usually start with the music and then write the lyrics. I'm inspired by all sorts of things on any given day. Listening to the music usually gives me a feeling or a sense and then I start writing from that place. Kepi writes and produces the music and I write the lyrics and perform the vocals - we work very well in that way.
"Limelight" was featured in the Xbox game Perfect Dark Zero. Do you plan to continue working in the gaming industry?
Yes, Kepi is currently working on the latest version of the game "Rock Band" designing the in-game play for "Rock Band Unplugged".
So now that you've made a name for yourself on the West Coast (and played internationally) do you picture yourself tackling NYC anytime soon?
We'd love to play in NYC, but we don't really have any solid connections there and in the music/club industry it's all about connections and who you know. But we'd love to play NYC if we get enough of a fan base on the East Coast for someone to book us. We are currently talking with a London-based DJ and producer who is putting together a US tour and is interested in including us...that would be very exciting!
Most artists assemble a full CD and tour regionally to develop fans, but you've managed to make a huge amount of progress with your EP "Limelight" as the focal point. Is this something that's unique to dance music, where word of mouth can help generate a lot of buzz? How much has the internet played into your success?
It seems pretty unique to dance music for a single and/or remixes to be the primary focal point. Word of mouth, licensing, and top DJs playing the single in clubs are the primary source for dance music to get buzz, which is different from most genres, even pop. The internet is a huge source for our success as well as lots of other artists. We don't do a physical distribution of our music; it's all through download sites (like iTunes), our own websites, www.urgeproductions.com and www.kepiandkat.com, and social networking sites (like MySpace). We also use all of those avenues for promotion.
Are you going to continue to produce singles (such as your new song, "Now I Know"?) or do you plan to put out a CD in the near future?
Currently, we don't have specific plans to put out a full length CD, but that could change. Music, fashion and the arts will always be a part of our lives...we are in love with beauty and creativity and it's a constant source of inspiration and fun for us.
26 March 2009
vol. 6, issue 7
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