In the Zone with Natasha Kmeto

Since
2012, Natasha Kmeto has been making her mark on the Pacific Northwest
electronic music scene. Fans and critics alike adored Kmeto’s first two albums,
The Ache, and Crisis. In February 2015, her newest album Inevitable, is scheduled for release. A single also titled “Inevitable,”
is already on Soundcloud. If the gorgeous, soulful track is any indication of
what’s to come, I think it’s safe to assume Kmeto will be continuing her upward
trajectory. Kmeto was kind enough to take some time out of her day to talk to CULTURE about her roots, her sound and
of course, cannabis culture.

You have a really
beautiful voice, what kind of vocal training did you have? Did you grow up
singing?

I
took voice lessons when I was a kid. I played piano from ages five to 10, and
then quit. So I started taking vocal lessons for a couple years at 12 to
13.  Then after that I stopped lessons
and started mostly singing in bands and stuff. For the most part I’m
self-taught. I was in a couple choirs in my teenage years, and that’s where I
learned a lot of harmonization and tone work and stuff like that.

Who were your major
musical influences growing up?

Song-writing
wise, I’d say Stevie Wonder, Prince and Carole King. For singing I’d say Stevie
Wonder again. I grew up with a lot of jazz so Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughn, Ella
Fitzgerald. I listened to a lot of ’90s R&B growing up, so that’s kind of
who I wanted to sound like.  Listened to
a lot of SWV,  Janet Jackson and ya know
stuff like that, so that’s definitely an influence. Production wise, some of
the first producers I really became inspired by were, obviously J Dilla, Missy
Elliot was a huge one for me. Then on the electronic side, Daft Punk was huge
for me, Portishead was a big one as well.

Who were your major
influences for your upcoming album? Did you listen to anything on repeat while
you were recording?

Yeah,
Machine Drum was a huge influence on this album. Room(s) and Vapor City I
listened to a lot. I listened to a lot of Rashad. Melodically, and chordal wise
I was listening to a lot of Eurythmics and Prince. And then again there were
the nineties R&B references for sure. Mainly just taking influence from a
lot of the electronic music I listen to. Right now I’ve been listing to a lot
of SBTRKT
as far as electronic music goes.

How would you describe
your sound?

The
main thing I would say about my music is that it’s emotional. It’s dark it’s
sexy, it’s bold, this album especially. My last album Crisis was a little
darker and more brooding, and this record’s a little brighter sounding.

How has the growing
cannabis culture of the Pacific Northwest impacted both the music scene you’re
part of, and your sound?

The
crew that I run with, Dropping Gems—the “stoner” vibe that accompanies them
provides a more contemplative, slower production style at times. The thing that
I’ve been most inspired by, is the more layered, psychedelic, and sonic
textures. And more trippy, analog, found sound stuff goes hand in hand with
what we call “the zone”. Which is when you’re super baked and listening to
atmospheric, deep kinda tripped out music. I think that’s made a huge impact on
my production style. Because I think it makes electronic music feel more human.
I very rarely go for a more clean, generic, out-of-the-box sound.

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www.natashakmeto.com