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Nicolay & Kay (posted January 13, 2008) Hey, what's going on guys? Nicolay/Kay: What's up man? How did you two connect and when did you decide to record Timeline? Nicolay: The way I remember it, the decision to actually move from just doing spot tracks here and there to committing to doing an entire album dates back to last year. Kay had come up with doing a concept which was inspired by the music I had sent him. He heard a lot of different time periods in the stuff I was sending him. He had something that would remind him of the 60's to something like the 80's or 70's. He combined that with a storyline going from death to rebirth and he coupled that with the sound, so that is the story behind it. You've both worked with a lot of different MC's and producers so it must be a big step when you decide to record an entire project together. Is it important to get along on more than just a creative level? Kay: We've known each other for quite sometime. I've always looked at Nicolay as someone who will always be honest with you, in terms of the direction you're going musically. As far as us going through the project and working, brainstorming and stopping each other before we got too far in one direction. We're totally comfortable with being honest with each other. That helps immensely. Nicolay: For me there's so much more committed when doing an album than just doing a track. There are many reasons why you would decide to work with someone on a track. Sometimes you dig someone or sometimes it could be a good look for you. All these things have to go out the window if you want to do an entire album. There's really no way that you can pull that off unless you really admire the person musically. It's a little more of a responsibility than just someone on a beat. You guys grew up in very different places, in the Netherlands and Houston. Do you bring different musical influences to the table or are you guys on a pretty similar wavelength? Nicolay: I think we are pretty much on the same wavelength. We both bring something unique. My background isn't just Hip Hop music, it's Funk, Jazz, etc. I think though we both have our personal favorites and influences we're roughly on the same page, right Kay? Kay: Yeah pretty much. For people who aren't familiar with Kay, what's your background to this point? And what is the Foundation? The Foundation is part of the Rawkus 50 correct? Kay: Yes. Well the Foundation is basically a group I'm in. It's I, the drummer is Chris "Daddy" Dave and Robert Glasper who plays the keys. Luke Austin who also plays the keys. Don and Jon Jon play bass. It's like a lot of accomplished musicians. We've been recording together since 2002. I've learned a whole lot being around musicians as far as the way I rhyme, the way I write, the way I look at music, the way I approach how to select tracks. It's just being around music, the art of playing music, all that good stuff. That's basically the background of the Foundation. You have The Talk Show project which is available for free download. What is that? Kay: On that project we didn't have an official collective production. And being in the Foundation I would put by Ali Shaheed from A Tribe Called Quest and he was really felling the stuff that I wrote and how it sounded, so I got on his label and we were really trying to push the release on this album. Nicolay, he really helped me out. This is really a part of what spawned us to work together more. Nic did the song My Story, which actually ended up featured on his Here album. I don't know. That album was like a big source of frustration. For me just having a lot of stuff coming down but at the same note it was a blessing. I was able to work with the people I was able to work with. I formed a lot of good relationships and it's allowing me to be able to still do my own music. I think that's a really beautiful thing. What's the concept of Timeline and how did you come up with it? Kay:  I used to sit with Ali and we used to talk. I always felt like Midnight Marauders was the sickest album based off of how everything flowed together and it seemed like it made sense where the Foundation was at. I guess my growing up as a writer and an artist I would listen to the music I get and get really focused on a concept. Or I usually start really writing and writing it leads to you being able to work with the producer better if you know where you're going. Versus if you send somebody 16-20 tracks and you have a bunch of random writing that you're trying to put together. The stuff Nicolay did is so diverse and it touches on so many different things. That's when we started doing the whole Timeline concept. It shows he can produce something that was done in the 69 and then turn around and do something that sounds like it wouldn't have been produced till 2000. I really thought that was dope, so I tried to touch on different topics and subjects to match the era of the music. Whether it's "I See Rivers" which is more like a 60's hype where you got a pop, funky song where you talk about more artistic things. So I'm really just trying to speak on those things that really match the music but relates to the scope of time. Did Nicolay have a lot of input on the conceptual side or did you leave it mostly to Kay since he was the one writing the lyrics? Nicolay: For me, it was once he told me about what he was feeling and he recorded the first song and kind of like the intro to it. At that point I think both of us took that as the guide which we did for pretty much everything else. You know, the sequence of the album. Once that concept was embraced I think it really helped the both of us make it a narrative from the beginning to the end. We had equal input. I think musically my input was as Kay said it earlier was to bring out the stuff that sounds like it could be a 60's track all the way down to the 70's and 80's. There's a lot of stuff on the album that's very deliberate to sound how it sounds.    How would you describe the production on the album when compared to some of your previous work? Is there a lot of live instrumentation? Nicolay: Yeah there is a lot of live instrumentation but then again there always has been. I've been doing that since some of the first stuff I dropped like Connected. It's always been about the combination for me and the ability to branch out. It evolves as like a loop or a pattern, a program. Looking at it from a time perspective I think I got better. I switched to Pro Tools and that has been a steep learning curve that has enabled me to just do more of the things I have in my head that I just couldn't find a way to get it out. So I'm just in-between this record and the up and coming Foreign Exchange record and the whole period of 2007 has been a really creative and inspirational period. What's the beat making process for you guys? Do you work on a track together from scratch or does Kay select from beats you've already completed? Nicolay: From my perspective it starts with a sketch. To me a sketch can be anything from 3-4 minutes long to literally like 30 seconds long. That's what I begin with for example but it can also be like a quarter of a progression or a baseline, drum pattern. Usually that's what I send to somebody I'm working with and to see what kind of ideas it sparks with them. That then becomes a little more solidified you know, go back in do little things like mixing the sound. Kay: One thing I can say that's really different about that is, it took me a bit to get used to but I really appreciate it in that a lot of times you get some producers that are like, "it is what it is, it's not going to change". So it's like you're writing to it and it is what it is. With Nicolay the dope thing is like yeah you're getting a sketch but once the song is done he really goes in and molds the song around your lyrics. It may not be your typical sequence of drums he laced, you can feel the emotional change in the song. Whether its strings, horns, whatever he decided to do. That's not real common in the Hip Hop production I see. A lot of times I get dope beats but its pretty much industry. You write to them, send out your verse and it's done.   So a Nicolay beat doesn't just stop there. Kay: Nah it doesn't stop there. It adds a lot to the surprise. Basically he'll send me a sketch and I'll tell him how I feel about it. He'll either say, "Yeah I feel that" or "Nah I don't like that". So we'll go through that whole process then I'll write and send my stuff back. What happens then is a couple weeks later he'll send it back just way more ridiculous than it was. It may have been something I was feeling when I finished but when he sent it back I was like, "Dang! Dude!You put your foot in that one!" Will the single "Tight Eyes" and "Stop My Way" be on the album, and who are some of the artists you worked with? Nicolay: "Tight Eyes" will be on the album but "Stop my Way" is the B-side of the single so that's not on the album. That's not on the album except for this one version that we are looking into getting into Japan. Roughly, the people that are on the album first of all those are my people from Soulfruit. There's Strange Fruit Project mixed in there down on a track called "The Life" in which Nicole Hurst also sings. Luke Austin plays on that and Chase Jordan plays on that. We got Stokely of Mint Condition on "Through the Wind". We have Oh No and The Luv Bugz who are on "Tight Eyes". I'm sure I'm forgetting someone at this point. Kay: Chip Fu the true Fu-Schnicken! Nicolay: Chip Fu, there you go! Chip Fu, definitely saved the best for last The sampler has been out there for a little while now. How's the response been so far? Nicolay: It's been good man. When we first put out "Tight Eyes" it really got a lot of love from the people that have been following us. That was kind of like a reassurance for us that we were going on the right track with it. We dropped the sampler and people began to really get hyped over that. It really grew so I'm anxious to let people hear the whole thing. The album will be released on Nicolay Music Recordings. Does being in control of the project from a label standpoint give you more creative freedom? Or is it stressful knowing that you have to be involved in all aspects? Nicolay: Well it really only works if you have a business mind in your hands. To tell you the truth, a lot of musicians don't. So you can only really take that on if you know what you're doing. The creative aspect for me wasn't always the biggest motivation I've had. I pretty much had creative control with the project I did with BBE. Obviously it's always good to be in creative control but for me I wanted to be in control of all the aspects in the business process. As I started releasing more records I started to see where some of the flaws are. Not typically with the label I was with but generally with the scene we are in and the industry. I saw a lot of things I thought could be different, better, less, more. So eventually I put my money where my mouth is. So that's pretty much what you're looking at right now. Have you guys performed together before? Are you planning a tour and do you have anything special planned for your performances since the album does follow a concept, or will it just be a traditional Hip Hop show? Nicolay: I think Kay should wear outfits that match every period when he raps [Laughs] Kay: [Laughs] Yeah we are working on that whole situation as far as touring. We had done a show while he was holding a release party. I think that's when we pretty much met each other. Nicolay: In the flesh, yeah. Kay: Yeah, so that was the first time we had met. It's going to be real interesting I can say that. It's meant to entertain but it's also mood music. We are really trying to give pictures of what's going on in our lives and the lives of the average Joe out there. A lot of it is like "Hey listen hard". I really want people to absorb what we have to say, musically as well as lyrically. FWMJ designed the cover art? What's your relationship with sites like Rappers I Know and Okayplayer and do you think important gateways in getting your music out there? Nicolay: [Laughs] Kay: [Laughs] Can I take that? Ok, Rappers I Know. I actually am the other person that's owner I guess. The actual idea of Rappers I Know came from a joke that Frank and I had. He was in Houston and I was like "Maaaaan", it's kind of frustrating trying to get physical distribution. Luckily I know a guy like Nicolay that gives me an opportunity to get my voice heard. At that point we were like, "Man we can't get distribution". We were having a whole lot of problems so we you know, we started a label. It didn't start as Rappers I Know. It was a little more profane than that. [Laughs] Kay: But the thing is we changed it to make it more generic. So basically a lot of people I worked with and with The Talk Show. So we put it up and put it on communities like Okayplayer that would embrace the music and really introduce people to the other stuff. It's been doing well to the point sometimes it just shuts down because there are some many people trying to hit the site. So we are working on that. I don't know man, I feel like that's where music is really going and the playing field has been really leveled. It's getting to the point where you have to be talented, creative and you got to do concepts. You have to have a concept to keep people's attention because people's attention span right now is so bad. If you're hitting them with something everyone else is hitting them with, them brothers will forget about you within 15-20 minutes. This is the first time we got a list of questions not to ask. So I take it you get the same questions over and over? Nicolay: [Laughs] Kay: [Laughs] Nicolay: You know what it is man. When it comes to the interviews, the interviews I like and I'm going to include this one in there. For us it's always been better if someone actually had an understanding of the things that make up what we are. And that's how we start. Usually the interview never gets further than what's your name and what's your favorite color. We always like to be able to like, "Ok, that's the basis of what we are talking about", but everything else is up for grabs for you to ask. I guess kind of keep everybody entertained by not having the same generic conversation but something to actually talk about. Definitely, is there anything else you'd like to add that we may have not covered? Nicolay: Uh, what do you think Kay? Kay: It's a pretty good one. It's pretty thorough so I'm cool. Nicolay: We told you what's on it and we represented all of our people. People will be able to preview the album on myspace a couple of days before the release date, this is a big one for us. Also, information and details can be found on all of our myspace pages and Nicolaymusic.com. Hopefully people will be intrigued enough to give it a listen cause we believe once they do we got them. Drew & Andy