With a unique sonic identity, Kangaroo is building his discography, releasing impressive tracks like “Right Reasons” and his 2024 album, “Your Loving.” Now, following the release of his latest single, 'West Goes The Sun', Canguru joins us for an exclusive interview to share an inside look at the production, revealing the inspirations, goals and processes behind the single. As he gives us a glimpse into his workflow, providing an insight into the technical aspects of his approach, we learn more about the ways in which Canguru continues to ensure his creativity evolves, constantly taking his music into refreshing territory as he goes along. exploring his influences and discovering new sounds. Stream the new single below and read on for our exclusive interview with Kanguru.
Hello Kangaroo! Congratulations on the release of the Trap single 'West Goes The Sun'! How is it going?
Thank you very much! I'm fine thanks.
First off, could you share with us your inspiration behind this uplifting track and the title, 'West Goes The Sun'?
Well, I've always been a fan of Rap and I've been inspired by this new wave of rappers and how they've reshaped the sound of what Rap used to be with new genres like Trap. I find it really inspiring to see this scene constantly evolving in all kinds of directions. During the lockdown period, I decided to create my own Rap album inspired by the music scene of the moment. The title of the single is a pun on the expression “going west”, which means going wrong.
What message did you aim to convey to the listeners through the lyrics?
These lyrics are a reflection on times past and the many lessons I've learned along the way. Overall, it's a song about self-improvement and progress.
What are some of your favorite moments in this piece?
So, it was nice to have my friend record some guitar on it. I also like the lyric line in the chorus: “I'm taking you, let's go!” It's a positive way of saying that even though things are going west, we're still moving forward and looking forward.
Were there any reference tracks that you drew particular influence from for the overall sound of 'West Goes The Sun'?
No specific tracks, but throughout the lockdown I've been listening to a lot of artists like Kendrick Lamar, Drake, Little Peep, Travis Scott, Rea Sremmurd and Gucci Mane just to name a few…
'West Goes The Sun' brings a pleasant atmosphere with laid back rhythms and guitar hooks, what was your creative process to put the unique elements in this track?
My writing process for this single and the rest of the album often started with looking for samples to inspire me to rap. In this case, I first found this great keyboard sample that I looped and messed around with, then programmed the beat and bass parts. The next step was to record my rap tracks. Finally, I recorded an acoustic guitar part, but I wasn't too sure about it, so I asked a friend of mine to find a new guitar part. In the end, his guitar part was better than mine, so we used his.
How would you say this track highlights your signature sound?
I think on this single and the rest of the album I really developed the strength of my baritone vocal range a lot more than before and I also played and experimented with a lot of new modern production techniques that I hadn't done before using samples as a ground to develop melodies .
Did you explore any new beats or musical elements on this single?
Yes very much. I had a lot of fun recording my own drum patterns from scratch, uploading drum samples I downloaded from a Drake drum sample pack into a drum case in Ableton Live and recording them all step by step. It was all a very intuitive way of working on this single and the rest of the album.
Was there a valuable lesson you learned while producing this track?
Well, I think the overall lesson I learned is that it's inspiring to collaborate with other artists or music producers. In this case, this track was co-produced by myself and French producer Gauthier Matherat and the guitar part was recorded by Eric Renwart. Collaborating with other artists/producers can often be a catalyst for new ideas and bring something new that I would never have thought of to my songs.
Do you have any exciting plans for Kanguru next?
Then I will release the second single of my new album and then the rest of the album after that. I'm also currently producing my first guest mixes. This is very exciting for me because DJing is something I've always wanted to do and I've always wanted to remix some of my tracks as well as other people's tracks.
Kangaroo Online
We conclude our interview with Kangaroo by thanking him for his time and taking us behind the scenes of 'West Goes The Sun'. as he promises new music soon, we can't wait to hear what innovative sounds and unique actions he will bring to his upcoming releases, and we encourage you to dive into his exciting sound world by listening to Kanguru's 'West Goes The Sun' now. A talent to keep on your radar, be sure to follow Kanguru on social media today.
INTERVIEW: Kanguru Talks Inspiration Behind New Single “West Goes The Sun”, Future Plans + More