Kadhja Bonet (Kad-yah Bo-nay) from Los Angeles is one of our favorite recently discovered singer-songwriter figures. Her debut single “Tears For Lamont” starts off with powerful orchestration (strings, horns and some flute) and almost sounds like something out of a James Bond movie. Her angelic voice and songwriting skills are simply unreal.
In October 2014 Kadhja was a participant at the Red Bull Music Academy in Tokyo. All of their hard work in the studio was captured and is now available for free download on the Various Assets compilation. Together with German producer rj and Mark Maxwell (aka Estii / Yale) from Australia, Kadhja made a heart-stopping song called “Latenight Munchies”.
Since we were dying to know more about Kadhja Bonet, we figured we’d ask her some questions in an effort to get to know her a little better. Please enjoy this interview and find out more about Kadhja for yourself.
Kadhja Bonet on Facebook
Kadhja Bonet on Soundcloud
Would you like to give a short introduction as to who Kadhja Bonet is and what your background is?
How to be brief – I am someone who was continuously derailed from my intentional careers until the universe pushed me into music, and I couldn’t be happier for it. Initially I was going to University to be a competitive runner, then I tore my Achilles and changed course to film school where I discovered how much I hate making movies…. I turned to music for comfort and immediate creative gratification and I never looked back.
If you had to describe your style of music, how would you word it?
I want to make music that makes you feel like you’re eating coconut cream pies while walking through a lush field full of cow poo.
Which artists have you been listening to lately and who should we all have in our playlist/favorites according to you?
I try to keep my head out of what’s happening now, but the ladies in KING, and Coco from Quadron always hold it down for me. Nick Hakim’s voice can do no wrong.
What was your first reaction when you got accepted to RBMA and would you like to share the most memorable moments while you were in Tokyo?
I was at work, and I read the email on my phone and immediately started jumping up and down and making a bunch of noise. My client just started screaming with me and said, “I don’t know why we’re screaming but I’m so happy for you!” That was awesome haha. Best moments of Tokyo?? The whole thing was great, but I dancing to save your life at 5 am in the tiniest grimey dive bars with people from all over the world is pretty irreplaceable. Also the last night, when we all drank sake and listened to everyone’s collabs and got all teary.
The song “Latenight Munchies” is seriously one of the best tracks on the Various Assets compilation. How did you three come together and is that playing the flute?
I do play some flute on my songs but actually this is not me playing that riff! One of the other ladies in the term was walking by with her flute and RJ flagged her down and she was in and out of the room in 30 seconds. I am playing that one repetitive violin note though haha. I was determined to finish this song because I guess you could say I’m kind of a sensitive type – it’s hard for me to just open up creatively to people I don’t know. So it took almost the whole two weeks just to get comfortable enough with a couple people to squeeze something out. RJ and Mark were really patient with me. It definitely felt like a scramble to get this finished in time.
That brings me to our next question. Do you play any instruments?
I grew up playing violin and viola, so all my ear training etc has been under the foundation of classical music, and i always wish I had some jazz training, but I don’t. I play basic flute, I can get the job done, and guitar is my primary writing tool. I’m really hoping to up my instrument game in 2015.
What do you have in store for us in 2015 and where can we find more of your music (now or in the future)?
I will be putting out another single, scheduled Feb. 4th from my solo project. I am doing my best to put out 2 singles, an EP in the Spring and a full album sometime in 2015 – and you can get caught up on my soundcloud. I have another project that we just finished an EP for, experimental Electronic R&b, and I really don’t know at this time when that’s coming out… but I’ll be sure to let you know!
