New music artist Khaosé unleashed his debut EP, showcasing a potent, unclassified sound. Electro Wow, chat with him about how his free-form style intentionally ignores structure, and the emotional journey of creating a record driven by overcoming deep insecurities.
1. Where does the name Khaosé come from? How does it tie into the direction of your music?
I won’t say the exact source of the name, but at one point in life, when I was a kid, this exact “name” was used as a label on me by a specific group of people I was the closest with because of a certain physical feature difference. For many years, despite being very close to the group, I always felt there was a wall between them and me, causing me to feel like an outcast, which made me feel fearful, insecure, and never good enough. As I grew up, these feelings followed me through all areas of my life.
So, the label is synonymous with my fears and insecurities.
When I wanted to work on my EP, I realized that I had to confront my fear, insecurity, and the feeling of never being good enough to even start working on the EP and make it possible. Of course, when I knew my wife was pregnant, I had a “this is the time” moment – I decided I needed to make the EP a reality before the baby arrived, so I could tell my baby: I have no regrets, I did what I wanted to do, and I didn’t let my fear and insecurity cripple me down.
So, to deal with these feelings head-on, I decided to make the negative label my artist name. A major theme in the EP is to “reclaim the name” so that it won’t remain a negative label internally.
One last thing about “Khaosé” – I noticed people have been pronouncing it like “chaos”; it’s actually not its true pronunciation. It should sound super close to “cow-say”. However, I did realize that it can be interpreted as “chaos”, so I decided to 100% commit to the name.
2. Your sound defies easy classification. What musical elements, genres, or sounds form the foundation of Khaosé?
I listened to a lot of Pendulum, The Prodigy, and Noisia growing up, but I also listened to a lot of rappers, such as Kendrick Lamar, Eminem, and so many more. I was also influenced a lot by Linkin Park and Twenty One Pilots with how they blend various genres.
I wanted my EP to also blend a lot of the genres that I love, so that formed the foundation of Khaosé. In a way, I wanted the EP to “celebrate” all the sounds that I loved growing up.
3. The production and rapping feel totally free-form. Was that an intentional choice or just how things evolved?
I wanted the production and the raps to reflect what I feel at the moment. So, while most parts of the songs in the EP follow the standard song structures, there were a lot of times when I just felt like breaking some standard rules, and I actually broke the rules to be true to myself at that particular moment. So, I suppose it was just how things evolved… I think!
4. What’s fueling the rhymes, and what are you getting off your chest?
Each of the songs in the EP deals with my fear and insecurity in the different areas of my life. As best as I can, I also wanted each song to provide a “resolution” to these different areas.
So, in some songs, I may appear to be too honest with myself, as I feel that approach would help resolve the fear and insecurity in that particular area. In some songs, I may keep it subtle and let the music (or rather the hype of it) do the job, because I want the music to drown my fear and insecurity in another particular area. And so on…
5. What influences were constantly in your head during the creative process?
I listened to a lot of Kendrick Lamar, Eminem, and JID as I wrote the lyrics.
While Noisia, Pendulum, and The Prodigy did influence the sound in general, I also went to YouTube or Spotify to listen to a lot of random Cyberpunk, Synthwave, and Industrial playlists just to be inspired.
6. Fear stops so many artists from releasing music. What would you say to others struggling with the same thing?
Before I started working on the EP, I settled on some thoughts, sort of like mental boundaries, that allow me to be true to myself and not be pressured by expected world standards:
– My goal is to release an EP with 10 tracks only. If things don’t work out after releasing the EP, then at least I know that it was never meant to be. I don’t want to just wonder about it, but I want to work towards an answer, even if the answer is a “no”.
– It doesn’t matter if the quality of the EP is not up to par at all when compared with songs on the radio or songs that are professionally released by significantly talented artists. I wanted this EP to show that this is a learning process, and I wanted that to be obvious in how it sounds, and in the way I write and produce.
– I will release the EP by July 2025, and even if the EP doesn’t sound complete, it’s fine. Without a deadline, I may hold back from releasing the EP if it doesn’t sound complete.
So, I would say, create your own mental boundaries to prevent yourself from feeling defeated and enjoy the adventure of starting something new!
7. Do you see your role as a father and artist as separate or connected?
I think it’s hard for me to separate roles when I write. While I can logically separate my roles, my emotions would still intertwine between the different roles. And, I draw strongly from my emotions as I write. So, I can’t keep them separated, even if I try.
8. This EP was a dream fulfilled. Does the reality match what you imagined?
I guess…! I think that, with the mental boundaries I mentioned that I set for myself, it definitely helped me to stick to reality all the time.
9. Which song feels most personal to you, and how do you want people to connect with it?
The song most personal to me is “Pillars,” and I wrote that song with a very honest and revealing approach, almost like a “here’s the story of my life.”
I wanted to understand why I am the way I am today, and so, I explored the core memories of my own life somewhat explicitly, which hopefully would help me know myself better.
So, it’s weird to ask someone to emotionally connect with it, because the story is very obviously mine. I guess people can connect with it in a storytelling kind of way.
10. Was leaving the EP without a proper title a creative choice?
There is! I wanted to signify a humble beginning, so I just kept it as “EP” and nothing more.
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Hi, I’m Erick Ycaza — a music blogger with a BA in Advertising & Graphic Design. I created this blog to keep you updated with daily music news. Surprisingly, I’ve been writing about music since 2007. If you’re an artist and would like to be featured, feel free to reach out: info@electrowow.net
