Photo by Johnny Nigma

AmeriCymru: Hi Eris and many thanks for agreeing to be interviewed by AmeriCymru. Please tell us a little about your new single 'So Many Nights".

Eris: Hi thanks for the interview! The new single So Many Nights is the first of 3 singles produced with Charlie Hoskyns that I will be releasing through a label I have set up called Original Human Records. These single have been developed from lofi demos into full scale productions with high tv/radio specs with a view to getting the sounds of little eris out to a wider audience.

The So Many Nights single is a harmless but loaded love song based on a true experience of being hurt by love. Its nice that the single has resulted in turning a difficult time of my life into positive life experience whereby I have rewarded by people enjoying the song and the video. A bad experience in love has created a positive result for myself! We had a lot of fun making the music video for the single. I set my imagination free and wrote a ridiculous script with 11 scenes and lots of outfits and locations and props. We succeeded in manifesting the idea into reality through collaboration with local artists. My friends have been very supportive particularly textile artist Elen Mai Wyn jones who found us the editor in LA and helped with a lot of the styling for the video. My boyfriend James has also been very supportive, as a professional animator he did all the storyboards and the single artwork for me. As a first release the single has brought a lot of people together, there were around 20 people involved in making the video for it and they all worked on the project voluntarily. The single is out now and available as a digital download, the video has also been released online and can be found on the main video streaming sites.

AmeriCymru: What is your musical background? How did you become a performer?

Eris: Throughout my life music has always been there. I remember examining a speaker at the age of two to try and work out where the multiple voices were coming from when my parents played their records, I was very sensitive to harmonies. My mother also used to play guitar and sing to me as a baby Songs like Are you going to Scarborough Fayre. I was born the daughter of a striking miner and music by The Specials and The Police filled our house I remember the stillness in the air, stone floors and the sounds of ska music. I remember seeing Queen on a tiny tv set playing Radio Gaga live at Wembley. I was always intrigued by music and very conscious of my interaction with it. I went to a welsh medium school which had a strong identity for drama, arts and culture, In Wales we have Eisteddfods in schools where pupils are encouraged to compete in singing and recitals. There was a lot of singing and harmonies that I enjoyed. I would often sing at home with my sister duets we had learnt at school, we even sung a song from school in my aunties wedding! In school I also learnt the violin, harp and piano to a basic level which gave me a loose understanding of music that I applied to other instruments in later years. As a teenager in Aberdare I would go with my friends on the weekends to clubs in Swansea and Cardiff and got into house music. Before that we also used to like going to raves in Porthcawl called Southern Exposure where they played all sorts of underground dance music but mainly happy hardcore! I was very inspired and awakened by these new worlds beyond the dreariness of life in Aberdare. I left home at 16 and moved to Swanse where I made friends with a group of people who were also studying at Neath college where I was doing A levels. These people were all on the performing arts course. I was intrigued by their scruffiness they all seemed much older with beards and individuality. I thought the guitars were really sexy I loved hanging around bands rehearsing. I wanted to be like them scruffy and free instead of a townie as they described me. I started listening to bands and I got really into the early chilli peppers music and really enjoyed the warmth of guitars etc. I decided to pick up an instrument. I tried the guitar but got frustrated with the intricate chords and finger positions. I picked up the bass, a friend Chris Tucker taught me a basic funk riff and I soon started picking out bass lines from the chilli pepper albums which was a great way to learn as these funk bass lines were quite busy and set a high standard for me. For my 17th birthday my Dad bought me my first bass. A couple of years later I went to University where I formed a band playing on a 5 string bass we played experimental progressive space funk and did a few local gigs. After graduating I moved to London and joined a female fronted grunge band as their bass player. Around this time I got really into The Pixies and had moved from funk bass lines and slap bass to using a plectrum and playing a dirtier sounding bass. After a few years I got really homesick and moved back to Wales. I had over the years been collecting bass lines I had written and decided to try and record them as songs with vocals. I enlisted the help of Lee Harvey an excellent guitarist who lived in my street, we soon found a drummer and started to put some songs together. I took the role of vocalist and started writing lyrics to go with the bass lines. Singing and playing bass at the time took a lot of practice but I got there in the end and we toured the UK as Freaky Fortnight and became involved in the DIY punk music scene. The music we played was psychedelic bluesy grunge and different to all the other punk bands we played with but I think they liked our punk attitude and raw sound. Around this time I was introduced to the music of a band called Crass, coming from Aberdare and being the daughter of a miner (the last gig they did was in Aberdare a benefit for the miners) I could really relate to the lyrics of Crass and it crystallised my outlook on politics and social issues and also explained a lot of the poverty I witnessed as a child. In 2008 Freaky fortnight after 4 years of hard work disintegrated suddenly in a puff of frustration and bad feeling We had recorded an amazing album and it felt we were on the verge of something big. To see the band fall apart of this stage was very upsetting for me as we had put a lot of money time and energy into getting it to a good level. I vowed to never rely on other musicians again! There was a computer in my house with some software on it so I carried on writing songs anyway, recording bass and vocals and then putting very basic guitar over it. I used reason4 to create drums and began experimenting with the synthesisers. My first recording as Little Eris was played on Adam Walton on BBC Radio Wales and I got invited to perform live at the Cardiff SWN festival by some local promoters who heard me on the radio. I had not anticipated playing the music live I put a shout out online for some help with video projection and Johnny Nigma came forward and has helped with the project ever since. The live shows have been as organic, natural and experimental as my musical journey, I involved other musicians and performers who I had met on my journey to bring the music to life onstage. Over the years a lot of the live stuff has been improvisational and attracted comparisons to art bands such as Psychic TV. I continued to record demos and electronic music and synthesisers began to play a bigger role in my creations. I now understand how resonance, oscillation, repetitive beats and frequencies can have a powerful effect on listeners. To me I see myself not as a performer and definitely not an entertainer but something more intangible. I think I am an artist first and foremost and music is my creative journey that has influenced how I experience the world.

Photo by Matt Kirby

AmeriCymru: What can you tell us about the Great Wreck and Roll Cirkus and the Unemployed Daytime Disco?

Eris: The Great Wreck and Roll Cirkus is a multi arts event started 10 years ago by SCRAP Records (sub cultural radikal arts productions) with a strong history of underground music from the traveller scene. I played Wreck & Roll shows a few times with my old band Freaky Fortnight. Our drummer was also in a band called Crowzone fronted by Gary DS founder of SCRAP Records and organiser of The Great Wreck & Roll Cirkus. Playing these shows was a big eye opener as back then I had only played in music venues with other guitar bands and these parties were multi genre events that started with live bands and then turned into a freaky ravey experience. These were big productions with massive rigs adorned with heavy handmade backdrops. There was a sense of real earthiness, it was a very real scene, real to the roots to the core. I never forgot how awesome these shows were. I was fortunate enough to contact Gary DS again some years after Freaky Fortnight had split. He mentioned he was planning a show in Cardiff and asked if I would like to be involved. I jumped at the chance and that show turned into a UK tour that took place in March and April of 2011. Being part of this was really life changing. It was amazing to play on the big stages with excellent underground bands who had been around for decades. The vibrations and musical inspiration was brilliant as the shows spanned all genres of heavy and mixed up music with dance performances, slamming DJs, circus vibe and of course all the handmade painted banners and big sound systems. After the tour I spent some time with Gary at his remote hideaway jamming and talking. I admired his respect for nature and ideas and energy. He had a relentless enthusiasm for his lifetime of creative projects. Through his music and the Wreck n Roll cirkus I think he changed a lot of lives. He was determined to bring the underground talents into the public arena by booking shows in large venues and helping to get new bands on the road. He was planning on making a really cool film too which would have been culturally important during these times. He was someone I really looked up to and was doing so much good work. Gary died tragically in an accident in Jamaica a few months after that last Wreck N Roll tour ended. He was a really amazing person at the heart of a scene with the most integrity, the real deal, a real punk rock legend. A lot of people including myself will always be holding the spirit and vibe of Gary in our hearts, it will never die.

The Unemployed Daytime Disco is an event founded in 2010 by myself and a friend called Adam Johannes. The underlying intent was to have a good time whilst being on the dole however we soon realised there were other benefits to the unemployed people of Cardiff. We provide a platform for performers, sometimes it feels like we are unofficial spokespeople for the unemployed as press often contact us for our opinions on the current situation in the UK. We also recognise wider social benefits to what we were doing. We nurture new talent and helped performers gain confidence. We help tackle social isolation and depression in unemployed people by bringing people together. We have guest acts supporting the disco such as Alan McGee founder of Creation records and published author Rachel Tresize who have achieved success through creativity. To celebrate the end of the Mayan Calender we had an electro DJ come over from Mexico. The discos have brought a refreshing cultural edge to the city, and many creative collaborations (and romantic ones!) have been spawned at the unemployed disco.

AmeriCymru: You are currently involved in a fascinating project based at the Wels Hotell in Riverside, Cardiff. Care to tell us more?

Eris: I moved in to the Wells Hotel in 2008. I had to find somewhere to live due to a break up, I had no money life was no great at that point. I found the flat to rent online and intrigued by the photo of the view of the Millennium Stadium through old oval windows I came to view it. I fell in love with the building immediately there were spirals carved in stone, a big dragon at the top of the building, to me it looked like a spooky fairytale castle and I moved in straight away! There are 6 flats in the Wells Hotel but back then none of the residents really bothered with each other. The place was becoming run down with rubbish being dumped outside, the energies were not great. A man was even found unconscious outside on a dumped settee with a syringe in his arm. The building became run down and the professional residents left. Some unsavoury characters moved in and caused damage to a flat downstairs. By early 2012 they left there were only 2 of us living in the building on the top floor. After having hassle from local gangs and previous tenants who had passed keys to drug addicts were accessing the building, my neighbour and I took matters into our own hands. We put a big lock on the front door and secured the building. We realised that the flats were not in good condition to be rented by the Estate Agents. I contacted the landlord and offered to help find good tenants who would take on the flats for what they could afford to pay. We gained access to the flats and I moved a group of people in who were performing with the little eris live band at that time. The place erupted as the newcomers revelled in the freedom the building offered. After a few months it became unproductive here the partying became disruptive, and some residents were asked to leave. After months of chaos things finally settled down and we have a good group of creative people here now who have mutual respect and together we can organise happenings using the whole building. Our first project was called Little Tokyo we opened the building to the public and webstreamed a live performance / installation into the Tate Modern oil tanks as part of Tracey Moberleys Tweet me Up exhibition. A welsh DIY label called Afiach has also launched from the Wells Hotel that has hosted live bands and organised graffiti artists to do amazing wall murals outside. I did the So Many Nights single launch party here as part of an art show called The Ghost Crystal where we projected the music video on the building next door and had performances under the moon with a fire in the yard. We are safe here for at least the next 12months while the building is being restored to its former glory and aim to make the most of this time by having consciousness expanding events and exhibitions. Having everyone under one roof means we can share ideas and skills and networks, it feels exciting to be part of what is being created here.

Little Eris with band members James Hill and Jasamine Jackdaw - Photo by Photo Evolution

AmeriCymru: What are you listening to at the moment? Any recommendations?

Eris: As a musician I am often asked what I am listening to but to be honest I dont really actively seek out new music. I am often to directed to music having had comparisons drawn to particular acts. I really like the creative life of Genesis P Orridge and the theories of chaos magicians such as Grant Morrison. I have been listening a lot to binaural tones and learning about frequencies. Frequencies can actually heal diseases there is a lot more to music than most people realise. I have been listening recently to more hip hop than usual, Hieroglyphics are one act that have caught my attention. Other music I have been listening to recently is music by electro producer Legowelt. I also really like discovering music from Cardiff eg welsh language anarchist hip hop duo Llwybr Llaethog who live nearby, and Euros Childs I love his feel good sing alongy song called Painting Pictures. An album I listened to a lot this year is called Tales of Terror by Inner Terrestrials, there are a couple of stand out songs on there and the whole album generally has a warm sound with good musicianship. I am very random when it comes to music consumption its often what appears before me, what is recommended to me by friends or what I hear around me. Live acts I have enjoyed this year are the underground heavy sounds of Tribazik and Dead Silence both of whom I met on the Wreck n Roll tour. Ive also been enjoying the music of Princes Chelsea recently this year. I often look at what other female electro artists are doing as a point of reference I was even checking out the Welsh Lady Gaga tribute Donna Marie on youtube last week as I was interested to see how she cleverly managed to create scaled down versions of Gagas extravagant live productions for smaller pubs and clubs.

AmeriCymru: Where can people go to hear/purchase your music online?

Eris: The single So Many Nights is available to buy from CDBaby and other music download sites. There is also a free album of demos that can be found online from 2009 called Molecules R Us that might interest some music fans.

The new So Many Nights music video is a good introduction to the world of little eris

AmeriCymru: What's next for Eris Kaoss?

Eris: With two more singles to release in the coming months I am looking to creating new music videos and hopefully reach more people as an artist. I hope collaborations at the Wells Hotel will continue to blossom. I am looking forward to developing Original Human as a company to release singles by other artists too for example artist Jacqueline Janine Jones has an amazing track called Deeper Skies that we hope to release through the label in 2013. My partner James Dawson and I also plan to collaborate on a drum and bass project called Liquid Eris. My favourite thing to do is create lofi demos so whatever I am doing with the projects I am always recording new sounds and loops, and putting together rough recordings. I also try to play lots of smaller shows where I can experiment with new material. So I will just be carrying on chaos as usual.

AmeriCymru: Any final message for the readers and members of AmeriCymru?

Eris: The world needs imaginative people and creativity. Collaborating with others is so rewarding and it can be done with or without a budget. Share your ideas freely plant them like seeds. Be unique there is no right or wrong way to express yourself, always be mindful of the energies that are being created but regardless of what is going around you never lose sight of your dreams! I am really into the idea of creating your own reality I put a lot of theory into practice over the past few years and have seen good results so I would recommend that people look into what we are capable of as human beings. I hope we see a world one day where our human potential is released, there is so much out there that is being kept from us tesla energy, orgone energy, natural cures, how we can heal ourselves etc. I think these things are so important and we can all be educating ourselves and each other. It is music that has led me to many discoveries relating to the mind, body, spirit and our environments. They are inextricably linked to music in both the experience of it and in the creation of it. .

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Interview by Ceri Shaw Ceri Shaw on Google+