Musician and DJ Kamixlo takes the best of Reggaeton, Bachata and Cumbia and gives this concoction a modern twist unlike anything you’ve heard before. Along with his friends and Bala Club comrades — Blaze Kidd, Uli K and END GAME — he’s gaining serious traction for his inimitable sound. Fresh from releasing his EP Demonico – on the imprint run by Berlin label PAN and grime producer Visionist – the Brixton-based musician and wrestling enthusiast sat down with i-D to talk about his secret talents, Chilean descent and inspiration for making hits.
1. The song he’s best known for is….
“A song called Paleta. I had it on my SoundCloud ages ago, but I erased it because it went on my EP called Demonico that is out on Codes.”
2. His Chilean roots are manifested in his work.
“My music has the Latina influence everywhere. From Spanish vocal samples, it’s always Latin everything. Where the British part comes in, I don’t know. I don’t really relate to the UK too much.”
3. There’s no rules to when it comes to inspiration for making his music.
“It’s just when it strikes. I go ages without making one song. I have thousands of little shit ideas that never get finished. Sometimes I make a song that I really love. I don’t have an organized routine to it.”
4. He thinks fellow musician Uli K will be up to some big things.
“Uli K is a singer/songwriter/producer/whatever from South London. He’s like kind of a musical genius, I think. When he starts building up more stuff, people are gonna realize that he’s incredible. I already know that he’s the best thing ever.”
5. Kamixlo’s a man of many talents.
“As well as being a DJ, I trained in Lucha Libre — a Mexican wrestling style — in Loughborough.”
6. Kamixlo’s dream club night is pretty unorthodox…
“It would be in a big spot, but in the middle of the club there would be a massive wrestling ring. DJs, wrestling all night, drinks: that’s what I would do if I had the funds.”
7. If he could write the theme song for any TV show, it would be…
“I’d write the theme song for Monday Night Raw, so it would stop being so shit. Not so shit, but just less… bad.”
8. He’s part of a crew called Bala Club…
“It’s me, Blaze Kidd, Uli K and END GAME and we have our own radio show. We’re working on mixtapes and everything to release, and a website will soon come.”
9. One of his favorite lyricists is…
“Probably Bladee from Gravity Boys.”
10. He’d most like to work with…
“There’s this wrestling club in Japan called the Bullet Club. I would love to work with them in a musical way; maybe make an entrance theme for the wrestlers. That would be fucking amazing.”
Meet the rest of i-D’s Musical Class of 2016.
Credits
Text Lynette Nylander
Photography Olivia Rose
Hair Jose Quijano at D+V Management using L’Oreal professional
Make-up Thom Walker using MAC
Photography assistance Rowan Hall
Styling assistance Bojana Kozarevic, Siobhan Wood, Issy Martin
Hair assistance Nicola Harrowell-Browne
Make-up assistance Famida Ayub, Ruth Coutinho
Kamixlo wears all clothing model’s own