Keif Rahmani is our interview for this month. Keif is releasing a debut album and has covered the song ‘Morning Sun’. Thank you for doing this interview for Harbinger Magazine.
Where were you born, and where do you live now?
Germany. I was born in a nice big city called Bremen, which is in the state… Bremen. I’ve lived there for more than half my life. Now I live in Ritterhude, which is fairly close to Bremen. I still visit Bremen very often since there is very little to do in Ritterhude.
Tell us about your home studio?
I record everything using Audacity on my computer. I use an old Guitar Hero microphone to record my vocals, guitars and bass. I use an Orange Crush 20RT to record electric guitar and bass. I mix all my tracks on FL Studio. I also program drums and synths there. For guitars, I mainly use my Cort Earth Mini OP, Squier Strat, and an Ibanez GRSM20. Overall, not the best equipment but it gets the job done.
When did you pick up the guitar and what other instruments do you play?
Around 4 years ago. I remember picking up my brother’s bass and just messing around with it. One of the first songs I learned on it was ‘Another One Bites the Dust’. I eventually picked up my dad’s classical guitar and learned some chords. I remember learning how to play ‘Words of Love’ by Buddy Holly and ‘This Boy’ by the Beatles. I began writing original material a few months later. I also play bass, drums somewhat, and piano… barely.
How did you discover the Ode to Quetzalcoatl Lp?
Through Travis Scott’s album. I normally don’t listen to mainstream artists but it had just come out and I wanted to see what all the hype was about. I shuffled through some songs until I got to ‘PARASAIL’, which interested me since Dave Chappelle and Yung Lean were on it. The instrumental was beautiful. I immediately began looking for the sample which was ‘Drug Song’. I enjoyed it a lot and decided to listen to the rest of Ode to Quetzalcoatl. It was incredible, I had never heard music so raw before. I’ve been a fan since.
Who are your favorite artists and groups?
Mac DeMarco will always be my favorite. I also really love Death Grips, The Beatles, Daft Punk, Surf Curse, Current Joys, Her’s, Jons, Michael Jackson, Cities Aviv, TV Girl, Nirvana, FUR, The Strokes, Tyler the Creator, The Smiths, Frank Zappa and you, of course.
When are you releasing your debut album?
Someday, maybe.
How can we hear it?
On any music streaming service of your choice… and Bandcamp. I got three singles out so far, ‘Choice’, ‘In the Grass’ and ‘(god’s) Experiment’. Go check them out if you’d like.
What are your plans going forward?
I don’t have anything planned as of right now. We’ll just see how it all goes from here.
Is there anything you would like to say to our readers?
You’ve probably heard this a million times, but life is short. You should go and make the most of the time you have. Thank you for reading.
– Dave Bixby
Dave Bixby 