Kwes

Kwes.
Born	1987 (age 28–29)
Origin	Lewisham, London, UK
Occupation(s)	Record producer, songwriter
Years active	2005–present
Labels	Warp, Young Turks
Website	kwes.info

Kwes (pronunciation: /kwɛs/;^[1] sometimes stylised as Kwes. or [o=o]. ) is a British record producer, songwriter, composer and musician from Lewisham, London and is best known for his production and collaborative work with Micachu, Damon Albarn, Bobby Womack, Eliza Doolittle, Speech Debelle, Solange Knowles and DELS. Kwes is signed to Warp Records and released his debut album, ilp in October 2013.

Music

As a producer Kwes has worked with Big Dada signed DELS on his 2011 debut album Gob^[2] and The xx earlier on in their career, producing an early version of their song "Insects".^[3] He has also co-produced a mixtape entitled Kwesachu Mixtape Vol.1, with Micachu (as "Kwesachu"), alongside MCs DELS & Ghostpoet, with appearances from London pop-bands, including Golden Silvers and The Invisible.^[4] Matthew Herbert touted him as a musician and producer to watch, admiring his "really unusual, experimental approach".^[5]

Kwes is also a solo artist but works primarily as a record producer. XL Recordings imprint Salvia released limited edition single "Hearts in Home/Tissues" on 16 February 2009.^[6] Kwes released his debut EP "No Need To Run" on Young Turks/XL on 28 June 2010.^[7] He is currently signed to Warp Records. During and before the release of his 2012 EP "Meantime", Kwes performed live with accompanying musicians Elan Tamara on keyboards and Georgia Barnes on drums.^[8]

Kwes has also remixed several artists including Hot Chip, Metronomy, Lianne La Havas, Zero 7^[9] amongst many others.

Kanye West and his live band member/co-producer Mano sampled Kwes' song 'LGOYH' for Pusha T's track "Who I Am", which features on Pusha T's debut album "My Name Is My Name".

Collaborations

DRC Music

Collaborating with producers and musicians Damon Albarn, Dan the Automator, XL Recordings' managers Richard Russell & Rodaidh McDonald, Jneiro Jarel, Actress, Marc Antoine, Alwest, Gorillaz's Remi Kabaka Jr. and Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs, Kwes went to Kinshasa, DR Congo in Central Africa for one week to record an album named Kinshasa One Two.^[10] The Congolese band Tout Puissant Mukalo joined them as well. All proceeds benefit Oxfam's work in the DRC.^[11] The album was released by Warp Records.^[12] Kwes' produced four out of fourteen tracks within the record.

Opera di Peroni

In summer 2012 and early winter 2013, Kwes partnered with Go Opera and Peroni Brewery to create a series of opera concerts, entitled as Opera di Peroni.^[13] The Opera di Peroni project was staged live in various cities throughout the UK and had featured Kwes’ and Go Opera's take on selected arias from Verdi's La Traviata and Puccini's La Boheme and La Rondine.

Production discography (selected)

• Elan Tamara – Organ EP (6 June 2011)^[3]
• Dog Bite – "Machino Machino/Take Your Time" (22 November 2010)^[14]
• Cornelia – "By The Fire" (5 December 2010)
• Valentina – "Weights" (EP) (18 April 2011) * co-production with Blue May^[15]
• DELS – "GOB" (9 May 2011)
• DRC Music – "Kinshasa One Two" (4 October 2011) * co-production with Damon Albarn^[16]
• Sunless '97 – "Making Waves" (28 November 2011)^[17]
• Speech Debelle – "Freedom of Speech" (13 February 2012)^[18]
• Bobby Womack – "Whatever Happened To The Times" (12 June 2012) * additional production with Damon Albarn & Richard Russell^[19]
• Eliza Doolittle – "Don't Call It Love" (7 September 2012)^[20]
• Valentina – "Wolves" (EP) (6 May 2013)^[21]
• Rosie Lowe – "Right Thing" (EP) (2 Dec 2013)
• Shivum Sharma – "Flicker/Only You (3 March 2014)
• Moko - "Missing Love" (7 September 2014)
• DELS – "Petals Have Fallen" (3 November 2014)
• George Maple - "Gripp ft. Kilo Kish" (15 February 2015)
• Nao – "It's You" (1 May 2015)
• Hudson Mohawke – "Indian Steps ft. Antony Hegarty" *additional production with Hudson Mohawke (16 June 2015)
• Loyle Carner - "Florence ft. Kwes" (14 August 2015)
• Kano - "My Sound" *additional production with Blue May (4 March 2016)

Reworks (selected)

• "Passion by The Invisible"^[22] (October 2007)
• "Monkey Bee by Monkey: A Journey To The West Opera – Damon Albarn"^[23] (September 2008)
• "Cittàgazze by Portico Quartet"^[24] (2008)
• "The Clock by Elviin" (2008)
• "White Hair by Cibelle"^[25] (2008)
• "One Pure Thought by Hot Chip"^[26] (April 2009)
• "Butterflies by Finn Peters" (2009)
• "The Infinites by Bomb The Bass ft. Paul Conboy (w/ Micachu)"^[27] (2010)
• "Stop for a Minute by Keane & K'Naan"^[28] (2010)
• "Destiny" by Zero 7 (2010)
• "Pigeons" by The Hundred in the Hands^[29] (2010)
• "Hide And Seek by Mirrors" (2010)
• "Wooden Toy" by Amon Tobin (2012)
• "Forget by Lianne La Havas" (2012)^[30]
• "Pictures In The Dark by Josh Record" (2014)
• "Dancing Around Control by Hejira" (2014)
• "Broke by Tom Vek" (2014)
• "Pools by Glass Animals" (2014)

Artist discography

Albums

Year	Album details
2013	ilp. Released: 14 / 15 October 2013 Label: Warp Formats: LP, CD, Digital download

EPs

Year	EP details
2010	No Need To Run[7][31] Released: 28 June 2010 Label: Young Turks Formats: 12" EP, Digital download
2012	Meantime Released: 30 April / 1 May 2012 Label: Warp Formats: 12" EP, CD, Digital download
2014	ilpix Released: 15 September 2014 Label: Warp Formats: Digital download

Singles

• "Hearts in Home" (16 February 2009)
• "Get Up" (13 November 2011)^[32]
• "Bashful" (7 March 2012)^[19]
• "Rollerblades" (26 November 2012)^[33]

Mixtapes

Year	Mixtape details
2010	Kwesachu Mixtape Vol.1 with Micachu Released: 5 June 2009 Label: Self-released Formats: Cassette tape, Digital download
2012	Kwesachu Mixtape Vol.2 with Micachu Released: 30 April 2012 Label: Self-released Formats: Cassette tape, Digital download

Live session duties

• Ebony Bones – Guitarist^[34][35] (2006–2007, 2008)
• Bono Must Die now O. Children – Keyboardist^[36] (2007)
• Jack Peñate – Laptop and keyboards^[37] (2009)
• Kwesachu (with Micachu) – co-production and co-selector (2009–)
• Elan Tamara – Bassist^[38] (2009–2011)
• Leftfield – Keyboards and Computers^[39] (2010)
• Bobby Womack – Keyboards (2012–2013)

References

1. "Why Kwes's ilp is the one album you should listen to this week – video". The Guardian. 18 October 2013. Retrieved 19 October 2013.
2. (5 May 2011). Dels: ‘I Am Temperamental. I Get Bored Easily’ | Interviews | DIY. This Is Fake DIY. Retrieved on 2011-11-17.
3. Saxelby, Ruth (14 July 2009). The xx: 'It started as a joke.' |Dummy " Features. Dummy. Retrieved on 2011-11-17.
4. Dazed Digital (June 2009). Dazed Digital | Kwesachu Mixtape. Dazed Digital
5. wilkinsman (6 November 2008). Kwes | Clash Exclusive Ones To Watch. Clash Magazine. Retrieved on 2010-06-15.
6. Dnae. (1 February 2009). Interplanetarians: New Release Interplanetarians. Retrieved on 2010-06-11.
7. Hokley-Smith, Sam (10 June 2010). Stream: Kwes, "No Need to Run" « The FADER. The FADER. Retrieved on 2010-06-15.
8. Holliday, Josh (November 2011).Dots & Dashes: Getting Up & At Them. Kwes, The Shacklewell Arms. Retrieved on 2013-01-31.
9. Subba Cultcha. Subba Cultcha news culture – Free and exclusive mix from Zero 7 here. Subba Cultcha. Retrieved on 2010-06-15
10. "Kinshasa One Two". DRC Music. 19 December 2011. Retrieved 22 March 2012.
11. "Damon Albarn previews DRC Music project with "Hallo" " Consequence of Sound". Consequenceofsound.net. 25 July 2011. Retrieved 22 March 2012.
12. "Damon Albarn-led DRC Music details Congo album " Consequence of Sound". Consequenceofsound.net. 30 August 2011. Retrieved 22 March 2012.
13. CMU Editorial. Kwes partners with Peroni in live opera venture – CMU: Complete Music Update. CMU: Complete Music Update. Retrieved on 2013-10-18.
14. Machino Machino, the Kwes produced debut single from Dog Bite. Retrieved on 2011-11-18.
15. » Interview: Valentina DRUNKENWEREWOLF. Drunkenwerewolf.com (30 November 2011). Retrieved on 2011-12-09.
16. Michaels, Sean (31 August 2011). Damon Albarn and DRC Music announce new Congo album for Oxfam | Music | guardian.co.uk. guardian.co.uk. Retrieved on 2011-11-18.
17. Recommender, The (13 October 2011). SUNLESS '97 – The Recommender. therecommender.net. Retrieved on 2011-11-18.
18. Murray, Robin (10 November 2011). Speech Debelle Returns – 10 Nov 2011 | Clash Music Latest Breaking Music News. Clash Magazine. Retrieved on 2011-11-18.
19. Dombal, Ryan (14 June 2012). Bobby Womack: The Bravest Man in the Universe | Album Reviews | Pitchfork. Pitchfork.com. Retrieved on 2012-06-22.
20. Martin, Andrew (10 September 2012). . "Complex.com". Retrieved on 2012-11-20.
21. (1 May 2013). . "prettymuchamazing.com". Retrieved on 2013-05-25.
22. Invisible, The (2) – Constant (Vinyl) at Discogs. Discogs.com (4 February 2008). Retrieved on 2011-12-09.
23. Monkey (12) – Monkey Bee Remixes (CDr) at Discogs. Discogs.com. Retrieved on 2011-12-09.
24. Buy Portico Quartet – Cittagazze (Kwes [0=0] Rework) online at Play.com and read reviews. Free delivery to UK and Europe!. Play.com. Retrieved on 2011-12-09.
25. Release Details: CRAMMED DISCS. Crammed.be. Retrieved on 2011-12-09.
26. Humprey, Jenna (11 June 2009). Micachu: Kwesachu (Free Mixtape) | Prefix. Prefix. Retrieved on 2011-12-06.
27. Duke, Samuel (2 December 2010). DOWNLOAD: Bomb The Bass – The Infinites (Kwesachu Remix): RCRD LBL. RCRD LDL. Retrieved on 2011-12-06.
28. Amazon.com Night Train (Amazon MP3 Exclusive Version) [+Digital Booklet]: Keane: MP3 Downloads. Amazon.com. Retrieved on 2011-12-06.
29. Schnipper, Matthew (30 October 2010).Stream: Hundred in the Hands, "Pigeons" (Kwes Remix). The FADER. Retrieved on 2011-12-06.
30. Cliff, Aimee (6 September 2012). "Premiere: Lianne La Havas – Forget (Kwes. Rework)" – Dummy – New Music. Dummy. Retrieved on 2011-12-06.
31. Young Turks Records (28 June 2010).Young Turks — YT045: Kwes – No Need To Run. Young Turks. Retrieved 2010-06-15.
32. Warp (13 November 2011). Warp / Records / Kwes / Signs to Warp, download free MP3 of new track 'Get Up. Warp. Retrieved on 2011-11-13.
33. Warp (26 November 2012). Warp / Kwes / Warp / Kwes 'Rollerblades' available to download now, 7-inch out in January. Warp. Retrieved on 2012-11-26.
34. Mercury Music Prize Recommends (November 2011). Recommends. Mercury Music Prize Recommends. Retrieved on 2011-11-18.
35. "ClintClinty" (9 July 2006). Ebony Bones @ Anti-Social (Bar Music Hall) PT 2 – YouTube. YouTube Retrieved on 2010-06-15.
36. Cafun, Evian (14 April 2007). Kwes,Forty Fives,EvIaNnAivE,BONO MUST DIE@ULU Video by Evian Cafun – MySpace Video. MySpace. Retrieved on 2011-11-18.
37. mytaratata (18 May 2009).video Emission 318 2/4 – Jack PENATE – 318, jack penate – videos MYTARATATA.COM. MYTARATATA.COM Retrieved on 2010-06-15.
38. Mottley, Elan Tamara (June 2009). Elan Tamara – Organ EP – Out 6 June 2011. Elan Tamara. Retrieved on 2011-11-18.
39. Williams, Scott (13 May 2010). Leftfield interview – Neil Barnes talks festivals. eFestivals. Retrieved on 2011-11-18.

External links

• Official website
• Kwes. on Warp
• Kwes. on Discogs