Hiatus Kaiyote on Being Catchy and Obscure

Sound & Vision
Hosted by Larry Mizell, Jr.

The Melbourne-based band Hiatus Kaiyote have found a passionate global following for their sound, a futurist vision of proggy fusion jazz-funk.


 
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photo by Tré Koch

The Melbourne-based band Hiatus Kaiyote have found a passionate global following for their sound, a futurist vision of proggy fusion jazz-funk. Their latest album, Mood Valiant, was released this summer and includes contributions from the legendary Brazilian artist Arthur Verocai. KEXP’s Larry Mizell Jr. talks with the band's bassist Paul Bender about pushing their creative boundaries and refusing to compromise their vision for commercial appeal.

“I don't think there's ever going to be a moment that Hiatus truly breaks out into the true mainstream because we just pretty much always throw in something that's going to make that not happen musically,” Bender says. He describes the band’s sound as “between being kind of catchy and likable and a bit obscure.”

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