Growing up in quiet rural Cornwall, Kai Bosch began writing music to escape. Inspired by James Blake, The XX and Lorde, Kai exhibits nothing but pure emotion through his songs. We caught up with him ahead of his Manchester show this May…
Introduce yourself! Where are you from and when did you first start songwriting?
Hey! My name is Kai Bosch, I’m a 22-year-old producer/songwriter from Port Isaac, Cornwall (home of Doc Martin and Fisherman’s Friends). I started writing songs secretly in my bedroom at 17, I saw it as an escape as a shy gay kid tucked away in a very isolated and rural Cornwall.
If you could describe your music in 3 words, what would they be?
Wistful, yearning, devastating
What’s the story behind your new track, ‘Tulips’?
I wrote Tulips about the 9 months I spent living with my ex after we broke up – I was inspired by flower pressings and how they preserve the colour and beauty of something that’s dead nonetheless. I think in lots of ways I wish things stayed the same as they were, but it was clear we were drifting further and further from the people we were.
Describe your writing process to us, is it always the same?
My writing process always begins with emotion. I go in and find chords and sounds that reflect how I’m feeling in that moment – once the landscape has been set, I can start painting in the details with the lyrics and melodies. I like to think that my production is what sets the scene and then my lyrics insert the human.
If you could collaborate with one artist, dead or alive, who would it be and why?
I would probably say Lorde, for a young teenager living in what felt like a no-man’s-land, I used to listen to her songs on the school bus every day and it really helped me escape from my reality. Her albums feel like such monumental milestones in growing up, and with Melodrama in particular I have so many vivid memories of that album sticking with me during my first few brushes with heartbreak. I think she’s a visionary, and such an amazing live performer too.
What would you say is your favourite song to perform live?
Of my released songs, definitely my song Spider – it’s a real moment in the set where I get to just really let loose and go crazy on stage – however there’s an unreleased song of mine called “Bomb” that I’m going to be opening my new set with and let’s just say it really lives up to the name.
Are you looking forward to your headline show at The Castle Hotel in Manchester this May? What can we expect?!
I’m so excited! I’ve played in Manchester a few times now and I’m always really taken aback by the northern hospitality I’m met with. You can expect a lot of theatrics and emotional drama from the set – we’re totally rejigging everything and I’m so excited to just live out a good hour of my art in the most meaningful way possible.