Do have that friend who can’t take a compliment without slipping into self-deprecation? The one who won’t stop chasing perfection long enough to sit back and appreciate their own talent for a moment?
They make an incredible recipe. You tell them how amazing it is, and they make that sideways head tilt – the one that’s not quite a nod or a shake of the head – and say that they shouldn’t have added quite as much salt.
They pull off something amazing at work; some big step forward that requires finessing of management and multiple departments. But before you can deliver the high five they’re naming all the other people who deserve the praise more than they do.
Or hey, maybe this person is you.
Whoever that person is, they can probably sympathize with the feelings expressed in the press release for Toronto producer Fresh Kils’ new album:
…in my day to day, I am plagued with imposter syndrome, which leads to me to under-represent myself, to self-critique my work before its even been heard. I’d play a song I was working on and describe in detail all the things that were wrong with it while it was playing: “mix isn’t finished”, “still not happy with this part”, “still needs work”, instead of allowing my work to speak for itself. I would “disclaim” away my own value.
https://urbnet.com/fresh-kils
The “Disclaimer” LP, which is set to release this week, is Fresh Kils’ debut album under his own name; quite something for someone who’s been active as a producer for 20 years (and who was first featured here as part of The Extremities a decade ago). It’s great to see him taking a break from building beats for others to make the music he loves.
I hope he gets a lot of love for it. And that he takes the compliments with no disclaimers.
What makes this a beautiful song:
1. Fresh Kils needs to recognize that he has always been great at balancing the elements that make up his songs; the bass and the guitar on this track, for example, fill out the frequencies without either one being intrusive.
2. Fresh Kils needs to recognize that he has always been great at throwing in little sprinkles of keyboards when a song needs a little something extra.
3. Fresh Kils needs to recognize that he has always been great at texturing his percussion. Here, it’s a mile-deep kick drum, sizzling shaker, and a snare that almost sounds like someone closing the plastic case of an audio cassette.
Recommended listening activity:
Cutting yourself some slack.