INTERVIEW: Kiran Patel

There is an abundance of talent here in Auckland that, in Kiran Patel's opinion, does not get the recognition that it deserves. Over the years Kiran has had the pleasure of photographing artists, going to gigs, meeting & working with artists & bands, and now hosting them in Halfway Down's studio on Dominion Road. These artists have captured his heart, and through My Musical Crushes, Kiran seeks to introduce you to them - and hopefully together, fall deeper in love with the Auckland music scene.

We sit down with Kiran to chat about the zine, his first gig, and why the Auckland music scene has such a unique energy.

Photos by Octavio Benitez

Rat World: Who are you, and what do you do?
Kiran Patel: Ah, who am I? Well, I call myself a Community Builder and Filmmaker. Community Builder feels really accurate, because a lot of what I do is connecting people, running events, hosting gatherings, finding ways to showcase and celebrate people and bringing people together to do that.

And then, Filmmaker because I love making films. I’ve been in documentary for a while, but I'm excited for it to be short films.

And you've just released the first issue of your zine, My Musical Crushes. Can you tell me a little bit about what the zine is?
Kiran: Yeah! My Musical Crushes was born out of another writing project I had, where I was writing about two musicians that I really liked who were going to perform at MoveSpace. I said in the description: "These two are like my musical crushes." When I wrote that, I thought that would make a great name for something. Later on, I went to a music conference called the Going Global Music Summit, and someone from U.S. record label was talking about the power of zines and how they were a small part of some big music movements-

-Like Riot Grrrl!

Kiran: Yeah, exactly! I feel like it’s a nice ode to the intersection between the lo-fi distribution of publications with underground and emerging artists. And so, My Musical Crushes is this homage to the Auckland music scene told in this dorky love-letter flavour - where it’s like I crush on them and write as if I've just seen their gig and gone home and scribbled in my journal what I love about them.

This is the first issue and I hope it's one of those things that just brings a little bit more attention to the artists that deserve it. Obviously, there's so many people in Auckland that I've been crushing on. Hopefully there's gonna be a lot more issues, because I've got a lot of musicians to write about!

That’s so amazing, I love the story behind My Musical Crushes. So, how did you choose the first batch of musicians?
Kiran: Well, it's in part a written love letter to them as it is a photography zine for me. A lot of the photos in there are mine - a couple of the others were taken by friends of mine. But they all did them at MoveSpace mostly. So there was that connection too. 

Three of the photos were from photoshoots I had done with the artists, so that made it easier for me to choose them to write about. But yeah, there's quite a few musicians that I've ended up working with simply because I was a fan! So, having had the opportunity to take photos of a lot of these musicians, it's cool to be able to also write about them as well. The zine is very much a photography project as it is a writing project as well.

And it’s very clear that the visuals are an incredibly strong component of the zine.
Kiran: Yeah, I mean, I think the cover came to me first because I was ultimately thinking about what I like to see on my wall. I actually started with the design and photos on the page before I chose how to format the writing. 

Beyond the zine, you’ve been really involved with the Auckland music scene in general and you make a lot of efforts to uplift all the amazing artists that go unseen. I wanted to ask what you feel is so unique or special about Auckland musicians in particular?
Kiran: In any music scene, it's constantly redefining itself and shifting and I think the Auckland music scene has such an influx of new bands, artists, groups, genres are constantly evolving the scene. And I’m still discovering new artists as well! That’s one of the reasons I love it - it's always on the rise and it constantly feels new and fresh energy. There’s also a level of humility in Kiwi artists that, in some ways, people might say holds them back - Tall Poppy Syndrome, or avoiding promoting yourself, etc. But I think that sort of humble, sincere, community vibe makes me appreciate Auckland musicians more. I’ve gone overseas and seen different gigs and, you know, some people think they’re a gift from God! And sometimes, I feel like it perpetuates the wrong stereotype about musicians being entitled or narcissistic - I think kiwi musicians don’t fit that stereotype, and generally speaking, are really thoughtful and considerate. 

Absolutely. And you engage with a real breadth of musicians in our local scene - how do you manage that?
Kiran: Yea, running MoveSpace and Halfway Down Studios is a big part of it, especially having a recording studio. I think the way we set the studio up meant that we get to meet a lot of emerging artists. It’s a really friendly, cozy, supportive vibe in that recording studio so I think it attracts people recording their first EP as well as veterans who need a quiet, comfortable spot to do some writing. Very quickly, within our first year and a half, we’ve come to meet a lot of different people in the music scene. 

But also, I probably go to at least a gig a week. Multiple that by the 10 years I’ve been enjoying the music scene and you end up getting to know a bunch of people. 

I love how often you go to gigs and how you make an effort to actually see the music scene on the ground.
Kiran: I mean, it also helps that I'm a filmmaker. I've worked with bands - I went on tour with Park Road last summer, did a documentary with Moses; I’ve made short content pieces for a lot of musicians, and done photoshoots of course. I think even though I'm not a musician myself, I'm very much in the music world as a videographer, filmmaker, promoter, and recording studio owner. It’s all because I love music. I just  love the music that's made here and I want more people to know about it.

And that love you have for the scene here is so evident in all you do. Can I ask - why music? What about the form has captured you for so long?
Kiran: I think music is one of those artforms where it feels like you’re speaking straight to the heart or you have quicker access to affect people. There isn’t a huge distance between the source of the art and what gets shared - there’s not much commute, you know! 

Like, if you're talking about a potter, you're talking about different materials, and the environment in which the materials were made. But someone's performing music, it's so close to the source so it feels really pure and vulnerable and courageous. I think as human beings, when we notice people sharing so passionately - it's hard not to be moved by it.

What was the first gig that really impacted you?
Kiran: I started going to gigs when I was around 16 or 17, sitting in people's lounges listening to a few artists perform. My first ever gig was Sofar Sounds and I remember just being totally taken by the experience of being…just here in someone else's lounge, side by side, shoulder to shoulder, just appreciating and adoring the musicians who are playing. And it felt so comfortable, you know, yet the idea of walking into someone's lounge and making yourself comfortable feels [laughs] uncomfortable. I got addicted to it! I started going to all the house shows that I could. 

I also remember being told about The Wine Cellar from my English teacher at school - she was like, "yeah, you're gonna like this."

That's pretty funny.
Kiran: Yeah, I loved it! I wanted to go to The Wine Cellar every week and see what it was on after that. 

I can really see these memories in your journey - even from all the way back to when you were 16. That sense of connection and wanting to bring people in an intimate space to enjoy music, it’s clearly so important to you. And I think that’s evident in your zine - it feels like we are close to the musicians and to you as well.  

Speaking of bringing people together - you’ve just had your zine launch for the first issue! How was that?
Kiran: It was awesome. We launched the zine at at Parallel Books on K Road, which is this new place that celebrates quirky, fringe, mystery, fantasy books and really supports independent artists, so, it felt like a really good fit for what we were doing. We had about 35 people packed into the space and in a lot of ways it felt like a birthday party, you know? So many of my friends were there, my parents were there, all these musicians I love.

That birthday party feeling is such a unique thing that sometimes you lose after childhood. So it's so cool you bought that like, really wholesome vibe there.
Kiran: It really was wholesome. people were clapping and yelling, celebrating, being goofy and silly. I think that's a good mark of people feeling comfortable and safe - when they can be goofy and funny. I was really nervous, actually, because I did a bit of reading from the zine and I honestly don’t think I had even read it out loud to myself! So the first time I was reading the zine aloud was in front of 30 other people, including the musicians I had written about! But it ended up being a really, really sweet moment. 

And some of the musicians from the zine actually came to play, right?
Kiran: Yes, so there was Cloudy, she's just released an EP. She recorded most of it at Halfway Down Studios. Albi & The Wolves - Chris is a member at MoveSpace. And Marmalade! Koen and Jemliah of course helped out heaps with the studio.

It was nice to have them perform - I mean, you have to read the zine to hear about all the things that I love about them though…

The vibe really comes through in the photos too. So, what are your next plans?
Kiran: After the launch I really felt like, as much as it is celebrating the zine, the zine is about celebrating the artists. So I would love to keep doing gigs where I’m showcasing the musicians I’ve written about. 

I reckon around March-April I'd love to write and release another issue. I've got a couple of photoshoots lined up in the next couple of months so it feels cool that this can connect with my other creative projects. 

How can we support you and where can we buy the zine?
Kiran: Well, there's 10 at Gray's, and 15 over at Parallel Books. And I also gave 10 to different contributors to the actual zine. So yeah, there's not a huge amount left - if you want to get one then you'll be one of only 100 people to have one. Which is kinda cool.

And yeah, you can support me by letting me know about cool new music! I'm lucky to be the recipient of a lot of people sharing their music with me - it's one of those parts of my inbox that I just love, being able to step away from my emails and listen to someone's demo. It's so sick.

Is there anything else you want to add?
Kiran: In all the projects I want to do, it's about building and platforming and celebrating more Auckland artists. And the zine is a humble, small, eight page thing but hopefully it makes these artists feel special and helps more people find out about them. Ultimately, I really wanted to create something beautiful, meaningful, useful, and a bit fun.

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