INTERVIEW: KLP and LaLa Ri 'Eat The Runway' on new single: "I'm finally having music really connect with people and it's something that I want to keep doing."
Australia’s KLP (full name Kirsty Lee Peters) is an artist who wears many hats. Singer, songwriter, producer, radio host, mentor, she not only releases infectious dance pop under her own name, but has also carved out a successful career recording music for children as part of the duo Diver City. On top of all that she also runs songwriting camps for female and non-binary artists under the Ricochet banner.
Last week she released her new single ‘Eat The Runway’ which features RuPaul’s Drag Race alum LaLa Ri on lead vocals. The track is an infectious dance floor track with delicious electro-house beats, sublime melodies and a rhythmic, addictive vocal from LaLa.
“The day LaLa Ri’s vocals dropped into my inbox and I opened them up in Ableton I was one happy human,” KLP says. “LaLa exudes so much energy and joy - it’s infectious - and I feel so lucky to be able to work with such a multi-talented queen.” Hailing from Georgia, Atlanta LaLa Ri appeared on season 13 of reality drag show RuPaul’s Drag Race, winning the coveted Miss Congeniality title. “Working with KLP has been such an honour,” she says. “She is an amazing individual and artist, so I’m definitely happy to be sharing such a moment with her.”
KLP’s career has grown steadily since her first release in 2013 and she is now not only one of Australia’s most beloved performers but the holder of four ARIA Award nominations including two at this year’s upcoming awards. She is an artist that never fails to deliver, and to celebrate the release of ‘Eat The Runway’ we recently caught up with her to find out more.
Hi KLP. What a delight to catch up with you again. You have just teamed up with the incredible LaLa Ri for this new record, 'Eat The Runway'….wow It is so good.
Thank you! It’s something a little bit fun. When the idea came to me, I hit up LaLa Ri and I just had no idea if it would happen, you never know if someone's going to read your message. I literally hit her up on Instagram saying ‘hi, I'm from Australia and I've got this idea for a song’. And she just came on board and sent me back vocals and was just an absolute pleasure to work with. I still kind of can't believe that it all came together and it happened really!
It is incredible, and it's got this kind of shit hot 90s teleported in the glamazonian future. Where did this idea spring from?
I'm a huge Drag Race fan,I have been for years and years. I saw LaLa Ri on the show and I honestly don't remember exactly what it was, but I just really liked her energy. She's just super multi-talented, she can dance, she can sing, and she's also really funny and has a great voice. I remember seeing her in the Reading Challenge and she was just really sassy and cute and funny, and had this amazing laugh. I just thought if I could pair that up over some kind of a banging house track, it would be a really fun thing to be able to create. So the idea just kind of came to me and like many of my ideas, I just start taking little baby steps towards it until it comes to fruition.
Gorgeous. The song does not let up for one moment, it’s amazing. In comparison, songs like ‘Never Be The Same’ from 2017 and ‘Heater’, which I just love from your 2019 debut album Giver, you have these banging songs. But then there are still those tunes where you’re a little more understated melodically. How do you go, do you just navigate what you're feeling at the time, or have you noticed a definite shift in the style of the tracks you're putting out as you've matured?
There's been a definite shift in the tracks that I was putting out. A few years ago, I was hosting a show on Triple J called House Party where I had to play all genres of music. Also, for a lot of DJs in the era that I started DJing, 10 or so years ago, you start out DJing and you again play all sorts of genres. I'd play three venues in a night back when Sydney had enough venues to do that up, and I’d turn up to one and they'd have a certain music policy where I'd have to play hip hop and I turn up to another venue and you'd have to play dance music and other venue you have to play indie and rock. It was really hard to figure out what music I like to a) DJ and b) make myself, so it took a few years to really figure that out. I look back on some of the music that I have released and it's seems so far from the stuff I'm making now, but I definitely am really enjoying the sound I have now and fitting into the dance music world. It really feels like I've found my sound and found my space. I guess that's why I find it easy to make so much music like this, because it's working for me, and it just kind of fits. It's also connecting with audiences too, I'm finally having music really connect with people so it's something that I want to be able to keep doing.
I think that's a really interesting point. Particularly as a woman in the industry to find your voice as a producer, as a DJ, as a composer as a digital composer. I imagine admitting it to yourself takes a lot of other people going, ‘Well, no, that's what you do, you're a creator’. Because we never validate ourselves.
Oh, definitely. I like to see myself as a pretty confident person, and I absolutely am now, but years ago, when you’re signed to a different label, or working with different people and trying to find your sound, they're trying to help you and assist you and they might be pushing you in one certain direction or another. There were definitely times that I was paired up with people, or producers and you think ‘I should work with them, because they're so much more experienced than me, they've had so much more success than I have’. It has taken me a bit of time to figure out who I like to work with, and the times that I've wanted to just work by myself. It's a rite of passage, and some people do that without being in the public eye but for me, I was releasing the music at the same time so it was a bit of a public journey. It's all stuff that I'm super proud of and it's all helped to pave the way and make me as strong an artist as I am now.
Gorgeous. You are a huge collaborator, and you're a massive, massive champion of emerging artists, particularly emerging female artists within the industry. How instrumental has the support of other artists been in perpetuating your passions and your projects?
That's actually a great question, because there's not that many. To be honest, the people that support me now and the little family that I've got going with the labels that I can released ‘Eat The Runway’ on and I'm also releasing my EP next year, it’s the same label that I released ‘Energy’ and ‘People Happy’ on, they're all men. and they're huge supporters of me and women and they really believe in me. They give me very equal opportunities, they always listen to what I have to say, there's never a time when I feel like my gender is an issue, which is just such a great space to be in, to be supported by them. So I'm actually really supported, but a lot of them are men and they’re absolute legends.
Beautiful. And, of course, these little collaborations, these wonderful things you're doing, you’ve got another ARIA nomination this year, haven't you?
Yeah, two! Dance Record but then also Children’s Record, so two opposite ends of the spectrum.
See you're a very eclectic woman, it's very important thing.
Yeah, I’m unashamedly into all types of music.
I think that's brilliant. And this is the thing from when you're DJing at all these different clubs years ago. And also, you know, now that Emma Wiggle is leaving, maybe there's a spot for you
You know, I don’t think The Wiggles could handle me, I've got too much of a track record in nightclubs playing to sweaty people on a dance floor. It's cool to be able to experiment and release music like that and it's a whole other thing to dance music because kids music is silly and fun and it should be you. You want to write stuff that's educational, as well but kids just live in the moment so much and I wish that more adults took notes from that and lessons on how to be in the moment and how present kids are and how they just hear something and they just let themselves go. So writing music for kids is just such a liberating and freeing process to be a part of.
I actually wanted to talk to you a little on that because your social media presence is incredibly personal and not just personal in that we've got family life and laughs and DJing in your kitchen with your children, but you've got hilarious pregnancy videos, you've got videos where you deeply discuss pregnancy.. You really let people in and your fans really feel like they get to know you. Was there ever a conscious decision to have such an open online profile with your family life? And are there any downsides?
It's a really great question and it absolutely was a conscious decision. First time around, when I was pregnant, I was really nervous to share that side of things because I was worried that it would mean I was less relevant in the dance music world or I wouldn't get booked for shows, it would kind of alienate me. I talked about it a little bit but the second time around I really wanted to lean into it, because I felt fuck it, this is real, I'm pregnant, I can’t hide it and I wanted to challenge that thought process for myself and for others. I wanted to challenge the idea that it would make me less relevant or would dilute the message. If a promoter chose to not book me because I was a mum, well, that's insane because so many big acts out there, especially male ones, are dads, there would never be a question to them. And I didn't see it is something that would actually dilute my brand, who I was. If anything, I thought it would make me even cooler. Just how I saw it, the fact that I could make music, travel, tour, DJ, and I was a mum, that should be seen as something really inspiring and something that actually strengthened who I was. So I wanted to really lean into it, there were people around me that were like, ‘ooh, I don't know if you should, I'm not sure’. I just thought, well, this is what I want to do and there was absolutely no downside to it. Everyone is so supportive, every time I am really genuine and talk about things like that online, everyone loves it. I realised that talking about that is the most relatable thing I can do for people, it makes me the most relatable I can ever be. I really pride myself on being genuine and relatable like that. I really enjoying leaning into it and sharing all of that stuff with anyone that follows me.
You're absolutely right, there's so many dads on tour, there are so many dads on the deck, dads do everything. But that's never a hand in hand thing. And if a dad has an all weekend party, and he's playing, he's celebrated. Whereas if it's someone's mum, oh God, it's a shameful thing. It's really important to see the fact that when you have a child, you don't automatically put on your dowdy floral dress and lock yourself away. I think it's really important for your listeners, it's actually opening up even further for your audience, so rock on with it.
Oh, thank you. It's really interesting, my partner is in a band as well and I don't think he's ever been asked about being a dad in any of his interviews. He just get asked about his artistry in his music, where as it comes up pretty much in every single interview for me, but I'm not someone that's going to be like, ‘don't ask me about it’. I want to talk about it, because I'm not afraid of pushing the boundaries and chatting about that and still hopefully, hitting the marks and getting those ARIA nominations and things.
Exactly. And on that, the music industry across the world has taken a bit of a hit like a lot of industries, but particularly when it comes to dance music, where there's no clubs and people to dance up against, although we still had people making music to dance to in other areas. With that shift, that global emotional shift, did you find a shift in what you were listening to and what you were creating because of the lack of clubs or were you still in that same headspace?
For me I was still in that same headspace because if anything I wanted to transporting to feeling like I was in a club, so I was still making that kind of music. It didn't really affect me, but I'm also quite a positive person and I absolutely had those days where I felt down, you know, everyone just felt like we were in a time warp, not much to look forward to. But I feel like the older I get, the better I get at being able to pull myself out of those spaces and find things to do, whether it's making music as KLP, or making music for Diver City, or just create in some other way. I feel like it’s a skill I’ve really mastered, hopefully I don’t lose it! I've made it through the pandemic relatively positive, so that's a good thing.
Honestly can't wait to dance on a floor to ‘Eat The Runway’. I’m honestly so excited for people to charge onto the dance floor. Tell me what's coming up for you, and what are you looking forward to most in the next six to 12 months?
Gigs! Gigs, gigs, gigs, There's a whole lot of easing of restrictions for New South Wales, which is really exciting, because hopefully that will ricochet into other states. I feel really optimistic about gigs coming back, being able to actually play all the music that I've been making at shows and connect with people that way. That's number one for me. It's what I can't wait for.
‘Eat The Runway’ is out now via Medium Rare Recordings. You can buy and stream here.
To keep up with all things KLP you can follow her on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
To keep up with all things LaLa Ri you can follow her on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
