In Bellmore, something new is making waves on the radio — a new player coming into the electronic music industry, the introspective artist called King Kaye.
Ben Kaye, 26, started spinning records at 9 years old when he was given a DJ set from a family friend, and ever since, he has been fascinated by music and pursued ambitious artistic projects that inspire and innovate.
Today, his music has been featured on 90.7 FM WFUV and live performances at Ki Smith Gallery and other venues.
Kaye’s next big event will be the release of his new EP “The Dark Side of Enlightenment” on August 26, which will include his two recently released songs “Enlighten Me” and “FIGHT!”
One of the most important themes in Kaye’s work is mental health.
“The first single that I released, ‘Enlighten Me,’ was a kind of cry for help,” he said, searching for both guidance and inner peace. On June 26, “FIGHT!” was released as his second single, addressing even greater personal struggles.
“I wrote that at the time my father was diagnosed with M.S.,” he said. “He's also dealt with kidney cancer and blood clots, and it's long been a really tough year for us.”
When Kaye moved in to serve as a full-time caretaker for his father, a second tragedy struck.
“I also found out that a childhood best friend of mine lost his life, and that song was my way of dealing with all of that going on at the time,” he said. “It was about how we are constantly thrown into these battles and mental challenges, and as much as we don't want to have to deal with them, the best way of doing it is just fighting through.”
The rest of the tracks on the EP will continue to explore themes of mental health.
“The main motivation behind all of this — even my infinity logo — was from my uncle who dealt with mental health issues his entire life,” he said. “This is my way of taking care of my own mental health.”
Kaye’s main musical inspirations are Rick Ruben and Daft Punk as well as cinematic filmmakers like Wes Anderson and Christopher Nolan. The influence of the latter two has led to one of his biggest upcoming projects: a short film scored with his music. Kaye is further diversifying his brand with new apparel and merchandise.
Kaye works in a small team, and he wears more than one hat: he is a vocalist, a musician, a producer, a songwriter, and a sound designer. Using this skillset, he produces one-of-a-kind effects.
“I spend a lot of time trying to create sounds as a form of meditation and self-help dealing with everyday things,” he said. “[The songs] are rooted in the instrumentals first, and then the lyrics are either from past experiences, or are affirmations and motivational.”
Alex Poeppel is one of Kaye’s partners on the new EP. Poeppel has over a decade of experience working with high profile artists like Lil Nas X and Roger Waters — and when he first heard Kaye’s work, he was impressed.
“I've enjoyed it quite a bit,” he said, referring to their collaborations. “When he came to me with these demos, they were already in pretty good shape, and he was able to very clearly articulate on an artistic and technical level what he was trying to get out of them.”
Poeppel described Kaye as “someone who has the lexicon to be able to communicate about music in a technical way, which just makes the process a lot more streamlined and fun.”
Merrick resident Francesca Collado and Kaye were longtime friends, now coming together to create cutting-edge art.
“He and I actually went to high school together,” she said. “Obviously, he's amazing music, so I ended up going on to work in music publicity. When he asked me to be a part of, you know, his King K world, I was really honored.”
Today, she serves as his communications manager and publicist.
“It just kind of all came together in due time,” she said.
For more information about King Kaye and upcoming releases, visit KingKaye.com.
