DJ interview: kAtO weaves sonic tales

Kaley Mitchell, aka kAtO, is a DJ with rare abilities in today’s digital age. His sharp listening skills help him tune into the sensibilities, tastes and concerns of youth culture. This allows him to mix together voices and sounds from other media into soundscapes that tell a story, much different than the typical mashup. Don’t let these technical sonic tales discourage you from getting down to the Traverse this Friday. kAtO still knows how to rock a party. Below kAtO shares a lot of the history behind his craft.

https://soundcloud.com/kato-3/so-stoked

Revelstoke Mountaineer: How long have you been DJing?

Kaley Mitchell: I think the first time I used a mixer was ’95. I had a very poor quality turntable and it tended to ruin records if you tried scratching. By ’97 I had another low-end turntable with a better stylus and quality mixer. By ’98 I bought my first Technics 1200 turntable.

RM: What lead you to DJing?

KM: Around high school I started getting into hip-hop. I started realizing what was going on with sampling and scratching on the songs I was listening to. I tried imitating these sounds on an old turntable that belonged to my grandparents. It was the worst setup for that purpose but I was instantly hooked.

I grew up playing cassette tapes and watched the advent of CDs. CDs were promoted as being the future. Anything on vinyl was like a ghost from a previous world.  Then, one day an older friend of mine showed me an issue of Grand Royale magazine and while pointing to an ad he said, “I ordered these records, and some things called slipmats.”

The records he ordered were new hip hop records. It blew me away because I assumed new music wasn’t released on wax anymore. One of them was a 12″ single, which had the instrumental and a cappella. This really opened my eyes to the world of DJing.

At first, I wasn’t focused on changing the pitch (speed) of a record or beat matching songs. At that time there was a real renaissance within the DJ battle and scratch scene, when guys like Mix Master Mike and Q Bert started getting widespread exposure. At the same time more rave scenes and music like drum and bass were gaining popularity, so it was a lot easier to get quality equipment and diverse records as a direct result.

RM: Where did your name kAtO come from?

KM: I grew up during the ‘80s ninja craze and developed an infatuation with Bruce Lee. He plays a character named Kato in an old series called the Green Hornet. In the Peter Sellers Pink Panther movie they parody the Green Hornet series when Sellers is randomly ambushed by his assistant, Kato. I remember watching this at my grandparents house with my two brothers and being in tears from laughing. My brothers and I would ninja ambush each other all the time. After watching these films, if my brothers suspected I was hiding and about to spring, they would do an impression of Sellers and quote the film “Kato! No attack tonight.”

RM: What were the last three songs you downloaded?

KM: June (remix) by RJD2 featuring Copywrite, Stand up by G Jones, Energy (Mimosa Remix) by Drake.

RM: Purp and Yella collaborator Bogs said you are related to renowned Canadian writer and broadcaster, W. O. Mitchell. Bog’s favourite quality of yours as a DJ is that you inherited your grandfather’s storytelling skills. What do you think?

KM: If I’m making a mixtape, often I will use songs and sounds to try and weave a story. However, if the objective is rocking a party or even battling, then the thing I inherited from W. O. is a strong stage presence. He studied in an oration and elocution school so he understood how to use dramatic pause, rhetoric and humor. If you ever saw him perform or read on stage he was outstanding, but we got it even when he told us a bedtime story.

RM: DJs need to have lots of skills and some are known for one more than others, i.e. selecting tracks, mixing, scratching, self promo. What would you say your forte is?

KM: My first real exposure to playing shows were local scratch battles in Calgary. Back then I was more focused on creating two- to six-minute sets. In battling, the point is to display technical skills with no wasted space and throw in a clever or crass insult toward your opponent. I used to scratch old rock records or kids or comedy records or film soundtracks. I always liked flipping lots of genres in. I wasn’t cutting the same popular battle records.

My approach now is to still apply scratching and technical tricks while going through various genres. It’s more centered on track selection based on what will help people party and dance. I try to prepare a set with room to improvise and switch the tempo or style after gauging the crowd, so I’ll have a bunch of What If crates ready. I would say I’m not the best scratcher or selector or improviser on their own, but I’m very adept at applying all my strengths together. This Jack of all Trades approach, goes back to my obsession with Bruce Lee and his philosophies regarding combining styles and being ready for wherever a fight may take you.

RM: Are you a cinephile? How do you find such appropriate voice clips to weave into your mixes?

KM: Yes, I love movies from all times and places. When I was young I could instantly remember movie lines. The first thing close to DJing I did was mix movie clips with an open-air tape recorder when I was very young.

RM: Why do you theme your mixes? Where does this inspiration come from?

KM: Some of the oldest mixtapes I did were gifts for specific people. I’d find a song or sample with their name or something related. Then as I went deeper, it became a challenge to see how far I could take the sound arrangement as far as weaving it into a full story soundscape. It also leaves room for other genres and older songs to be thrown in. A lot of other mixes have the same flavour of the month tracks or only one bpm or one genre.

RM: What is the wildest thing you’ve seen on the dance floor while DJing?

KM: Dice games during Boggs’ notorious gangster-themed parties.

RM: Are you playing other shows this winter?

KM: I’m opening for Neon Steve in Nelson on March 6, 2015.

Tickets are available at the door. Doors open at 9pm. Other details or comments can be found here.