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An Interview Kai
Horsthemke |
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| An Interview with Kai Horsthemke I met Kai for the first time last year to speak to him about the South African Bass album project I was planning. Kai was very enthusiastic and immediately gave me some material to listen to, unlike a lot of bassists that only gave me empty promises and nothing more. I saw immediately that Kai was going to become one of the more active participants in the project and it wasn’t long before he suggested the idea of a web site in a half joking way. That idea has now become reality. Kai, Concord and Myself got together in Alberton earlier this year to open up the account for the collective and in August Kai gave us a very interesting workshop on Charlie Haden. I was so taken with Kai’s approach to music that I asked him to work on a piece of music with me for the album project and this has now been done and we’re waiting for Larry Rose to get himself in shape ready for the drum part. I wanted to interview Kai before somebody else ‘got to him first’ so without further ado, here is the interview. How long have you been playing Kai? I started playing guitar at the age of 14 and switched to bass guitar four or five years later. How did you get started? At that time, 1971. Almost everyone at our school began playing an instrument (post-woodstock and Isle of Wight) so there was inspiration from both local and International models. What’s your favourite band / solo artist? Bassists: Initial favourites were Gary Thain and Andy Fraser, later, Charlie Haden, Eberhard Weber and Jaco Pastorius. Other favourites are Neil Young, Robbie Robertson, Richie Havens, The Band, Spirit, Bill Frisell, Jan Garbarek, Alice In Chains, Soundgarden and various Celtic and Native American artists. When did you stop using fretted instruments? I’ve never stopped using them entirely. My active preference for fretless basses began in 1978/9. What are the amps and instruments you currently use? Galien-Krueger amps, Samick fretless 5-string, Fender 4-strings (fretted and fretless), Trace Elliot T-Bass (fretted 5-string), Hofner electric upright bass (5-string) How long have you been playing upright? I fooled around on an acoustic upright as early as 1977 but acquired the electric upright in 1987 and began playing this instrument in earnest only six years ago. What instruments would you like to have if money were no object? Certainly a good acoustic bass. The Kydd electric upright 5-string bass for travelling and a passive 5-string fretless, ideally a Fender. What have you been doing for the last five years or so? Gigging and recording with Highway Jam and Little Sister, Kathy van Rensburg and Jonathan Crossley. Also recording my own projects – am currently busy with my third, self-financed CD. What recordings that you’ve played on would you recommend for listening? My solo stuff. Also an album that appeared in Luxembourg in 1994, “Let Me Be Your Pilot” by League of Nations and some of the Highway Jam stuff. What’s been the low point in your career so far? Rejection is always difficult to deal with, in love and in music. I don’t want to say more. And what has been the high point? One high point was winning the award for Jazz Band of the Year with Highway Jam in the 2000 Old Mutual Jazz Encounters. Any kind of positive and critical-constructive feedback. What are your goals currently? To get closer to the essence, to improve my expressive and creative “voice”, to play fewer and more meaningful notes. |
