Words with: Kisses Buh-Byeee

Kisses Buh-Byeee was a low-key duo made of Samuel Acres and Tony Reade, existing in Melbourne half a decade ago. Made from cold synthesisers, minimal drum machines and Tony's downcast lyrics/vocals, Samuel has recently decided to let loose the sole Kisses Buh-Byeee album as a free digital download on the internet. Violence is that album - a four year old lost treasure, now finally finding its place on scattered Australian iPods.

I recently had a small chat with Samuel Acres, who most probably know as the synth third of the original Drunk Elk line-up/album.

What an who was Kisses Buh-Byeee?

Sam Acres: Kisses Buh-Byee was 2 jerks in a slump. I'd met Tony through a mutual friend and we just got on real well. We both liked synths and drum machines, Prince, Madonna, Rap Music etc. We both also liked weed quite a bit, so we'd get just a little bit high and turn on some gear and improvise songs about BMX's, having a Lego girlfriend/boyfriend, Nightrider, stealing Sunkist from the local Chicken Shop, Pizza and KFC--just stupid shit.

That's what it was to start with, but after we'd kinda of got over that we thought about making a proper Album. We figured we knew enough about Pop music... and we both really dig that strange overt quality that synth sounds have. There's just something about really simple synth sounds that I dunno, seems almost sexual. And if you play certain melodies with those sounds, it kind of rubs you a weird way. Or something.

This dude, Digital Primate, dug my earlier Hip-Hop stuff--I did a remix for this track of his, "My Bush"--and was interested in peeping anything else I made, so we ended up signing a deal with his label maybe 2007 sometime. I think it was Turntable Spoilsports. Nothing happened, and I think there was--but don't quote me on this--some kind of 2 year rights thing. I Dunno. Little foggy. So jack happened.

When & where did you record "Violence"?

SA: Hmmn... The first song we started was Danger, and we did that in a dive-arse flat I was kind of scamming in North Fitzroy around early 2006. Then all the production stuff was done later at ForePaw in Northcote when I moved there sometime.

We also worked on It's No Use, and Reciprocate there, and a couple others that we junked. This was all in MIDI, so we'd write a song, then later once the writing part was finished I'd do what I always used to call "sound" the song. [There were] two different processes. The writing of the song, and later the "sounding" of the song. So I/we really had to have some idea of what the final sound was going to be like, because most of it was recorded by playing back the basic MIDI tracks though speakers or guitar amps in either the stair-well, or the front room at ForePaw; or by recording stuff onto cassette and then back and forth a heap of times to it really degraded. A whole bunch of other ways too.

So basically all the production stuff was done there (ForePaw). When I moved I'm not entirely sure. The whole thing took just under a year to make. Start to finish. 
 

Was the original plan to physically release "Violence" as a tape? (I only ask this due to the cassette-shaped artwork included with the digital release...)

SA: Not really - we just wanted to make a whole album, one that you listen to start to finish. Not just 10 songs, but 10 related songs. Sum of the parts, etc. We never really thought about a format for it, I don't think we could think that far ahead. Maybe burn a few CD-R's for friends, but after the deal-thing collapsed...

We knew that this was basically going to be a total studio album, not able to be played live. We did play live at St. Jeromes once and that was a fucking nightmare, technically - also, a cab driver almost jacked all our gear.

Actually, the image that comes with the album is just something that Tony drew on a whim. I still had it laying about so I scanned it and hey presto.

Was this a break-up record? It feels cold, both lyrically and musically.

SA: Tony never told me what any of the lyrics were about, and I don't think he ever will. Probably, though. I asked [him] a whole bunch.

What other projects have you been associated with?

SA: I produced a weird hip-hop project called Dead Electric, the Drunk Elk album, The Vivids album, and in the pipes is the Moe Grizzly album, which is like 96% done. At the start of this year I did the sound design for Superfad's entry for some design festival. Plus, a couple other SoundArt jags in Melbourne, [and I] also worked with Sean from Chrome Dome on a thing called "Like Totally Cosmic"

Extra note: Tony has been involved with Double Rape Fantasy, a project which deliberately limits the beat-making to 5 minutes, and then a further 5 for the arrangement of the track.

   VIOLENCE by Kisses Buh-Byeee

You can listen to the album in the Soundcloud player above, or download the entire record for free here.

&c.