A few years back I met Kimi Recor while living in San Francisco. My favorite memory of Kimi Recor followed one of Gemini Disco’s biggest parties at The Mezzanine in San Francisco. I helped Chris (a founder of Gemini Disco and her co conspirator) with the decorations. Together we created an elaborate Reindeer S/M scene equipped with balloon didlo’s (like the animal balloons you enjoyed as a child) and neon lights, plus a huge balloon drop and balloon people fucking all over the Mezz… TRULY MAGICKAL.. Anyway, skip ahead to the end of the night and I’m in full drag looking for a cab on San Francisco’s infamous 6th Street in SOMA puffing a cigarette, getting hollered at by homeless men that wanted to bone my “vagina” when all of a sudden angel Kimi pulled up and asked me where I was trying to get to… “ummmm I’m supposed to be meeting a dude in the Mission,” I responded. She took my ass there and I had a fabulous night with him. Forever and ever I’ll love Kimi for that. And on top of all that she makes amazing music. She has a band called Lilofee that is rocking clubs all over the place and she is working on a side project with Chris entitled Secret and the Noise that is equally grand with the possibility of exceeding anything we’ve witnessed before. Thank the heavens!! Keep reading for an interview, MP3 and mind exploding chat about the world…
Here she is fronting the band Lilofee:
You have gone through a few musical incarnations, what brought you and Chris together to work on Secret and the Noise?
I met Chris through a friend when I first moved back from New York. He became one of my best friends almost instantly. At this point, he’s like the brother I’ve never had. He probably gets me more than anyone else. We really keep each other in check and out of trouble. Musically, I’ve always respected Chris’ musical ear and guitar talent. He’s incredible. We just really mesh well together, its very fluid when we create, we inspire each other and play off of each other so effortlessly. Chris plays keyboards in my other band, Lilofee, and he’s also my roommate, so we’re always together, plotting our takeover. Both of us are very performance oriented, and although we love just playing music, we’re both very excited about creating a show that is as much about the performance as it is about the songs.
How is it working with Chris compared to other projects you’ve worked on?
Working with Chris is very easy. We put no pressure on the music, it just happens. We’re best friends, and we don’t fight. We’re very open about anything that bothers us, and work it out on the spot. Although our relationship is purely platonic, the love and respect we have for each other is greater than most relationships I’ve had, and I think that really comes across in the music that we create together.
What are you trying to get out of this project? And what are you trying to put across to your audience?
We’re not really sure what were trying to get out of this project. We’re both really active in other endeavors, including my band Lilofee. I can tell you this, Chris and I are working diligently to mesh together circus performance and music in a way that hasn’t been done before. We want to release some songs, and play some shows, but we have a much bigger picture in mind. Essentially we want to be able to showcase art, music, performance and imagination in completely new way.
I almost like thinking of this project as a Pied Piper of sorts. It would be amazing to have people trust our music so much, that they let themselves be led blindly into our magical fantasy show.
I know you’ve traveled quite extensively, where are your favorite places? Favorite parties? Favorite restaurants?
First of all, I love going to New York and LA. Those are my cities. People there are super driven and passionate, and I just love how nothing ever stops. My favorite restaurants in New York are Pure Food and Wine (an amazing gourmet raw food restaurant), Caravan of Dreams and Babycakes Bakery ( again, vegan, wheat-free treats that are better than anything you’ll ever have). I like going to dive bars in Brooklyn, I can’t say there’s one that I like more than others. As for parties, I usually just follow my friends that live there around. New York is constantly changing, parties come and go, and you’ll never know where you’ll end up. The other great thing about New York is that there’s always something open, that no matter what time of day it is, you can get anything you want.
LA is amazing, because no matter what, every time I go I end up in a neighborhood that I didn’t know existed, in some little back room art gallery, listening to some mind-blowing band, surrounded by beautiful, creative people. I feel like LA gets a lot of shit for being “pretentious”, but I don’t think its anymore so than say New York or London. People in LA are just more open about it, and don’t hide it. I think LA is doing some really interesting things in regards to music and art, and I can’t wait to explore them more once I relocate there.
Any spiritual experiences you’d care to elaborate on?
2009 was a super spiritually enlightening year for me. It started off by me traveling through South East Asia,where I ended up spending a lot of time in India.
I know it seems kind of cliche to say that, but India is a place that will change you forever. It’s hard to explain, but it really shakes you to the core. Its mystical and beautiful, and at the same time tragically real. Everything inspired me there. I felt like I was part of a greater force, like I had tapped into some sort of secret vein of connection between the conscious and subconscious. By the time I had to leave, I had almost forgotten that I had this whole life back in the States. India had become my everything. I can’t wait to go back.
I also took part in a traditional Ayahuasca ceremony, which is a basically a Shaman led hallucinatory experience. It was one of the most intense experiences of my life, but I feel like I can’t really explain it in words. It was the first time that a drug led me into myself, instead of away from myself.
What musicians and artists do you look to for inspiration/ have inspired you to become the magical creature that you are?
Oh my goodness. I feel like I absorb all the time. I love all the great female vocalists: Janis Joplin, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Nina Simone, Edith Piaf…etc. but I also appreciate pop music in all forms, whether it be Ace of Base or Blondie. I really appreciate anyone who is passionate about their work, but I don’t think I am necessarily inspired by other artists per say. Right now I’m really inspired by old South Gothic Romanticism. Old plantations, half devoured by the surrounding swamps, lost traditions, and the echo of Caribbean folk music. I love old folk stories, and dark German fairy tales, the kinds without happy endings.
I don’t remember watching much TV as a kid, or even listening to music. I was always to busy playing outside in the forest, or forcing my entire family to watch a one person musical, written by, directed by and starring me. So I think that from a very young age on, I’ve been very reliant on my surroundings and my imagination to inspire me, because that’s all that I was exposed to.
Any plans to tour?
Yes. We want to live in a van, and see the whole world. If anyone wants to go ahead and set that up for us, we’d love you forever
A Beautiful MP3:
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