Born from a series of dreams, the name KYOSi represents a character fascinated by sound, math, symmetry, beauty, wonder and color. Shows meander between verse and chorus style future-pop to deep, floor-opening doomsday bass, sampled laughter, pointed political criticism and experimental sampled sounds.

Please list all of your band members and their roles in the band.

The band is me! I write and produce the music, though for this track I worked with longtime friend Todd Brozman, who is a producer and jazz pianist. We wrote this EP together.

For starters, what bands were you a part of prior to this? How long has the band been around?

I was involved with lots of projects before KYOSi. I was a touring backup singer for years and played with all sorts of bands ranging from roots Americana to r&b. The KYOSi project was born about 5 years ago.

What’s the origin of that name and have you changed the band’s name before?

KYOSi came out of a series of dreams I was having a number of years ago. I woke up one night with the word in my head, not knowing what it meant. I kept having more intense dreams about it, sometimes with super specific plots. I finally came to meet a Japanese person who told be it means “instructor” which was significant because I was teaching music production and beat making at the time. 

Prior to that I was going by More Dani. My actual name is Dani DiCiaccio and in my years of singing backup people used to yell “More Dani” and “let her sing” at the stage. So it just sort of stuck for a while. 

Who writes your songs? What are the main themes or topics for most of your songs and do you think these topics will change over time?

I do! Except for this time around, where I’ve collaborated with Todd. These days I’m particularly inspired by class, race, and themes of the industrial revolution. I’m sure as life happens these will change.

What bands are currently inspiring the music that you’re making?

Oh man- so so much good music is coming out right now. I love anything by Toro y Moi and The Invisible. They are so different from each other but feed my soul. 

Was there a particular band/artist or concert that inspired you to start a band?

Not particularly but I do remember listening to tapes of Ella Fitzgerald as a kid and thinking it was the most amazing thing I’d ever heard. 

What do you do to prepare for a show? Any flexing, exercises, etc …

I warm up my voice, fingers and make sure my body is warm. I jump up and down a couple times and shake things out. 

What has been the biggest highlight of the band’s career so far?

I’ve been so fortunate to have lots of opportunities. I’ve played at Art Basel, SXSW and some really cool clubs in Prague and Berlin. The highlight might be meeting Jazzy Jeff and playing my tunes for him and hearing him say afterward “that shit made me really really happy” which in turn made me really really happy! 

If you could tour with any bands, past or present, who would they be and why?

It would be so cool to do shows with a band like TV On The Radio or Sophie or Kamasi Washington. The beauty of creating genre bending music is that I think my sound could be appreciated by any of those audiences and it’d be incredible to soak up their shows night after night.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

Thank you so much for taking the time to talk with me!