Enfnts Terribles

Kojaque, how’s life at the moment? Are you having fun?

Good. I’m a little bit tired at the moment, but it’s good to be back on the road.

You had to wait a while to present your debut album Town’s Dead in front of a live audience. How did you experience the reaction of the crowd during the first show in Amsterdam?

It’s been a lot more lively than I expected. I haven’t played in Amsterdam for two years. The last time, I was the support act of Slowthai in the sister venue. As a support act, people usually don’t know your music, and it’s a bit reserved. My headline show here was crazy.

How did you prepare for this tour? Was there a special structure you followed to create the setlist?

It’s really depending on the energy. Some songs are more intense, so you want to start big because people are excited to see you on stage. We wanted it to start big and then bring the energy down for a bit with some of the older songs. In the end, we want to reach that climax again. You test it every night and refine it whenever you feel like things need to be changed. You want the show to flow nicely.

You just mentioned that there’s a difference between the more intense songs and the intimate songs. Would you say that Kojaque has two different sides?

It’s more that some songs are more intimate and more reflective on a personal level. Other songs are more an energy thing, that is more for people that like to get lost in the music and don’t want to think too much. That’s where the more intense songs fit in. You also have to curate the shows that make sense. It’s a hard thing to do when you got songs that are very different, but you get used to it.

Are you afraid that people won’t take their time to listen to the full project anymore because streaming platforms are very single-focused?

The majority of people probably don’t listen to a full project but that’s something you have to understand. Unfortunately, a lot of people won’t care as much about a project as much as you do. It means something different to every person, and it means something different to me. It’s nice that you have these persons that listen to your entire album from front to back, and it could be their religion. It could be the only thing they listen to in the next couple of months.

I like to put my effort into an album or a larger project. I think there’s a gratification for it because it will be that piece forever. It doesn’t change, unless your Kanye West, and in that case, you change it every time it comes out.

While listening to the album, we were wondering how much your environment has influenced the album. In what way did Dublin or Ireland affect the outcome?

My music tends to be a reflection of where I’m at or the environment I’m in, I suppose. Dublin just made its way into the album, whether I wanted it to or not. It’s a very difficult and frustrating place to live. After a time, you can be upset or pissed off because there are so many issues there. You can’t tell or understand why. There’s this underwhelming feeling of frustration, which comes out in my music a lot. It’s very difficult because it’s such a great place at the same time. The people there are great and there’s great energy in the city.

A lot of people from outside Dublin or Ireland don’t know that. When you think of Irish people, you think of very happy people, but there are a lot of issues there or wrong things. You only feel that when you live there or speak to someone who lives there. You won’t know or hear that, but it’s important to talk about it.