Back when summer was still a nearby memory, we were introduced to the seasonal sounds of Johnny Kulo with his single ‘Wrong’. Described as the meeting point between old school soul and contemporary R&B, this Berlin-based Indian musician absolutely delighted us with a smooth and sophisticated style that exuded confidence. Newest release ‘Poseidon’ proves that our initial assumption was indeed correct, he’s here to stay.
Building on that soul and R&B foundation, ‘Poseidon’ leans more into a bedroom-pop style. The production (courtesy of August Ingram) is warm, almost analog, despite all the electronic elements and this only serves to highlight Kulo‘s balmy voice. You might also notice the presence once again of those irresistible guitar melodies, something that’s essential to artist’s songwriting process.
“When I’m writing something it almost always starts with the electric guitar. Even if the original idea was a melody in my head or something I came up with on the keyboard, I first gotta lay it down on the guitar first. I was messing around, layering, chopping and flipping up guitars I recorded and that ended up serving as the base for the track. I sent it over to a childhood homie of mine who hit me back with a hook and a verse within an hour or so. And that was it for me, the hook drove everything else, the direction was clear. The rest of the production was just as simple as putting together pieces to a puzzle cause the song already existed in its entirety as soon as I had the hook. I decided to leave enough space in the mix for me to say what needs to be said in the verses.”
And say them he does. The verse plan out as an honest apology in which Kulo owns up to his mistakes, “okay, I know that you’re conflicted, I know that I stepped the line…” Whether the romantic other will take him back is a mystery, but we got one hell of a song out of it.
He finishes up by giving a shout out to some of the people involved in the making of ‘Poseidon’:
“The drums and the keys came easy but I just knew I had to have Big Vik on the bass to complete the track. No track of mine is complete without August Ingram’s production and sonic design. I also got to collaborate with the one and only Johnny Ganta who created the incredible album art.”
You can find ‘Poseidon’ in our Soul & Grooves playlist.
Keep up with Johnny Kulo:
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