In conversation with Belyi & Kirr
- May 15
- 2 min read
With "Calinda", the artists revisit the energy of a 1982 recording and turn it into something fresh, raw, and contemporary. Built around a powerful brass-driven groove, the track came together through instinct, improvisation, and a careful balance between live performance and electronic production. In this interview, they discuss how the original sample shaped the direction of the record, why they chose to keep the arrangement stripped back, and how "Calinda" became an important step in defining their sound.
The interview explains how "Calinda" started almost by accident. The artists were going through older recordings, not really looking for a sample, but trying to understand why some tracks still feel alive decades later. When they found a 1982 version of Calinda, the thing that caught their attention was the brass: it had a strong, physical presence and seemed to push the groove forward rather than simply sit on top of it.
From that point, the idea was not to recreate the original track or use it as a nostalgic reference. They wanted to take that same sense of movement and bring it into a more current sound. The process was open from the beginning, without a fixed structure or a clear final result in mind. They followed the energy of the track and let the arrangement take shape step by step.
Improvisation played a big part in the making of the record. The saxophone and vocal sessions were kept quite free, with only a general feeling or direction given to the musicians. Instead of writing every part in advance, they recorded longer takes, then later picked out the moments that felt strongest and placed them where they worked best in the track. This helped keep the performances natural, while still making them fit into the overall structure.
They also experimented with different styles before landing on the final version. At some point, they realised that trying to make the track sound more modern was actually weakening it. The best direction was to remove anything unnecessary and let the groove, brass, and vocals carry the record.
In the end, "Calinda" represents a step forward in how they understand their own sound: a mix of electronic production and live performance, built around feel rather than rules, with enough space for the music to stay spontaneous and human.
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