K. Gautier has a huge sound for a solo project. How many instruments do you play and how long have you been playing them?

 

When I sit down to write, I really want to make music that can be a moving experience, and I’m challenged in a way to reach the fringes of that threshold. Just how powerful can music get? It sounds a little strange, but being able to see music has made listening a really moving experience for me over the years, and I want others to experience it too. I would say that I’m primarily a composer, arranging all my songs with Ableton Live before substituting the tracks for real instruments in the studio. I dabble in guitar, bass, and drums, but I would not say that I’m really that great. I think my main instrument is composing by ear and arranging on my DAW.

 

Who are your biggest musical influences?

 

When I started to really get into music around 11 or 12 years old, I got into the hardcore music scene in Jackson that was pretty big at the time. I think the heavier the music was the better, and I couldn’t get enough. It was pretty impactful looking back on everything I’d write, and the influences definitely show through even now. Later down the line, I found myself drawn to music with orchestral, ambient, and cinematic influences, which definitely play a huge role in my overall sound. Some of my biggest influences currently are Sigur Rós, Olafur Arnalds, M83, This Will Destroy You, Hammock, Future Of Forestry, Tycho, Sleeping At Last, and a lot of Erased Tapes Records music.

 

What are some of your all-time favorite songs?

 

That is a really hard question to answer, but if I had to pick some of my favorites, I would say these will scratch the surface: Outro – M83, Black Dunes (Live) – This Will Destroy You, Varúð – Sigur Rós, Teil I-IV – Kjartan Sveinsson, I Can Almost See You – Hammock, A Bridge – Michael Price, Aphasia – Pinegrove, Over the Pond – The Album Leaf

 

Do you like to read? If so, what are some of your favorite books?

 

I wish I could say that I liked to read. Honestly, I have really tried to get into reading. Almost every time I end up falling asleep or getting distracted. I think there are a lot of things you can get out of reading that you can’t get anywhere else, and I really appreciate that. I enjoy reading the Bible for my spiritual nourishment, and I have enjoyed several books over the years, but I would say that I don’t classify myself as an avid reader, which I find to be quite sad.

 

I noticed that you follow two of my favorite bands on Twitter, My Epic and Young Oceans. What do you think makes those bands so special?

 

My Epic and Young Oceans are seriously two of my favorite Christian bands of all time. They are incredibly creative, sincere in their worship lyrically, and making great music. I jam the “I Must Find You” record on vinyl at my house all of the time, and it never gets old. I think Christian bands that have an original sound are really cool, and I really respect them for that. I would honestly love to meet either of the two bands and just talk about worship, and creativity in the Church. My Epic blew me away with their “Viscera” EP, and I jam that record all the time too. They sing truth unashamedly and that’s a really honorable thing. I would say overall, the thing that makes them so special to me is their creativity, their boldness, and their hearts to sharing Christ. It’s really cool.

 

What are your thoughts on popular worship and Christian music?

 

I love Christian music in general, and I love that the Church has been given such a large sector in the entertainment industry to share the truth of Jesus Christ with the world. I was given the opportunity to write the first two records with the Christian worship band Seeker & Servant, and I really got learn a lot about the Christian music industry and what the day-to-day operations are like. It was eye opening in some aspects, like the differences between independent projects, major label projects, and large church worship projects. I would say that I have come to really appreciate a lot of the vulnerability, lyricism, and creativity coming out of Christian bands today more than ever before. Personally, I’m attracted to honest, and Biblical lyrics the most. The Christian life is raw and messy, and we in the Church all have Jesus and the Word of God in common. So that is the kind of music that is the most inspiring to me, whether it be worship or another form of Christian music.

I really want to make music that can be a moving experience, and I’m challenged in a way to reach the fringes of that threshold. – K. Gautier

The Prevailing has a lot of beautiful, lush, layered tunes, many of which are instrumental, is this the direction you intend to keep taking your music?

 

I think that most of the tones and sounds that came out of The Prevailing are pretty true to the sounds that I hear in my head. I feel like I really laid it all out there in the open with that record, and so I feel like I need to be conscious of what I’m writing from now on, not accidentally recreating the same thing over again. I don’t want to make the same sounds in one sense because I want to really cover a lot of ground sonically. I daydream sometimes of writing two or three more records that are all completely different, a stripped-down string quartet instrumental record, and dark and heavy rock and roll record, etc. I think that a lot of those lush and layered sounds will probably make it into everything I do, but hopefully won’t be the main focus. I intend for the next record to definitely be a good bit different from The Prevailing.

 

What is your favorite track on The Prevailing and what is it that you like about it?

 

I think my favorite track on The Prevailing would have to be Blanket Son. It’s just the most fun to jam to, sing to, and worship to. The lyrics are from some poetry I wrote in worship to God and have a lot of depth to them. It’s my favorite song dynamically, and I also think it is one of the most positive sounding songs on the record. If anyone was going to listen to a song from the record, I would recommend that one.

You recently released a great new single called “Bound”. Is there a new album in the works? If so, when do you hope to release it?

 

Yes, I just released “Bound” in late April, and I’m really excited about it. It was a spur of the moment thing where I decided to sit down one Saturday and make something. I had some down time in my side project’s record (The Mountainous), so I decided to write a single for K. Gautier. I definitely branched out a good bit on this one, using more synths and tom work on drums. I hope it is a blessing to the listeners, and that they are able to worship God with it just like I am. All that being said, I do have a new album in the works right now, but it’s with my side project called The Mountainous. We are kind of an experimental, instrumental, post-rock project with influences from Explosions in the Sky and Balmorhea. So stay tuned for that, and all glory to God!

 

 

Check out more from K. Gautier here