A Chat with Kye Kye

Having talked with Kye Kye last December while on their "Young Love" album release tour with Future of Forestry, we intended for this conversation to happen sooner. Fortunately for them, they have gained much press in the meantime, having interviewed with media such as Relevant magazine. When I saw Kye Kye perform six months in Richmond, BC, I knew it was only a matter of time before the snowball of renown would gain momentum and mass.

A tailored version of this interview will be published in the September issue of Vancouver-based Converge Magazine. Check it out!

Here's the full text, available only here at the Music Box!:

CK: So, you're Kye Kye now, but you haven't always been! You used to be called “Paper Rings”, right, and you released an album under that name. Was that your first album as the group now known, mysteriously, as Kye Kye?

Olga: Yes, our former name was Paper Rings under which we released our first official record. we recorded it in our basement about 2 ½ years ago by ourselves and did it on a small budget. It was the first real thing that had come out of the band and surprisingly, most people around us locally still know us by that album!



What was the reason behind the band’s name change? Were there other changes that were happening at that time?

I think the name change was a culmination of the last 2 years. We all felt that since we had a new vision for our music and lives, a name change was appropriate. We had never really been sold on the Paper Rings name, and we eventually decided that if God put a new name on our hearts then we would go ahead and change it. The name Kye Kye came up during our time in the studio recording "Young Love". It was really kind of unexpected, but once we heard the name we all just fell in love with it and knew that it was the banner we needed for our music.

Our thought process for the change was that it had to represent what was going on inside of us. It's mostly strangers from around the world who get to peer into our lives, into who we are, what we think, and how we express that through the words that we write. We believe that Christ lives inside of us, so we want people to see and hear Christ through us; it is no longer we that live but Christ who lives in us (reference to Galatians 2).

With that in mind, "Kye" is our phonetic spelling of the word "Chi," which is part of a Greek symbol the early church used that represented Christ. And we just say it twice for emphasis. Christ is who we want the world to see, whether we are on stage, on your radio, or in your iPod, or if we get to interact with you on a personal level.


My first encounter with you included that personal interaction - your music and your live shows carry real conviction. What is it that you want to convey to listeners?

More than anything, we want to convey the truth of who God is and who we are through Christ. We must shed light on wrong ideas that make it hard for us to love God. Sometimes the questions and answers are so messy that no one wants to talk about them or try to answer them, which isn't a solution. We have to dig for the answers to questions like "if God is love, then why is there pain?"; "Does God allow this cancer?"; "Was this accident orchestrated by God to bring me closer to him ?"; or even, "What's the difference between the old covenant and new?".

These questions all touch on who God really is which is why its important that we find answers to them in the book that tells us all about him, not mans opinion about Him, not even a preacher's opinion, but the Bible's truth. If we don't do this, they'll end up being answered (poorly) by the world.

We believe all of this is extremely important because if our beliefs are incorrect it limits the intimacy that you could have with God, which is sad, considering the whole purpose of life is to know Him. This isn't just relevant to people who call themselves Christians but I also think that there are many unbelievers who are kept in that state due to these same misrepresentations!

What ideas do you try to communicate in your music?

I think that one thing that we have realized in music and life for that matter is that you cannot give what you do not have. We are trying to communicate a real experience of God's love that we have experienced, are experiencing, and will experience. Our music portrays God's overwhelming love for us and how it has been affecting our lives. It has impacted us so much that we want to pass on this love to everyone who has ears to hear.

Our lyrics and words are tangible because they are something that we experience everyday and is more real to us than anything else on this earth. We want our musical sound to be something unique and refreshing to the music scene and something that takes our current musical culture and gives it something that listeners have been seeking out: music that melodic and listenable, yet contains depth and realness.

To be a little more specific, the main theme of the entire album "Young Love" is based on chapter 6 of Romans and Proverbs 23:7; the death of our old spirit, the birth our new spirit, and the renewal of our minds to who this new creation is.

As we speak about music created by Christ-followers, what does the term 'worship' mean to you, and how would you define it?

We believe it's all about how you relate to God. Jesus said that true worshipers will worship in spirit and in truth. It is about approaching Him in the Spirit, which is where our new identity in Christ is. We seek to sing and write about our new spirit-man and who we are right now. When we open our mouth and sing these words we are approaching God with the truth about who we are and who he has made us. Worship is something that is not confined to a building, church, or cultural background; it is purely based on God’s spirit. And once we realize who our spirit is, we can then approach God and worship him in Spirit and in truth.

What are some of the biggest life lessons and faith lessons you have learned? How have these impacted your songwriting and musicianship?

One of the biggest faith lessons that we have learned is who God has truly made us to be. By spending time with God through Jesus and getting to know him by finding who he is and what he's done, he has truly revealed who we are in the Spirit and what our actual purpose here on earth is.

I think that we have a tendency to think our calling is our purpose. A person ca get the idea that their whole life's purpose is to save people through preaching the gospel, but one of the greatest truths that God has revealed to us is that this is not our purpose. Jesus reconciled us to God so that it could be like it was in the beginning. When Adam and Eve were created their purpose their original purpose was to relate to God, to talk to him, to know him - to live with him. I believe that this is also our purpose today. The reason I exist is to know God through Jesus, and I think that when you realize this and walk in this truth then spreading the gospel becomes a natural overflow of everything you do, whether music, business, or otherwise. I think this is why the early church spread like wildfire. It's not about finding meaning and purpose to life in our activities (even if the activity is to save people) It is really about finding meaning, purpose, and fulfillment in knowing God.

This truth has changed our lives, and, as a result, changed how we write. With "Young Love", our approach to writing has really been more about listening, getting to know who God is and expressing what we personally experience along the way. We try to convey something that is real to us, something that is tangible. This impact has allowed us to have firm belief in what we write and sing about.


Stylistically, Kye Kye plays a genre that’s definitely not a typical sound for the ‘Christian music industry’ (although I’m sure there are lots of fans who wish it was!) Does that have the benefit of being able to take your music into a lot of diverse (and secular) venues? Is that what you want? Is it sort of freeing?

Yes! We definitely want our music to apply to all people. While our words and lyrics are about God and our relationship with him, this does not limit who can listen or appreciate our music. We play to both the secular, mainstream crowd and secular venues and that is what we want. We are not about singling out certain groups of people, because that is not what our mission is. Our mission is give everyone what has been freely given to us from our Father. We have seen great reactions throughout the Christian industry as well as in the secular crowds and we love that all people find value and enjoyment in our music.

What kinds of venues do you find you have your best shows/memorable moments?

All kinds of venues that we go to are memorable. We really see the most memorable shows being with the people that we can really be down to earth with. We want our shows to be a personal experience, and when we can really connect with the crowds, talk to people individually, pray with people, and just be intimate; we find these shows affect the fans the most, and we ourselves take the most away from these types of shows. We really aspire to have personable and touching shows no matter the venue size.

Genres can be as contentious as they are helpful, but is there somewhere where you ‘fit’ - electronica or electro-pop, possibly?

We definitely have that electronic feel to our music. It is apparent hearing all the synths, electronic drums mixed with real drums, spacey guitar, and soft melodic vocals that many people place us into electro category. We are not category-specific in that we do not want to limit where we place ourselves, but really want a listener to put us into his or her own category. We have really found that nearly all listeners can appreciate our music, from the hipsters down the street, to the grandparents at church. We love our sound and our feel to our music and really appreciate all the genres that we have been placed in by listeners.

Have you found a sound you want to settle in, or do you expect to continue experimenting with genres? What about instrumentation?

Our sound will always be growing. We love the sound that we have grasped with Young Love, however, we are already working with new sounds that we really want to explore on our next record.

You're all family here, in one way or another! Who is the elder sibling? Describe the growth and changes you’ve seen in each other as the years have passed. How about your early interests or memories?

Tim is the old goose (laughs), Alex is youngest and I'm (Olga) third to last. Alex and I were closest in age so I have most of my childhood memories with him. Tim and I got a lot closer a little later in my late teen years.

I think our whole family is a bit musically/artistically inclined. our grandpa wrote poetry, my parents wrote songs for church and actually tracked a record in there native language. Tim played the violin since an early age but when he started writing music it was really intriguing to me . . . I was like, “Wow, my brother is cool!” (laughs) So I think a lot of the motivation behind my music writing was Tim and wanting to impress him! I basically started picking up the guitar without really telling him for a while. Then one day I built up the courage to show him a song I had written and he was quite impressed!

What brought you to perform together, and then how did you go about inviting others into the process?

It wasn't until some time later that we started collaborating. Tim had gotten into programming with some new software and we started experimenting. it was just the two of us for some time. Then before we tracked our first album in '08, Alex joined us on the keys . . . as for Tommy, my husband, he came in the picture a little later. actually whats funny is he was always kinda there. We even played a few shows together in opposite bands. Tommy eventually stopped performing with the other band and we had him audition for us and were all stoked on having him become part of the band. It was a big change for the group cause we were just so used to working together the way we did but the addition of Tommy added a great new fresh sound to the band so it was a smooth transition.


Most siblings remember a lot of excruciating roadtrips. You’ve been touring, and your interactions indicate that you have a lot of love and patience for each other . Do you care to elaborate?

We try to be as encouraging as we can be and to focus on the positive in any situation, which is really easy with tommy around! Small things can become magnified very quickly. Knowing how the enemy tries to destroy us helps us understand what we have to do to resist him.

Have you toured much? Where are you ‘known’?

Our biggest tour experience since the record came out was this last December when we went on tour with Future of Forestry. We toured to 10 different states and in 2 countries and had such an amazing experience getting to know the other band as well as the fans that showed up. We had some Kye Kye fans show up to many of the shows as well as some Future of Forestry Fans who started following our band!

On tour, what are your expectations of each other?

One of the biggest expectations of each other on tour is to speak life into each other. On tour we come across so many roadblocks, flat tires, little sleep, and all the other craziness that happens on tour and having positive attitude and not letting our emotions getting the best of us it crucial in keeping our mentality straight. We believe that our emotions and daily ups and downs do not convey who we truly are and what we truly think, so we know that if one of us is struggling, we just remind each other of who we truly are in the Spirit and just really build each other up.

Let's conclude by looking ahead. Can you touch on some aspirations for the band's future?

Our focus right now is on our live show, and how to best impact those who come, whether that be through the sound, lights, words, instruments, atmosphere, or whatever else. We want people to leave with a better understanding of who God is and why we all need him.

We are writing at every chance we get and we plan to release a few song remixes from "Young Love" at the beginning of next year. Our upcoming project is a 6-song EP entitled "Body" which is going to be part of a 3-EP series in which the other two will be titled "Soul" and "Spirit" respectively.

Thank you so much for taking the time! I wish you each every success.