When I found out that Keys N Krates were going to be coming back to Vancouver to play at my favourite venue (Fortune Sound Club) I knew I had my plans for the evening. And then a few days before the concert I got confirmation that I would be interviewing the trio from Toronto and my plans went from good to great. I sat down with DJ JR Flow, drummer Tune and keyboardist Matisse in the lounge under Fortune for a chat before they did their sound check.

I have been a fan of Flow for a few years now and I was curious to find out how he got linked up with Tune and Matisse. “Tune and I come from the live party and dance band scene in Toronto. I met Flow through a mutual friend and we both wanted to get a project together with keys and a DJ but never really knew what to do. We got Tune involved and we all really liked the vibe we had together jamming so we started this Keys N Krates project from that,” explained Matisse. “Our first show actually was just us playing what we came up with after a few jam sessions.”

The music these three guys perform together is unique and has roots in the remix culture but it also draws heavily from genres including hip-hop, “jam bands,” and electronica. I had to find out what the process is that they go through to come up with their versions of songs. “I’ll come in with some sample I like and we will just jam on it. Matisse will bring in some different melody and Tune will jam a new beat on it. If we come up with something we like we will try it out live in a show,” said Flow of the group’s creative process. “It’s never one person; it is definitely collaborative. All our music needs to be played live and we have learned that it works best when we all come up with it together. We all know individually what we are capable of pulling off live,” added Flow. “We learned that lesson the hard way,” joked Tune.

With their recent Blackout EP, the group has stretched out of the realm of just playing remixes. “This is our first ‘studio production.’ It is a reflection of where we are going with our sound. It is more electronica, hip-hop, bass music with sample collaging. It is really kind of like a more sophisticated version of what we were doing with the 39 Minutes and Live Remixing 101 mixtapes.”

Keys N Krates are currently touring North America on the Jaggermeister Winter Tour. We have all heard stories of what happens when a band goes on the road. “I’ve had my share of Jagger in the past and we got more than our share in the van for the road,” joked Tune. “All joking aside it’s been great how they came in and supported us on the tour. It has definitely helped us out. It is great because it makes the tour larger-scale and helps us get out and be seen and heard by more people.”

It was really interesting to hear how Keys N Krates got linked up as a band and how they create their music. Adding all of what I learned and the support that Jagger has given them on the tour, I decided it was best to get primed for the show by doing a few shots of Jagger on my own. Fortune Sound Club was packed on Friday night and it is safe to say we all had fun (check out the photos on the Fortune Sound Club Facebook page). I know the Jagger had very little to do with that, but it didn’t hurt.

You can check out Keys N Krates at their official site, on Twitter and on Youtube.