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Taking time out from our busy schedule we met up with Kemi Akinbola. Lead lady of The Kemistry, music promoter and all round music connoisseur. Check out what she had to say.

TOTR: Hey, introduce yourself?

Kemi: Well my name is Kemi; I am Nigerian rooted, hackney born and raised, lover of music, and hater of haters. I founded a London based live music event (Mindie) and I am now the lead singer, songwriter for The Kemistry. ‘If you don’t know now you know…n*****’

TOTR: Describe your band The Kemistry’s sound?

Kemi: I find it pretty hard; I hate answering this question because I have a fear of sounding like one those pretentious types that try to cram a load of different genres into one verbal sentence, when they describe their sound. But I guess I might as well join them; some tracks are jazzy, others are chilled out, some have dub influences, others have a hip hop stance, a bit of an electronic vibe and all sorts really. I guess it is best to just call it ‘The Kemistry sound’.

TOTR: Who inspires you musically?

Kemi: I have a pretty huge selection of musicians that I listen to, which varies depending on my mood. I will say that bands like Metric and Interpol, and singers like Lauren Hill, Faith Evans, and Mary J will always inspire me. I love K-os, he is an amazing talent, I think his individuality and talent really shines through in what he does. Also the oldies, Motown records can be replayed all day in my house. The Supreme’s scream out great pop melodies for me, all day every day. I also love Sej Tankian, he’s ace. Random I know.

TOTR: Cool, what do you prefer, being on stage or being in the studio?

Kemi: I think being on stage, nothing beats a performance, feeding off the crowd, and watching their reactions to the music you have created. I just like to zone out and go with the flow. Recording in a studio can be bloody restrictive, but it’s got to be done. But most definitely being on stage, knowing that I’ve written the tracks and can express their meanings to people it pretty priceless.

TOTR: Not only are you a lead singer of a band, but a promoter too and run a night called Mindie. How did you get into promoting and why is your night called Mindie?

Kemi: I got into it a long time ago, ‘the scene’ was a lot different then too. In-fact, I was abroad travelling for a bit and thought it would be a good idea to try and put on shows with unsigned live bands. So when I got back to the UK, I booked the Purple Turtle in Camden and got some acts together to show off their good stuff. When I realised that people actually wanted to come, I decided to keep it going.

Why it is called Mindie, I do not know, it literally just popped into my head whilst I was sitting on my chair as a usher in Toronto for the Musical wicked. No lie.

TOTR: Are you looking forward to Mindie meets TOTR?

Kemi: Yes I am! I’m looking forward to the vibes that both nights will bring when they conjoin. I just know that everyone will be there purely for the music, and I think it is really important that we continue to support new and unsigned music, cause to be frank a lot of sh!t is getting through the net and poisoning our youth musically. I mean who the heck is Jason Derulo? Shocking.

TOTR: Last, but by no means least, which bands or artists are you feeling at the moment?

Kemi: Like I say Metric, they never fail to produce a good record and Emily Haines has an amazing voice and an amazing play on words. I’m feeling Janelle Monae, I think her take on pop music is fresh, but relevant to the times. I must admit I’m finding it increasingly difficult today to pin point an artist that I am willing to follow to the death. A lot of music being mass produced has a much shorter shelf life these days, so you can pretty much tell straight off the bat that it is soulless. But unsigned artists like Ghospoet (who is now signed to Brownswood Recordings), Abiade, Shuanise, Girl in a Thunderbolt, Fatima, Fleur De Lys, Maverick Sabre (now signed to mercury) and Mikill Pane are doing good things for new music right now. In my opinion.

I’m also really feeling Nneka, she is dope, makes me proud to see good artists coming from my motherland.

I could actually reel off a longer list of artists that I am not feeling but that would be deep innit. Ha,ha.

You can catch The Kemistry alongside many others when Mindie Meets Turn Off The Radio this Thursday 30th September. You can also follow The Kemistry on Twitter or check out The Mindie Blog.