A.Saint has a new track out, ‘All Night’.
You’ve just changed your name from ‘Kid Rose’. Why? And does this mean you’ve undergone a change in artistic direction?
First, because a lot of people had the same name, so people got confused. But more importantly, I wanted to change. I’d been with that name for three years and feel like that’s not me anymore. The music is gonna be different, for sure. It’s gonna be better, the sound is gonna be better and more mature.
I wanted to change. I’d been with my previous name for three years and I felt like that’s not me anymore.
After all these years of studying – I studied mixing and mastering for three years in Barcelona and then at the University of West London –  my sound has grown-up.
A.Saint had previously been called Kid Rose.
Your first track, 825Freestyle, is very impactful. Is that a style you’re now going for?
Not entirely. It was the first one as A.SAINT because it’s the one that is different from everything I had been doing, so I wanted to just put it out. The sound is aggressive because I wanted to be like ‘yo, I’m here’. But I’m into every sound, I love the sound of people like Tame Impala. I don’t want to be in a box. I want to do whatever I want, in however way I feel, but everything has to be similar; I want to do everything but with a common sound.
Are there any other influences?
The main influence is Kanye – he’s my favourite artist. His new album is dope. But there’s also Kid Cudi and Travis Scott. There’s Pusha T also – not necessarily his lyrics, but his sound is so raw, I love it. But I love rock n’ roll too, so Jimi Hendrix as well. There are a lot of people that have influenced me. That’s the key for me: to be open-minded so all these sounds get into you, and then you can do different things.
That’s the key for me: to be open-minded so all these sounds get into you, and then you can do different things.
After studying in Barcelona and London, A.Saint’s sound has matured.
It sounds like music is something you always wanted to do…
Yeh, I’ve been involved in music for ten years or more now because my parents put me in piano lessons and then I started DJing. I was like ‘this is what I want to do with my life’ because it was the only thing that I was excited about – going to the studio and making music. It was natural. It was like I needed to do it, it wasn’t ’cause everyone was making money from it. This is the first year that I’m free, that I don’t have uni or anything, so I can do it however I want. I feel free because I can be making music at 4 or in the morning, night, whenever.
This is the first year I feel free because I can be making music at 4 or in the morning, night, whenever.
Saying that, I want to do things apart from music – but always be creating something. Right now I’m designing clothes with my mate AJ. I love making videos, but the music is the main thing I love – something I think I have to do. But I want to expand.
Enzo Iriarte, Art Director at Kiss n Kill, is a frequent collaborator with the emerging artist.
You collaborate, with Enzo Iriarte, the Art Director for Kiss n Kill. How well do you guys worked together creatively?
We’ve only worked together for one year, but we connected in a second. It was natural, it was like ‘I love what you do, you love what I do, so let’s make something’. It’s been great. I always do the main idea like the colours. Then we put it together and he knows how to do that. With photos, Enzo’s the best. He has the vision, and is more like the freak that makes everything be crazy.
I’ve found it’s good to have people around you, that’s something I’ve learnt. Because before I just wanted to do it all by myself because I felt like ‘I know how to do it, I’m gonna do it all by myself’. But now, if I want to make it big, I need people. So I’m trying to open my mind and just let other do their work because they know how to do it better than me.
“The key for me is to always be working – you have to be in the studio to make a track and be creative.”
But for you personally, what’s your creative process like? And how do you try and make your work stand out?
I used to have that feeling that I needed to blow-up, but now I’m just doing the best I can and know that it’s about timing – I’m gonna be there eventually. I’m just focusing on doing the best music that I can, the best artwork, the best videos and show it to everyone and it’s going to come. Because if the only vision is the money and success, it’s not gonna work in my opinion. You have to love music to create it, in my opinion.
If the only vision is the money and success, it’s not gonna work. You have to love music to create it.
The key for me is to always be working – you have to be in the studio to make a track and be creative. If you’re not in the studio, creativity might come to you but you’re not working. So I always try to be making music and when it come, it comes. It’s the same process for the design of my covers, which I do.
And finally, what’s your new track?
It’s called ‘All Night’, it’s just come out. It’s more of an R&B sound. I’ve been working on the music video with Enzo; some of its been filmed here in London and then they’ve shot things in Barcelona, so it’s gonna be two different vibes but it’s all connected.
