KAP on Dot to Dot Festival, winning the Future Sound of Nottingham and what's to come
A yap with KAP...
It’s been a landmark year for rising star KAP. From winning the Future Sound of Nottingham to performing on the iconic Rock City stage during Dot to Dot Festival, her journey has been nothing short of extraordinary, and this autumn marked another milestone with the release of her long-anticipated EP, 'Still the Girl'. As she looks ahead, she shows no signs of slowing down. Here, she reflects on her whirlwind 2024 and shares what’s next on her horizon.
Hey KAP! How are you doing?
Hey hey heyyy. I’m fabulous, thank you!
This has been a huge year for you. It feels like the first big moment was winning Future Sound of Nottingham. What did it feel like to win that? What did that mean to you?
It really has! I started the year with my first ever BBC Radio 1XTRA play and it’s been upwards since then! It felt amazing to win FSN as I had applied two years in a row beforehand and didn’t make it as a finalist. I feel like it showed me just how much I’ve grown as an artist and person and to keep going.
Rock City really was one of the coolest moments of my life, and the dream is to headline there one day!
This led to an appearance at Dot to Dot on the Rock City stage, as well as other festivals over the summer. How was festival season, and the summer in general, for you?
Rock City really was one of the coolest moments of my life, and the dream is to headline there one day! Festival season was great and summer was a super creative one for me. I spent a lot of time making new beats and trying out new sounds, which I’m so excited to share with you!
As we came into the autumn months, you didn’t slow down at all, starting with your EP launch at Saltbox. How special was it to perform alongside so many of your friends and fellow Notts artists?
It was amazing. I have so much love and respect for Notts artists! EMiDORA is an absolute babe and so talented, I would love to collab with her one day! Nikko is just the performer of the century, his vibes are immaculate!
It was also so amazing to have Love Celestene and Created by MiMi have their stalls there too, it just feels like the community coming together.
I recently received Youth Music Next Gen Funding, so I’m working on a brand new self-produced EP which will feature one of the tracks as a live recording with the band!
We had to wait a bit longer for the EP, but it was released on Halloween. How did you feel once it was finally out, especially in light of the delay?
It felt so good to finally have it come out, and I’m so glad I delayed the release date as it wasn’t sounding exactly how I wanted it to originally, so that extra month of perfecting the sound was totally worth it!
You teamed up with Project Zeus for the EP, which you described as “so fun and easy”. What was it like working with a team who understood your creative vision, and how do you feel this has helped your sound to progress?
I think it all came down to us just vibing well together and our shared love of music! It was cool to put a production idea to them and see how they turned it into something magical.
Of the four tracks on the EP, do you have a particular favourite, or one which is extra special to you for any reason?
I think ‘Crazy’ is my favourite because it came so naturally. I had the main melody and drums there and wrote the full song in five minutes, and then got Project Zeus to put their magic on the production and it just felt so right.
Finally, what’s next for you, as we head into 2025? Have you got any plans at this point in time?
I recently received Youth Music Next Gen Funding, so I’m working on a brand new self-produced EP which will feature one of the tracks as a live recording with the band! I’ll be releasing a few singles in the meantime too.
This article is available in The Notts Review Zine #1 - see more on our Substack.
(Photo credit: Nigel King)