Interview by Dan Prince
Valentin let’s rewind for a moment and see how this journey began. Born in the south of France, your first introduction to a musical instrument was via the djembe – the rope tuned skin covered drum who’s name actually translates to “everyone gathering together in peace”. This makes total sense as you make beautiful happy deep house now that makes everyone smile! It sounds like you have come from a musical family household?
Well first of all thanks for speaking to me, it’s such an honor. Actually my family isn’t very musical; my parents don’t play any instruments, but thanks to them I’d spend hours listening to rock n roll legends like The Who or more contemporary bands like The Kooks when I was a youngster. I’d say that this essential listening paved the first steps of my inspiration as an artist.
At what age did you become aware of dance music – who were some of the artists / DJs that caught your attention?
I’ve always been a huge music consumer, but when I was 16 years old I would browse a lot on Youtube channels like La Belle Musique or The Vibe Guide. I really liked electronic music that melts beautiful melodies into strong kicks. At the time, Claptone was one of my favourite acts (and remains one of my favourite at the moment). On the other hand, I also really liked Diplo and his ability to work like a boss on 3 different projects (Jack Ü, Diplo, Major Lazer) and maintaining his musical identity in each of them. Martin Solveig and David Guetta, with their amazing hooky toplines, have always been a great inspiration for me as well and even more so because they are French too!
You used to go to rock concerts in your teens – what was it about electronic music that tempted you this way rather than that way?
Honestly – as I was only playing the Djembe, the easiest way for me to explain what I wanted through music was the electronic route. I quickly decided to download Ableton and started creating some beats on my own. Nowadays, music production softwares are accessible for almost everybody. It’s not essential to know how to play an instrument; if you have a melody in mind you can easily recreate it on your computer and create your own piece of art! With electronic music being really inclusive (all around the world people are listening and dancing to the same popular electronic artists), this “universal” aspect is really important. For me, this is the beauty of the electronic music and it’s why I decided to work in this scene rather than in rock.
By the age of 16 you had started to make music on your computer. What was the early technology you were using back then?
I started on Ableton. At the beginning I was like “Ok, how does this thing work…” but after hours and hours spent on my computer I started to understand every function of the software and managed to produce proper tracks – like my “Jammin” remix for instance. I’m still using this technology to create my tracks but with the success of “This Girl”, I now have the opportunity to work on music in amazing studios in London and Paris – with such talented singers and musicians. I’m blessed to be able to do this at 19 years old!
Loved the way you came up with your stage name Kungs! Please tell us the story…
Glad you like it ! At the very beginning (before having the name Kungs) my name would appear as “Valentin Brunel” on my remixes, which didn’t sound good. So, one night I was with my brother on the computer and we decided to go to type in “Gentleman” on Google Translate and see the different translations. We finally found that Kungs is the Latvian word for “Gentleman”. My first thoughts were that Kungs sounds pretty good and catchy, so I decided to use this as my stage name!
What advice did David Guetta give you when on tour together?
I had the opportunity to discuss with David Guetta and his team several times and the main thing that I will always remember from him is to keep my feet on the ground. He said to always be open to other styles of music because inspiration is everywhere and you need to keep your ears open at all times! David is such a humble guy – it would be amazing if all DJs could be more like his character!
Your single ‘This Girl’ has taken the world by storm. Did you in your wildest dreams think it would sell so many records and have such a huge impact?
Haha – that’s what dreams are made of, isn’t it? No honestly, I never expected “This Girl” to be so big. For me, the soulful vocal and catchy guitar had something really special. When I decided to restructure the original track of the Australian band Cookin’ On 3 Burners by adding the trumpets and strong kick I was like “Ok -now I really love it!” At the time of this interview, it’s now been 9 weeks that “This Girl” is #1 Shazam Worldwide – this is just unbelievable. I’m so thankful to everybody who is enjoying the track as much as I do!
Tell us about your new tune ‘Don’t You Know’…
“Don’t You Know” was mainly made in London, where I was sharing the studio with the amazing singer Jamie N Commons! Jamie isn’t used to electronic music and comes from a Blues background, so it was really interesting to share our musical visons with each other. While we were recording the guitars and vocals, the main idea was to keep this bluesy feel to finally adapt it into something even more catchy that would make people dance all summer!
What has 2017 got in store for you musically?
A lot of things – actually, I already spent several weeks in the studio to work on my debut album which will be released in October this year. At the moment my fans only know a small part of my musical landscape; with this album they’ll discover different styles. Some clubby tracks with a similar vibe to “This Girl” – as well as some more melancholic and deep stuff. I’m really looking forward to presenting it to the world!
What do your parents think of your music?
My parents have been supporting me everyday since the very beginning. They always pushed me to do what would make me happy and I’m lucky to have them by my side. They are probably my biggest fans!
What do you want to achieve with your musical career?
First of all, a great achievement would be to play a set made up of only my tracks! I’d also be really happy to create a live show including the singers and instrumentalists that I’ve worked with!
And finally I have to ask – did you mind Radio 1’s Scott Mills asking you whether you were really David Guetta’s son…?
Haha, not at all – I thought it was pretty funny! David and I are both French and we are both from the same city so it was worth asking haha!
Dan Prince is Music Editor at Ushuaïa’s IUMAG, Ibiza’s No. 1 music and lifestyle weekly where this interview was featured in the September issue
www.theushuaiamagazine.com
