Kwes (; sometimes stylised as ''kwes'', ''kwes.'', ''Kwes.'' or '' =o'' ) is a British music producer and artist from

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, England. Kwes is also currently signed to

Warp Warp, warped or warping may refer to: Arts and entertainment Books and comics * WaRP Graphics, an alternative comics publisher * ''Warp'' (First Comics), comic book series published by First Comics based on the play ''Warp!'' * Warp (comics), a ...

as a solo artist and released his debut album, '' ilp'' in October 2013.

Biography

Kwes began playing his grandparents' organ at the age of four and his

grandmother Grandparents, individually known as grandmother and grandfather, are the parents of a person's father or mother – paternal or maternal. Every sexually-reproducing living organism who is not a genetic chimera has a maximum of four genetic gra ...

bought him his first small keyboard aged 5. For his tenth birthday, he received a radio/tape recorder with a built-in

microphone A microphone, colloquially called a mic or mike (), is a transducer that converts sound into an electrical signal. Microphones are used in many applications such as telephones, hearing aids, public address systems for concert halls and publ ...

, which launched his interest in sound recording.(January 2009)
Kwes. / [o=o].
Retrieved 17 November 2011. Kwes has

chromesthesia Chromesthesia or sound-to-color synesthesia is a type of synesthesia in which sound involuntarily evokes an experience of color, shape, and movement. Individuals with sound-color synesthesia are consciously aware of their synesthetic color assoc ...

(sound-to-colour synaesthesia).Fitzmaurice, Larry (11 June 2010)
Kwes: 'No Need To Run' , Forkcast , Pitchfork
''

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to ...

''. Retrieved 17 November 2011. His earliest synaesthetic experiences occurred around the age of 4 and he attempted to colour paper with the particular colours he was seeing when listening to music. These colours have been set since he first discovered his condition: "any form of a G-chord would have orange in it, and the other notes which are not G accompanying that G-chord would have an effect on the type of orange it is. Majors tend to be slightly brighter.Dickins, Kieren (December 2008)
Kwes. – A Tribe Called Next
''A Tribe Called Next''. Retrieved 2011-06-15. Same applies for D which is always – yellow/green, E which is Yellow/gold, F which is violet/blue, C – Blue, A – light blue, B – yellow/gold/green."Wright, Scott (17 June 2010)
Dollars to Pounds: Kwes « The FADER
''

The FADER ''The Fader'' (stylized as ''FADER'') is a magazine based in New York City that was launched in 1999 by Rob Stone and Jon Cohen. The magazine covers music, style and culture. It was the first print publication to be released on iTunes. It is o ...

''. Retrieved 15 June 2010. (November 2011)
24 Year Old Producer, Kwes Collaboration – The Producers season 2 episode 3 – YouTube
''Red Bull Music / The Producers''. Retrieved 8 March 2012. His synaesthetic impressions of his own music are translated in the artwork to his solo releases, including "Hearts in Home" and "No Need to Run".Erkas, Sinem (December 2008

''Sinem Erkas''. Retrieved 17 November 2011.

Discography

Artist discography

Albums

EPs

Remix EP

Singles

*"Hearts in Home" (16 February 2009) *"Get Up" (13 November 2011)Warp (13 November 2011)
Warp / Records / Kwes / Signs to Warp, download free MP3 of new track 'Get Up
''

''. Retrieved 13 November 2011. *"Bashful" (7 March 2012)Dombal, Ryan (7 March 2012)
Rising: Kwes , Features , Pitchfork
''

''. Retrieved 8 March 2012. *"

Rollerblades Rollerblade is a brand of inline skates owned by Nordica, part of the Tecnica Group of Giavera del Montello, Treviso, Italy. The company was started by Scott Olson (b. 1960), Brennan Olson (b. 1964) and Christopher Middlebrook in Minneapolis ...

" (26 November 2012)Warp (26 November 2012)
Warp / Kwes / Warp / Kwes 'Rollerblades' available to download now, 7-inch out in January
''

''. Retrieved 26 November 2012.

Mixtapes

Live session duties

*''

Ebony Bones Ebony Bones (''née'' Thomas; born 9 October 1982) is an English singer-songwriter model, actress, and producer. Her musical style is eclectic and often blends elements of afrobeat, art rock, post-punk, classical, new-wave and electronic. Her ...

'' – GuitaristMercury Music Prize Recommends (November 2011)
Recommends
''

Mercury Music Prize The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize, is an annual music prize awarded for the best album released in the United Kingdom by a British or Irish act. It was created by Jon Webster and Robert Chandler in association with the B ...

Recommends''. Retrieved 18 November 2011."ClintClinty" (9 July 2006)
Ebony Bones @ Anti-Social (Bar Music Hall) PT 2 – YouTube
YouTube. Retrieved 15 June 2010. (2006–2007, 2008) *''Bono Must Die'' now O. Children – KeyboardistCafun, Evian (14 April 2007)
Kwes,Forty Fives,EvIaNnAivE,BONO MUST DIE@ULU Video by Evian Cafun – MySpace Video
''MySpace''. Retrieved 18 November 2011. (2007) *''

Jack Peñate Jack Peñate (; born 2 September 1984) is an English singer, songwriter, and musician. Early life Peñate was born in London on 2 September 1984, the son of an English mother and Spanish father. His maternal grandfather was author Mervyn Peake ...

'' – Laptop and keyboardsmytaratata (18 May 2009
video Emission 318 2/4 – Jack PENATE – 318, jack penate – videos MYTARATATA.COM
''MYTARATATA.COM'' Retrieved on 15 June 2010. (2009) *''Kwesachu'' (with Micachu) – co-production and co-selector (2009–?) *''Elan Tamara'' – BassistMottley, Elan Tamara (June 2009)
Elan Tamara – Organ EP – Out 6 June 2011
''Elan Tamara''. Retrieved 18 November 2011. (2009–2011) *''

Leftfield Leftfield are a British electronic music duo formed in 1989 as the duo of Neil Barnes and Paul Daley (the latter formerly of the Rivals and A Man Called Adam). The duo was very influential in the evolution of electronic music in the 1990s, w ...

'' – Keyboards and ComputersWilliams, Scott (13 May 2010)
Leftfield interview – Neil Barnes talks festivals
''eFestivals''. Retrieved 18 November 2011. (2010) *''

Bobby Womack Robert Dwayne Womack (; March 4, 1944 – June 27, 2014) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. Starting in the early 1950s as the lead singer of his family musical group the Valentinos and as Sam Cooke's backing gui ...

'' – Keyboards (2012–2013)

References

External links

Official websiteKwes. on WarpKwes. on Discogs
{{Authority control 1987 births British record producers British audio engineers British songwriters British people of Ghanaian descent English record producers English audio engineers English songwriters English people of Ghanaian descent Living people Singers from London People from Lewisham Warp (record label) artists XL Recordings artists 21st-century English singers