In Conversation: Khillah Khills
In Conversation:
Khillah Khills
By: Shaun Lee
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Khillah Khills are a pair of 80’s aesthetic fetishists who make glacial, glammy synthwave. I caught their Saturday night set upstairs at Palomino, which was unfortunately marred by some sonic hiccups that prevented their well-crafted backing tracks from coming across with their full weight. The band dealt with their sound issues with wit and grace, pluckily carrying on in the face of adversity, but I couldn’t help wishing I’d caught them at a dingy nightclub with a banging sound system, where their dark, icy songs would be given the appropriate framing.
In light of the spirit of informality that accompanies a 2 am post-gig sit down over drinks at Sled, we’ve included the full conversation unexpurgated, save when a conversational tangent proved too excessive for Max, our transcriptionist, to put up with.
Shaun: State your names for the record, please, while we're just kind of chilling here.
Katherine: Hi, I'm Katherine Hillson.
Kylah: and I'm Kylah Floen.
Shaun: and what respective instruments do you play in your band?
Katherine: ummm I play the synthesizer, the Juno DI.
Kylah: and I also play the synthesizer, Juno DS.
Shaun: Yes, the DI and the DS. Let's talk about the DI vs the DS. Who's got the better keyboard in the band?
Katherine: Khyla. Khyla does (laughs).
Kylah:I think it's just newer.
Shaun: I have to be impartial but I was definitely ogling your keyboard. It's cool and when you kicked in the drums on that, that was fire. I loved that. And the cover of (These)Boots (Were Made for Walking); fuck yeah.
Katherine: Thank you!
Shaun: Great arrangement.
Kylah: Well, that one was actually... I can't claim, like, the arrangement of that one. I found it on some deep cuts house music thing and was, like,this would be so cool to do a cover of, so I redid the arrangement in my, like, logic station and then it just suits our band so well.
Shaun: Yeah, it's great. I loved it. So, have you guys caught any cool bands yet?
Katherine: Yes, umm.. I was stoked to…
Shaun: oh sorry, just one thing to say. Just say your name before you answer a question because I'll be like "who said this?"
Katherine: oh okay
Katherine: So, this is Katherine. I was super stoked on seeing Backwash at Commonwealth on Saturday, I believe. Their style is unreal, it's unmistakable and the pit was extremely intense. So, I had a fun night. A very fun night.
Kylah: and I have not really been out a ton yet but tomorrow, I am going out to see Sudan Archives and I am so excited for that one
Shaun: Nice. Tonight was actually my first night too because I had... we had band practice like late, two days in a row. Uhh... sorry, I'm checking my notes here because I haven't committed them to memory yet.
Katherine: It's all good
Shaun: Uhh... so, how many venues have you played in town? What's your favourite?
Katherine: Combined with this band and Lashes, which we used to play in together, I feel like we've played most of the live music venues that are currently open. Favourite venue...? I'm going to say Dickens
Shaun: Dickens, bold choice. I like that. Yeah, wow.
Katherine: Maybe just because we haven't had any horrifyingly negative experiences there
Shaun: It's like the last great cavern bar in town, too. Like a big crypt.
Kylah: So my microphone did stop working for like a solid verse
Katherine: Sorry, fuck Dickens. (laughs) just kidding. Don't put that on the record.
Kylah: Umm.. this is Kylah speaking and I feel like I've played pretty much every venue and even ones that are, like, no longer around. My favourite one...? Probably Broken City...? But Dickens is so fun because it's so big.
Shaun: That's, that's why I like Dickens
Kylah: and the sound system is so awesome. Even though that vocal thing happened, I feel like the rest of the set was just so strong
Shaun: You can live your metal dreams at Dickens
Katherine: Yeah
Kylah: For me, the answer is Dickens because of the weird shows that they book there. I feel like they are very open to like, metal, totally bizarre drag, like Shock Therapy. I've seen the coolest shows at Dickens, and so very...
Shaun: yeah, the last time I was there, it was like a Tuesday night, the bar was completely empty, and a bunch of really hardcore synth nerds had, like, all their fucked up synths just set up and were just like nerding out on synths. It was like normal people on one side of the bar just like having a beer and then just like this weird dissonant synth wash on the other side. It was glorious. Ummm... fave memory of your time playing with this band?
Katherine: Vancouver was my favourite so far
Kylah: Yeah, we played Music Waste in Vancouver which was our first Vancouver show
Shaun: Yeah, at the Red Gate
Katherine: Yeah, at Red Gate. And the energy was just awesome. I had... like, I moved there recently
Shaun: Oh! Congratulations!
Katherine: Thank you!
Shaun: Whereabouts?
Katherine: Ummm... I live near Davie Street
Shaun: Yeah, sweet
Katherine: English Bay
Shaun: Good swimming!
Katherine: Gay (laughs) Yeah, exactly. (laughs) But anyways, Music Waste had very good energy. I've made a ton of friends since moving out there and a ton of them came out to see us.
Shaun: Yeah, you played with Golden Age (of Wrestling, a side-project of Vancouver synth star Devours)
Katherine: Yeah, Golden Age of Wrestling was fucking incredible. Ummm.
Be Afraid Band
Kylah: Pudding, as well
Katherine: Pudding has played Sled Island. Actually, ironically
Shaun: Pudding is a bud from Calgary, actually
Katherine: and something funny is Pudding played right on this stage (Palomino main floor) right here and said that it was a cursed experience.
And they told us, they were like "we hope that you have a different experience but this was how ours went and I thought about it earlier and was like (unintelligible)
Shaun: I saw that bill and I was like "oh, they're going to kill on a bill like this" and I'm glad that you had a good time.
Katherine: It was so fun
Shaun: I mean, that's the right venue for you guys to play in
Katherine: That was the perfect venue for sure
Kylah: Yeah, 100%. It was...
Shaun: Sorry, I keep having to unlock my phone here because I'm trying to save battery.
Kylah: It's hard to think of all the memories
Katherine: I know
Shaun: So, what specific thing do you guys offer Sled that other groups don't?
Katherine: I think that we offer something that is not casual. I think that we love to put on cool outfits and rock out to music we like, regardless of what any other band is playing.
That's what I like that's pretty good.
Shaun: Yeah, that's nice and concise. That's a good pull quote there. Ummm... bum bum bum bum bum. Who partied the hardest so far? You (Kylah), this is your first night (attending Sled) so you're immediately disqualified.
Kylah: I'm not the hardest partier?
Katherine:Definitely not After our set, I was the one who suggested we take Tequila shots, so I'm going to say that I....
Kylah: Katherine, for sure
Katherine: Probably
Shaun: Does that go across the board? Or are you guys like a Jekyll and Hyde duo?
Katherine: No, we are like the …
Kylah:I feel like we're both pretty introverted but you're more.. Like, Katherine is more extroverted than I am. But when we want to party, both of us, it can get really wild cause I feel like we go all in when we're both like "yes, we are in the mood" and just make a full night out of it.
Katherine: Yeah, we make this psychic connection, and we're like...
It's party time
Kylah"Messy? Messy? Okay!"
You gotta really choose like, it's like once every six months. You can't do it all the time.
Shaun: So, yeah. I heard some lyrics (tonight) about séances and stuff like that. Are you guys on that, like (waves magic hands in the air), tip?
Katherine: I've been casually practicing witchcraft since I was about thirteen, on and off, but I'd say that we both connect to other worldly...
Like spirituality in that way
Shaun: Okay, favorite witch?
Katherine: Favourite witch... I mean, (Satanic temple founder)Anton Lavey was a piece of shit but like his theories about, like, I don't know, Satanism, No Gods, No Masters, is something that we have talked about a lot over this weekend. Especially given the overturning of Roe V. Wade.
Kylah:Yes
Shaun: And he pretty much invented the "sinister dude with the tiny beard" look, which is pretty clutch. Pretty top notch.
Katherine: I would say so
Shaun: (Looks at notes)What do we got next? Do you guys have a pre-show or post-show ritual?
Katherine: watching the... how do you pronounce it?
Ohhh... watching Trixie and Katya's UNHhhhh
Kylah:(laughs) it's a YouTube series that they have... ummm...I feel like it's a good mood chill, it's funny. It puts us in a calm state before coming on.
Shaun: Do you just like, gather with your cell phone and do that?
Kylah: Well, usually we're together before a show cause like now, especially, because we don't live in the same city. So, one of use will usually be crashing with the other.
Shaun: So, how are you guys navigating that?
Katherine: I'd say that, I mean, I've missed Kylah a lot (laugh) since I've been in Vancouver
Shaun: Yeah, that's really tough when you're in a two piece band.
Kylah: I would say since we do a lot of electronic-based stuff, there is, like the ability to send things back and forth
Shaun: Yeah, it's not quite as difficult as drums and guitar, for sure
Katherine: Yeah....
Shaun: So, with, obviously, your show schedule starting to slow down a little bit, are you going to get into a little bit more recording or...
Katherine: Yeah
Shaun: Is there a full length on the way here?
Kylah: So, this is Khyla speaking (laughs)
(beer kegs crashing in background)
Shaun: Speak loud (laughs)!
Kylah: (laughs) sorry, umm... so I feel like this... later fall/early winter, I'm planning on going out to Vancouver because Katherine has a little studio space that they're going to be renting out and we're just going to be spend, hopefully, more than a week just working on new stuff and putting together a new album cause we're really excited to make new music and we feel.. well... I feel anyways, I don't know that I can speak for Katherine, but the pandemic was really stressful in like, the creative sense. I didn't feel like creating as much some times, so, I'm really excited to get back to it.
Shaun: Any sort of general theme for the album?
Katherine: ooh
I think we're both, like, undergoing, like, I don't know, like, development and to be really confident in who we are, as people. And I think it's funny Khyla and I, in our friendship, share a lot of, like, experiences and so I'd say, like, shared experiences is what brings our music together and that'll continue in any future music that we create.
Shaun: What are you guys seeing tomorrow? Anything good?
Kylah: I'm going to Sudan Archives
Shaun: Sudan Archives, yeah. Didn't I ask you guys this already?
Katherine: We're thinking of going to drag brunch also and DJ....
Kylah: Yeah, DJ Hannah
Katherine: I remember DJ Hannah from doing the door at Broken City like all the time and so we had to.. yeah, I don't know... had to check them out because pals are good. Pals are important.
Kylah: Yeah
Shaun: What is your guys' favourite local band? and you can't name your own!
Katherine: We're going to say the same thing!
KK in Unison: MELTED MIRROR!!! (laughs)
Shaun: Melted Mirror are not together anymore.
Katherine: I knooooow
Shaun: Did you guys catch (MM frontman Chris Zajko’s new band)Bridgeland?
Kylah: No
Shaun: Bridgeland, I didn't catch them, but I saw the video and it looked fucking sick.
Anything Chris does is good…
Max Maxwell, Transcriptionist: (I'm not typing all of this, Shaun. Fuck you. This is like a two minute long response to your own question)
Shaun: Anything else you guys want to talk about? Or get off your own chest?
Katherine: Oooooh... I feel like that's a hard one. I would say that... I really appreciate Calgary's drag scene of weirdos. I'd say, living in Vancouver, there's not as many freak weirdos and I love the Calgary drag scene for how fucking bizarre it is.
Shaun: I was quite shocked moving back to Calgary, the first drag show I saw, I was like "well, this is fucking...". Have you guys read The Edmonton Queen?
Max Maxwell: (not typing all this out, either)
Katherine: I think that being a weirdo in Calgary really fucking means something. In Vancouver, there is a lot of really cool artists and artistic people but in Calgary, to do something bold and fucking bizarre, it means something.
Shaun: Yeah, because here you get beat up for doing something like that
Kylah: It's a little more dangerous
Katherine: Exactly
Shaun: Yeah, well, everything good gets forged in a crucible. Thanks so much for the interview guys!
All: (Good nights back and forth)
- Shaun Lee
Transcription by Max Maxwell
Learn more about Khillah Khills here.