Today we’d like to introduce you to Kirsty (Kiki) Parker.
Hi Kirsty (Kiki), so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Being raised in Los Angeles and Las Vegas, I’ve been learning and making music as long as I can remember. I come from a very musical household. My mom is an elementary school music teacher and my dad has always played guitar in jazz / classic rock bands. So, from very early on I learned to play the piano and many other instruments. This led me to playing synthesizer in bands. At 16, I learned I could connect my keyboard to my computer, so I started making my own productions inside Logic 9. It’s really been my full passion to write, record and produce my own music since then! I started to DJ about four years ago – in November 2016 actually! Learning to DJ really changed my vision when it came to my own productions. Once I had my own set of decks at home to practice on, it became an everyday thing, which allowed me to learn so much about techno and house music. This is when my project Speaker Honey really began to grow. I started to DJ out at local events and bars in Las Vegas. Eventually, every show led to another show and I ended up DJing most nights of the week. I think that’s when it really clicked for me that I wanted to pursue my DJ/Production project full time and began working even harder to produce the music. Finally, in the summer of 2019, I sent my demos to mau5trap…and the label signed my track ‘Shoyu’ for ‘we are friends vol.9’ in December 2019. That was my first major release! This year I have released two 4-track EP’s on the label, ‘Night Visions’ and ‘Super Future. I released a remix deadmau5’s track ‘Fall’, had a track on the mau5trap / insomniac records compilation album, and am honored to my third 4-track EP ‘Interrupted’ coming out November 17th, 2020!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The only real career ‘obstacle’ has been the shutdown of 2020 due to COVID-19 restrictions. Because of the pandemic, all of my shows have been canceled or postponed to undetermined dates. This really made me re-assess what I needed to do to keep my project moving forward. Ultimately, it has led me to grow in new directions I hadn’t thought of before. I am now a Twitch TV streamer! Have been doing share-your-song Monday since about March on my channel, which is a stream where viewers can submit their songs and I review them live. This has really turned into something special! The community we have is growing stronger and stronger. We started doing production challenges and I think we have all grown better at producing because of it. I also started doing more modeling work and focusing on my fashion and photography. At first, it was hard to get into the virtual groove this year, however, now I find myself constantly busy with new projects and ideas. I just launched a new mix series called ‘LFG’ on my MixCloud too! and have been releasing a new techno mix every week. So all in all, I think this year has been a challenge that will continue to shape my career moving forward for sure.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
As a music producer and DJ, I would describe my sound as the future of electronic music. As a listener, I am really into techno, so naturally these influences are found in my personal productions. My music is however not really ‘techno’…it’s not really anyone specific genre at all! Rather, my sound is uniquely Speaker Honey. It lives in between techno, electro house, and pop music I guess. I am all about driving and dark sounds. My DJ sets are a composite of my own productions and my favorite techno selections. I also link my sound to a sort of future pop fashion aesthetic. I love very modern looks, and I am starting to be known both the fashion and the musical aspects of my project. I would say I am most proud of my three EP’s that have been released on mau5trap this year. I am really inspired to keep writing more music than ever! Maybe an album will be on the way soon…
Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
I think it is always important to stay updated with what other artists that inspire you are doing. I have found the internet to be my most effective networking tool lately because it connects us with people anywhere in the world. It is important to stay connected with artists that are good role models and have a certain work ethic you aspire to have for yourself. Many artists are offering 1:1 sessions now because of the pandemic. I have been able to have some amazing sessions with some of my favorite techno producers because of this, and my skills have grown tremendously because of it. Main thing is to reach out and ask questions! Let people know you are interested in learning and good people will be honored to help you learn and grow in your career.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: solo.to/speakerhoney
- Instagram: instagram.com/speakerhoney
- Facebook: facebook.com/speakerhoney
- Twitter: twitter.com/speakerhoney
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/speakerhoney
- SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/speakerhoney
- Other: https://www.mixcloud.com/SpeakerHoney/
Image Credits:
Show photos by DILATE (https://www.instagram.com/shotbydilate/)
Press shot by Melissa Aguirre (https://www.instagram.com/nvm.info/)
