Kiinjo is a new chapter in the career of Canadian superproducer Grandtheft, who cut his teeth during the halcyon days of Bloghaus zigzagging between LA and Montreal, DJing alongside the likes of DJ AM, Justice, MSTRKRFT and Boys Noize. Grandtheft topped the Hypemachine charts with disco-house bangers and then, as American Apparel deep Vs got discontinued and Four Loko got banned, he went on to release trap and bass music on a slew of seminal labels.
By 2021, it was time for Grandtheft to get his groove on again. Under the name Kiinjo, he blends all his musical experiences, past and present: the fun, the funky, the silly and the soulful. Kiinjo is a sultan of sampling and a luminary of loops, sometimes flipping snippets from his own previous rap beats. They’re sped up, chopped around and then layered onto house drums – an ode to the sounds of Armand Van Helden, Masters at Work and the French Touch movement, as well as an expression of unadulterated artistic freedom and pure ebullience.
Kiinjo’s first single, “Interplanetary”, came in the summer of 2022 on Never Worry Records. Fittingly, it’s the first time he used his own vocals on a track, and he enlisted long-time friend Hotel Garuda to bring this funky disco vision to life. Kiinjo’s second release is the two-sided single “Right Here” b/w “Lundi”, in collaboration with production legend and czar of sample packs Oliver. Chromeo took one listen and snagged it up immediately for their Juliet Records imprint.
“This is all new to me,” Kiinjo says, speaking via video-link from Amami, a small village just outside Osaka. “I had all this fun, fresh music bubbling up inside me, and now there’s an outlet for it. All I want to do is make people dance, move, have fun, and one day play in Ibiza. Maybe I’ll even bring back the V neck.”
Kiinjo — the new incarnation of superproducer Grandtheft — blessed us at the end of last year with two soulful house numbers “Right Here” & “Lundi” (JLT-018) and now he gears up for a triumphant return: “Make Me Feel”. A permanent fixture in Chromeo, A-Trak and The Brothers Macklovitch DJ sets (they opened with it in Croatia and Ibiza a few weeks ago), this is one of these no-brainer disco tunes that just works, no matter the context. Big room, small venue, at home, air pods…it’s somehow just clubby enough and musical enough. And it’s a proper song too: continuously evolving and switching up around one infectious earworm. Trust us, “Make Me Feel” will be stuck in your playlists and DJ crates for years to come.
Kiinjo is the new chapter in the career of production wiz Grandtheft, who’s been in Chromeo’s extended fam for years. Recently delving back into his house and disco roots, he’s been cooking up the most irresistible soulful bangers, which somehow manage to be both club-ready and suited for home listening. Chromeo heard these two Oliver co-productions and decided to put them out on Juliet right away. Remember the bloghaus song “you take me higher than I’ve ever been babyyyyy?” (If not, skip the next few sentences; if so, keep reading.) Well we’ve been chasing that dragon for over a decade and “Right Here” is the first jam to give us the same feeling. Rich, warm, euphoric, singable and danceable, it’s a DJ record that also feels like a SONG. “Lundi” is a little bit smoother; no less infectious, it’s giving George Benson on a bender in Ibiza.
1 Right Here
2 Lundi
1 Right Here
Written by: Aaron Waisglass, Vaughn Oliver, James Dean, John Glover
Contains elements of “I’ll Stay Right Here” by First Choice, written by James Dean and John Glover
2 Lundi
Written by: Aaron Waisglass, Vaugh Oliver, Mike Lundy
Contains elements of Contains elements of “Love One Another” by Mike Lundy, written by Mike Lundy
Performed by: Vaughn Oliver, Kiinjo
Produced by: Vaughn Oliver, Kiinjo
Mixed by: Vaughn Oliver, Kiinjo
Mastered by: Cassian Irvine
Artwork: Studio Rubicon
