Australian guitarist Keyan once knew British virtuoso Connor Kaminski only as “the Strandberg guy with nice-looking videos” on social media. Today, the two have forged a powerful creative partnership, co-writing an EP that fully showcases their abilities beyond the short-form clips that originally built their fanbases. Their project, Kinetic, includes individual tracks by each artist and culminates in the epic 11-minute composition “Pirouette,” a piece that pushes their tonal signatures into dramatic, collaborative harmony. The EP is a bold step forward in their careers, merging their audiences and emphasizing the strength of their joint artistic vision.
The writing process for Kinetic was entirely virtual, bridging the geographical distance between the UK and Australia with seamless efficiency. Kaminski would wake up to find the work Keyan had completed, pick up the creative baton, and continue the cycle. Despite the time zone difference, their shared instincts around structure and musical ideas kept the process smooth. Their creative chemistry was evident from the start, and the two musicians quickly realized how their strengths complemented each other.
Kaminski brought depth and dynamic shifts to the songwriting, with a knack for contrasting emotional tones within a single track. Keyan, by contrast, excelled at writing riffs, bringing heavy, rhythmic drive into the compositions. Both acknowledged their contrasting strengths helped create a balance. Kaminski found himself contributing light-and-dark contrasts to the compositions, something he wasn’t consciously aware of until pointed out by an audience member during a clinic. Meanwhile, Keyan admitted he struggles with leads and verses, areas where Kaminski thrives. Their mutual support allowed each to fill in compositional gaps and bring greater cohesion to the music.
Their differences in guitar styles and gear preferences also contributed to the sonic texture of Kinetic. Although both are artists for specific guitar brands—Keyan with Jackson and Kaminski with Strandberg—some moments on the EP required deviation from the norm. For instance, a particularly low riff on “Pirouette” was recorded using an Ibanez Meshuggah signature M80M, a 30-inch eight-string guitar, simply because the Jackson could not handle the necessary tuning range. Keyan emphasized the importance of staying close to native tuning and avoiding excessive pitch-shifting to maintain tone integrity.
Tone itself was a critical part of the process, and the decision to record without using DI (direct input) signals played a central role. Kaminski had started the project with one song already half-finished and made it clear he had not recorded DIs. Instead, he focused on capturing the natural dynamics between his playing and his gear. This approach preserved the interactive quality between the guitar and amplifier—a quality he believes is essential to retaining the character of a performance. His tones were largely based on a capture of the Neural DSP Granophyre plugin used through a Quad Cortex, with a Horizon Devices Precision Drive for rhythm parts and a Klon-style pedal for leads.
Keyan, on the other hand, was meticulous about how his playing interacted with amps, overdrive pedals, and noise gates. He found the Granophyre’s mid-range saturation challenging when playing precise low-end riffs in drop F#, but ultimately appreciated the tonal results. For his own rhythm tracks, he used a capture of his Fortin 33 pedal. The two guitarists recorded in different tunings—Kaminski in drop C and Keyan in drop F#—and adjusted their tones accordingly. Kaminski leaned into more gain-heavy, squishy tones that required tightening and low-end cutting to remain articulate in the lower register.
Thematic cohesion across the EP was achieved through the clever use of recurring motifs. Kaminski and Keyan integrated these motifs subtly and creatively, sometimes reprising them in altered instrumentations like a glockenspiel. Each track, from “Swell” to “Oscillate” to “Pirouette,” plays with familiar ideas in new forms, giving the EP a sense of unity while still allowing for tonal and rhythmic diversity. “Pirouette” itself became the grand convergence point where motifs from earlier tracks—despite their differences in tuning and BPM—were woven together into a powerful closing statement.
Guest appearances on the EP added further distinction. Guitarist Jack Gardiner and producer/musician Adam ‘Nolly’ Getgood were brought in to contribute solos on “Pirouette.” Although the initial idea had been to feature a guest riff rather than a solo, the evolving complexity of the track called for more expressive playing. Gardiner and Getgood provided just that, with Nolly’s solo in particular standing out. According to Kaminski, Nolly nailed his part on the first take with no revisions, offering a solo that has since become irreplaceable in their ears. It was a rare opportunity for Getgood to show off his guitar skills—something not often highlighted despite his reputation in production and bass performance.
The partnership between Kaminski and Keyan has not only resulted in a compelling piece of music but also demonstrated the power of collaboration in overcoming creative limitations. Their ability to work across time zones, tap into each other’s strengths, and maintain a unified sound despite different tools and techniques has set a new benchmark for guitar collaborations in the digital age. With Kinetic, both artists have moved beyond the viral videos that brought them fame and into a space where their music can be appreciated in its full, nuanced scope.
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