KID KENOBI

KID KENOBI

Addicted To Bass

Now a family man, DJ and producer Kid Kenobi, aka Jesse Desenberg, is totally committed to the music industry and the bass movement. With 20 years experience in the scene, RK chats with the lad who’s constantly on the go. 

If you’re a fan of breaks, you will without doubt know Kid Kenobi, the DJ and producer who absolutely smashed it in the early noughties, snapping up awards and making a name for himself in the growing breaks community in Australia. Now, the lad behind the moniker, Jesse Desenberg, is a family man. But, he still manages to maintain a fine balance between touring, managing his label and club night Klub Kids
    “Spare time, what spare time?,” he says in jest, talking of his family/work balance. “It’s an art form in itself; it needs constant upkeep as it keeps on changing. I’m such of a softy; it’s really hard travelling on the weekend. I miss my family so much! I don’t know how some DJs travel for weeks on end and not see their kids. I’m happy to be just touring Australia on weekends right now. I am, however, planning more international touring for next year but I’ll be taking the family with me. I think I’d go crazy without them.”
    But, it isn’t just his family, touring and work in the studio which is keeping him busy. He’s recently started a blog concerned with his history in the EDM scene and the culture which surrounds it all. “We wanted to give context to our Klub Kids event A Warehouse Jam,” he says, talking about the blog. “The party was intended to be a point of difference in the current EDM climate. To me, there is so much that has been lost and forgotten or buried in the culture of EDM and I felt there needed to be a point of change. I want to bring back some of the values I think we’ve lost. The blog links my history in with the party and what parts of my history inspired me to set this party up.”
Indeed, the name also lends itself to a label with the same name and given his interest in music production; it was a natural next step. “I always have and always will believe in the music first and foremost,” he says. “I never want this to be a label that sets out to make money. I want it to have a soul. I think the family vibe reinforces that – gives it the feeling of a ‘movement’. That’s starting to happen now. There are so many talented artists on the label that I am so proud and honoured to be associated with.”
Desenberg is currently hard at work in the studio on a new remix for Klub Kids and an artist called TJR. He recently mixed Ministry Of Sound’s Addicted To Bass compilation alongside Perth bad boys Bombs Away and says it was a grand experience. “I was stoked to be asked to mix the comp because the compilation brief was right up my alley - it was all about bass music and wasn’t restricted by genre,” he says. “The Bombs guys are pretty crazy – be interesting to see what happens on tour!”
As for original productions this year, there are plenty in the works so far. “I’ve tried to cut back on remix work as I want to focus on releasing more original music,” he says. “But, before I do that I have remixes for TJR and Doctor Werewolf to complete. Then I’m on to a new KK single and EP, a free KK EP, and also a Too Fresh single and EP. Hectic!”