Floating On Okay

The Kite String Tangle

When it comes to music, Danny Harley never stops. Even when The Music calls, he's still sitting in his bedroom practicing paradiddles. Such is life for the young producer and multi-instrumentalist, who's enjoying the burgeoning success as The Kite String Tangle, his solo sidestep from his regular gig as part of Brisvegas live electronic quintet Pigeon.

“[The two projects] are pretty separate in my head, apart from the basic thing that they're both largely made on my computer. Pigeon is very much a collaborative process between five guys, and Kite String is just the stuff that I do myself. It's not like I write a song and then don't know if it's going to be used for Pigeon or Kite String, it always starts with a very clear vision,” he explains.

Although Harley has been 'officially' releasing music under his Kite String solo guise since 2012, it was last year that the project really found legs, the massive success of single Given The Chance propelling the 25-year-old onto festival stage, in front of sold out club crowds, and even pushing the track into the upper echelon of the latest Hottest 100. Many would see this ascent as whirlwind, but Harley is quick to dismiss that idea, explaining that eight years of tinkering now sits behind him.

“It seems very new, but it's actually been a long development process,” he clarifies. “But whatever I've done I'm going to leave behind and progress and only release new stuff; it's the whole process of developing my sound. But yeah, it's been going on for a while, it just doesn't appear that way.”

Following his lauded performance at the inaugural Byron Bay Falls Festival, an experience he admits was the ideal culmination of a breakthrough year, and before he jets off to SXSW, Harley will launch his debut EP with the biggest club shows of his career. For a gent who originally built his tracks around nature samples recorded on his parent's property, it's an incredible journey – one which he can't wait to continue with a retuned stage show designed to reward those that have danced with him.

“I've been building a light globe with my housemate this whole month that I'm going to be touring around with,” Harley reveals. “Last time I went on tour it was just me playing my songs, this time it's going to be much more of a show. This time there is going to be synchronised lights and hopefully some projections; it should be a noticeable step up from last time. I want it to feel much more like a headline show, and I want it to be memorable and to reward people for showing so much support so early on.”