Keys N Krates is a Canadian

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroac ...

band formed in 2008 out of

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

. The group consists of drummer Adam Tune, keyboardist David Matisse and

turntablist Turntablism is the art of manipulating sounds and creating new music, sound effects, mixes and other creative sounds and beats, typically by using two or more turntables and a cross fader-equipped DJ mixer. The mixer is plugged into a PA system ...

Jr. Flo (Greg Dawson). The band started as a live hip-hop act reliant on rough

a cappella ''A cappella'' (, also , ; ) music is a performance by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Ren ...

loops on top of heavy

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

-driven beats.

Career

2013: ''SOLOW'' EP

In 2013, Keys N Krates released their EP titled ''SOLOW'' on

Steve Aoki Steven Hiroyuki Aoki (, ; born November 30, 1977), best known as Steve Aoki, is an American DJ, record producer, music programmer, and record executive.

’s

Dim Mak Records Dim Mak Records is an independent, Los Angeles-based record label, events company, and lifestyle brand founded by Steve Aoki in 1996. The label has released music under the genres of punk, indie rock, hardcore, hip hop, and electronic dance m ...

. The first single off of the EP, "Treat Me Right" was premiered on

Annie Mac Annie Mac (born 18 July 1978), is an Irish DJ, broadcaster and writer. She hosted a variety of shows on BBC Radio 1, including BBC Switch and ''Future Sounds''. She also DJed in various locations, including hosting her AMP (Annie Mac Presents) ...

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

program and received support from

artists

Diplo Thomas Wesley Pentz (born November 10, 1978), known professionally as Diplo, is an American DJ and music producer. He is the co-creator and lead member of the electronic dancehall music project Major Lazer, a member of the supergroup LSD with ...

Major Lazer Major Lazer is an American electronic dance music DJ trio, which includes record producer Diplo, and DJs Walshy Fire and Ape Drums. It originates from Kingston, Jamaica, and was founded in 2008 by Diplo and Switch, with Switch leaving after t ...

Flosstradamus Flosstradamus is the stage name of American DJ and musician Curt Cameruci. From 2007 until 2016, Flosstradamus consisted of Cameruci and Josh Young from Chicago. The duo announced they would both be pursuing solo careers, with Cameruci to continu ...

and

TNGHT TNGHT is a musical duo consisting of Scottish producer Hudson Mohawke and Canadian producer Lunice, formed in 2011. The duo released their self-titled debut EP to positive reviews in 2012. They announced an indefinite hiatus in late 2013, until ...

. Their second single off of ''SOLOW'', "Dum Dee Dum" was also premiered on

program. The music video for "Dum Dee Dum" was directed by Amos LeBlanc. The video was nominated for a

Prism Prize The Prism Prize is a national juried award recognizing the artistry of the modern music video in Canada.remix A remix (or reorchestration) is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, video, poem, or photograph can all be remixes. The o ...

ed the track which featured

G.O.O.D. Music GOOD Music (also known simply as GOOD, stylized as G.O.O.D. Music; a backronym for Getting Out Our Dreams) is an American record label founded by rapper Kanye West in 2004. The label signed an exclusive long-term worldwide label agreement with t ...

’s

Cyhi The Prynce Cydel Charles Young (born September 15, 1984), known professionally as CyHi the Prynce, is an American rapper and singer. In 2009, Young signed his first major-label contract with Konvict Muzik, with the backing of Def Jam Recordings. In 2010, h ...

, King Louie, and Tree. On September 23, 2016, "Dum Dee Dum" was certified Gold by The Recording Industry Association of America for selling 500,000 units.

2014: ''Every Nite'' EP and Singles

In June 2014, Keys N Krates teamed up with Canadian

producer Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

/ DJ Grandtheft and released the single ''Keep It 100'' on

Mad Decent Records Mad Decent is an American record label founded by Diplo. The label has helped introduce Brazilian baile funk and Angolan kuduro to clubs around the world. Recently, it has popularized moombahton, a genre of electronic dance music created by DJ ...

. The single was later featured in a TV ad for the animated film Minions (2015). In September 2014, Keys N Krates released their second EP via

titled ''Every Nite''. The first single off of the EP titled "Are We Faded" was premiered on

program as well as the

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

channel All Trap Music. The release of ''Every Nite'' ran in conjunction with the band's first headline tour across North America.

2015-16: ''Midnite Mass'' and Singles

In June 2015, Keys N Krates released the single ''Save Me'' featuring British pop singer/songwriter

Katy B Kathleen Anne Brien (born 8 May 1989), better known as Katy B, is an English singer and songwriter. She released her debut studio album, ''On a Mission (Katy B album), On a Mission'', in 2011, which spawned two top five hits, "Katy on a Mission ...

. The single was featured on

Pitchfork Magazine ''Pitchfork'' (formerly ''Pitchfork Media'') is an American online music publication (currently owned by Condé Nast) that was launched in 1995 by writer Ryan Schreiber as an independent music blog. Schreiber started Pitchfork while working ...

and was later nominated for 'Dance Recording Of The Year' at the 2016

JUNO Awards The Juno Awards, more popularly known as the JUNOS, are awards presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music. New members of the Canadian Music Hall of ...

The Fader ''The Fader'' (stylized as ''FADER'') is a magazine based in New York City that was launched in 1999 by Rob Stone and Jon Cohen. The magazine covers music, style and culture. It was the first print publication to be released on iTunes. It is o ...

premiered their next single, "U Already Know", online and announced the release of their next EP titled ''Midnite Mass'' along with a coinciding tour. The track "Nothing But Space", featuring Aqui, off of ''Midnite Mass'' was premiered on

Zane Lowe Alexander Zane Reid Lowe (born 7 August 1973) is a New Zealand radio DJ, live DJ, record producer, and television presenter. After an early career in music creation, production and DJing, he moved to the UK in 1997. He came to prominence thro ...

'
Beats 1 Radio
program on January 6, 2016. On January 15, 2016, Keys N Krates released ''Midnite Mass'' making it their third EP release on

. The release ran in conjunction with the ''Midnite Mass'' Tour, with dates across the United States and Canada featuring support acts Stooki Sound,

Hermitude Hermitude is an Australian electronic- hip hop duo, originating from the Blue Mountains, New South Wales. Biography Early years and ''Explanetary'' Multi-instrumentalists, Luke Dubber (a.k.a. Luke Dubs) and Angus Stuart (a.k.a. El Gusto), ha ...

, GANZ and Jesse Slayter.

2018: ''Cura''

On February 2, 2018, Keys N Krates released their debut album ''Cura'' on Dim Mak Records. The album consists of 9 songs and features artists such as New Orleans based R&B singer/songwriter Ambré Perkins,

Tory Lanez Daystar Shemuel Shua Peterson (born July 27, 1992), known professionally as Tory Lanez, is a Canadian rapper, singer, songwriter, and convicted felon. He received initial recognition from the mixtape ''Conflicts of My Soul: The 416 Story'', rel ...

, and hip-hop artist

070 Shake Danielle Balbuena (born June 13, 1997), better known by her stage name 070 Shake, is an American hip hop recording artist. 070 Shake is a part of the musical collective 070, who have released a mixtape together titled ''The 070 Project: Chapter ...

(

). Keys N Krates also set out on the Cura'' World Tour', with dates spanning across the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, Austria, Netherlands, Hungary and more

2019: ''A Beat Tape For Your Friends''

In July 2019, Keys N Krates

self-released Self-publishing is the publication of media by its author at their own cost, without the involvement of a publisher. The term usually refers to written media, such as books and magazines, either as an ebook or as a physical copy using POD (pr ...

a new project titled ''A Beat Tape For Your Friends''. On a statement released by the band, the project displays them "paying homage" to beloved influences like

J Dilla J, or j, is the tenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its usual name in English is ''jay'' (pronounced ), with a now-uncommon varia ...

's ''

Donuts A doughnut or donut () is a type of food made from leavened fried dough. It is popular in many countries and is prepared in various forms as a sweet snack that can be homemade or purchased in bakeries, supermarkets, food stalls, and fra ...

''. The all instrumental project is composed of 11 tracks and features

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

based producer Jansport J. Subsequent to the project's release, Keys N Krates embarked on a tour spanning across the US and Canada.

Discography

Albums

* ''Original Classic'' (2021)

Extended plays

* ''Blackout'' (2011) * ''Lucid Dreams'' (2013) * ''Solow'' (2013) * ''Every Nite'' (2014) * ''Midnite Mass'' (2016) * ''Cura'' (2018) * ''A Beat Tape For Your Friends'' (2019)

Singles

* "Treat Me Right" (2013) * "Dum Dee Dum" (2013) (US: Gold) * "Keep It 100" (2014) * "Are We Faded" (2014) * "Save Me" (featuring

) (2015) * "I Know U" (2015) * "U Already Know" (2015) * "Glitter" (featuring Ambré Perkins) (2017) * "Flute Loop" (featuring Ouici) (2017) * "Do What U Do" (2018) * "My Night" (featuring

) (2018) * "My Soul Is Falling" (2018) * "Getaway" (featuring Mickey Shiloh) (2018)

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{Authority control Musical groups from Toronto Canadian electronic music groups Musical groups established in 2008 2008 establishments in Ontario Juno Award for Dance Recording of the Year winners Dim Mak Records artists