It’s been a whirlwind 12 months for Tayside dance duo Kimmic.
Their single Never Miss a Beat – which uses a sample from the 2008 Kaiser Chiefs song of the same name – has been played in clubs across the globe and was crowned a Radio 1 Hottest Record.
The upbeat party anthem gained multiple Capital Dance, Kiss FM, Radio 1 and Spotify plays, and dominated the Soundcloud charts, picking up a UK number one and a worldwide number one in dance music.
Kimmic – aka Brechin-based Keiran McLean and Christopher McComiskie from Dundee – have sold out huge venues across the UK and are touring Australia and New Zealand when The Courier catches up with them.
A wild year for dance duo
They’re having a ball in the sunshine – but say they’re hugely excited about playing at Fat Sam’s in Dundee on March 8.
“It’s been wild,” says Keiran, 28. “We haven’t really had a break since Never Missed a Beat dropped.
“During the last quarter of 2023, we were coming back from gigs totally exhausted and sleeping for about two days.
“After playing Creamfields in August we were up four hours later to go to Magaluf. I didn’t sleep – I was just pinging.
“It was so exciting last year, but now, after a gig, we go straight to bed.”
Keiran and Christopher released Never Miss a Beat through Polydor Records in February last year after signing a deal with the label – which is responsible for acts including ABBA, The 1975 and Billie Eilish.
Kimmic collaboration with Ultra Nate
They’ve since parted ways with the label – and signed a three track deal with Armada Music.
The first track, Party Girl, features vocals from dance legend Ultra Nate, whose house anthem Free went from club hit to international pop hit in the late 90s.
“We released Party Girl in January with Armada Music,” says Keiran.
“We took Ultra Nate’s Party Girl vocal and did an edited remix to start with and then put a twist on it. We stuck it on TikTok and it went mental.
“Ultra jumped on board with it, so it’s come together as a collaboration. She’s a total legend with her big song, Free.”
Big plans for 2024
The lads have more releases planned for 2024, and a huge collaboration with a top record producer in the mix – although they can’t reveal who that is just yet.
They produced music individually before deciding to work together in April 2022.
“We made Never Miss a Beat on a laptop and two speakers in Christopher’s bedroom,” says Keiran.
“We mix-mastered it ourselves, so the version you hear is straight from the bedroom!”
They uploaded a video of the tune on TikTok, with the intention of just posting it as a remix on their Soundcloud account.
But within an hour of it being online, it took off, generating thousands of views.
“The song was only meant to be a fun remix for people to add to their playlists,” says Keiran.
“We didn’t really think we’d get clearance to use the Kaiser Chiefs’ vocal, but, amazingly, we did.
“When we posted the track on Soundcloud, Polydor got in touch with us about signing.”
Full-time focus on Kimmic
Finding it hard to hold down “proper” day jobs” alongside gigging, the lads gave theirs up and decided to focus full on Kimmic full-time.
Keiran had worked as a manager at Sharkys Bar and Diner in Montrose, while Christopher, 25, had worked in insurance in Dundee.
What do they reckon is the secret behind the success of Never Miss a Beat?
“It was quite unique – nobody had really sampled an indie vocal in a dance track the way we did it,” reflects Keiran.
“If someone had said a month before we did the track, ‘go and do a remix with a Kaiser Chiefs sample’, I’d have said, ‘what you on about?’, but it just works so well.
“The uniqueness and unexpectedness of it got the attention.”
Crafting their music production skills
Both Keiran and Christopher are self-taught music producers, having been “mucking about” on software for years.
“It’s only the last three years we’ve been really comfortable producing music,” says Keiran.
“It doesn’t happen overnight. It takes a lot of years to kind of craft it. But it’s finally started to pay off.”
Growing up in Brechin, Keiran was hugely influenced by his uncle, the dance music DJ Jocky McLean.
Dance music is in blood
His family have always been into dance music, and would blast the likes of Cream or Clubland CDs in the car.
“I thought my uncle was super cool! And dance was all I listened to growing up. Chris was similar, but he’s a few years younger so Calvin Harris, Avici and David Guetta were his thing.”
The duo played a special Boxing Day gig in Brechin and filled the town’s Mechanics Hill to capacity.
They can’t wait for their upcoming Scottish gigs this month, including Fat Sam’s.
“We’re touring the north of England and Scotland for the whole of March,” adds Keiran.
“April’s a busy one, too, with a mini Irish weekender in Dublin and Belfast, and Ministry of Sound in London.
“We’re at loads of big festivals through the summer including Creamfields in Cheshire and Beat-Herder in Lancashire.
“In fact, we just found out we’re playing the main stage at Creamfields in August which is fantastic!
“The DJ Hannah Laing, who’s from Dundee, has been announced for the main stage, too.
“But right now, we’re just focusing on the new track and working with Armada. And we can’t wait to play Fat Sam’s!”
- Kimmic play Fat Sam’s, Dundee on March 8.
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