Kiiōtō - Embracing in Orbit

We meet the British duo Kiiōtō, made up of singer-songwriter Lou Rhodes, former solo voice and co-founder of Lamb, and acclaimed, award-winning singer-songwriter and pianist Rohan Heath, right before their show at the Auditorium Novecento in Naples, promoted by Rockalvi Festival and Main Out, under the artistic direction of Peppe Guarino. A unique opportunity to hear them talk about their music and the genesis of the ten songs on their new album, “Black Salt”, which blends soul, jazz and singer-songwriter craft into an embrace as magical as it is profound.

How and when did the Kiiōtō project come about?

Lou: It all happened by chance. Rohan and I had both drifted away from music after around 30 years of activity. He was writing a novel, I was studying for a master's in poetry. Life, though, had other plans, and brought us together through mutual friends. This happened right after lockdown, and although I hadn't been writing music, I found myself listening to it with much closer attention during that period of isolation. I have a piano in my kitchen, and when Rohan started playing, it felt like rediscovering a new source of musical inspiration that had lain dormant until then.

“As Dust We Rise” was strongly inspired by a trip to Louisiana. Could you share an anecdote that connects the trip to the songs on the album?

Rohan: Many of the songs on “As Dust We Rise” came together during a road trip from Mexico to Louisiana. After celebrating the “Day of the Dead” in Oaxaca, we spent a few weeks in New Orleans and the Louisiana Bayou. The rich musical history and vibrant colours of New Orleans set our senses alight, giving us all the inspiration we needed to start writing the album. The song “Josephine Street” was born right there on that street, one that seemed never to sleep. Originally, the song had five verses, each populated by different characters we met along the way, but it grew so long we had to trim it down. If there's one particular memory we hold onto from that street, it's that music was everywhere: people singing, music spilling out of windows, people beating out rhythms on trash-can lids on the sidewalk. It summed up New Orleans perfectly: life and music are inseparable.

And “Spanish Moss”?

It was born in the Bayou, in an old wooden house that, despite being very beautiful, seemed strangely dark. Everything became clear when we discovered that the house had been moved there from an old plantation nearby. Louisiana has a very dark history tied to its plantations and its enslaved population. This discovery is reflected in the lyrics of “Spanish Moss”.

“Butterfly” is a bleak, melancholy critique of a narcissist: who does this man represent?

Lou: The song was inspired by a particular public figure, who's perhaps better left unnamed. But I think that, with the spread of social media, we increasingly live in a society driven by narcissism, one that imposes unrealistic standards everyone is expected to live up to.

“Zero Gravity”, on the other hand, is inspired by Samantha Harvey's Booker Prize-winning novel “Orbital”: how did Earth's orbit influence this track?

Rohan: Reading Samantha Harvey's novel “Orbital” gave us the chance to imagine looking at the Earth from space. Orbiting the planet and seeing it as such a small, fragile entity should remind us how precious it is, and how, as a species, we need to do everything we can to take care of it and stop destroying its wonderful ecosystems and all the other species that inhabit them.

“Little Axe” tells of the struggles of growing up as a young man in a violent urban environment: is this an autobiographical observation?

Lou: “Little Axe” is written specifically from the point of view of a parent raising sons in modern society. The idea came about after watching a film about the “Central Park Five”: the tragic story of a group of young Black men wrongly imprisoned for a crime they didn't commit. As a parent of young men, this story struck me deeply. We automatically protect our daughters, but boys are vulnerable to different kinds of danger, and even as they grow into men, they need a certain wisdom to face the challenges of modern life.

“White Noise” highlights the grip social media has on the modern mind: what's your relationship with social media, and what do you think about AI applied to music?

Rohan: There's no denying that social media is a wonderful tool for staying in touch with people. But at the same time, it seems to be changing the way the human mind works; we're becoming addicted to the dopamine rush our brains get every time we receive a message or a notification. We've also noticed that our attention spans are shrinking more and more. As for AI and music, we're genuinely worried about its effects. The sheer variety of musical styles and systems that exist reflects the richness of human experience, and the history and evolution of music as a form of communication. Writing songs and playing music takes time, time during which we exercise our minds and challenge ourselves intellectually. It would be a tragedy if all of that were replaced by computer programs.

In London, jazz seems to have had a huge impact on new trends: how do you explain this “revival” and this phenomenon?

Rohan: The jazz revival, especially in London but also across the UK, was inevitable. A lot of the jazz coming out of London has a modern touch, with many artists blending aspects of traditional jazz with modern technology; programmed and looped drums sit alongside harps and saxophones, while melodies and basslines played on modern synths and sequencers intertwine with flutes, tabla and cellos. Jazz meets electronic music.

“Lost Map” reflects on the results of the Dna tests you took, in search of a deeper understanding of your different origins: what did you find out?

Rohan: The results of our respective Dna tests were interesting and surprising. My results revealed that I'm 50% Germanic (which makes sense, since my mother was Swiss), 12% Nigerian, with smaller percentages of Ghanaian, Sierra Leonean origins and so on. Interestingly, 3% of my Dna is of Italian origin. Lou's results, on the other hand, revealed that he's over 99% English, and almost entirely from Lancashire, which he found a bit disappointing.

Lou, name five albums that have shaped your life.

Gil Scott-Heron – "Pieces Of A Man", simply because it's a timeless classic with so many powerful songs that are as deeply relevant today as when they were written. The title track and "I Think I'll Call It Morning" always move me to tears. Alice Coltrane – "Ptah, The El Daoud", as it's deep, cosmic jazz that showcases Coltrane's genius on harp and piano, often overshadowed by her husband's fame in a male-dominated scene. Standout tracks: "Turiya & Ramakrishna" with its fluid, almost intoxicating piano, and "Blue Nile" for its transcendent harp. Neil Young – "Harvest", another classic from Neil Young's early work. Every song has a rustic beauty, but "A Man Needs A Maid" is heartbreaking. The theme is perhaps a bit dated by today's standards, but to me it shows more the vulnerability of a man in love than his political views. Carole King – "Tapestry", because King's songwriting has stood the test of time, both in its lyrical content and its musical sound. Rohan and I both grew up listening to these songs, and it's one of many reference points for Kiiōto's sound. And finally, Little Simz – "Grey Area": I listened to this album on loop when it came out. The production has a wonderful spontaneity, and her lyrics are razor-sharp. It's worth listening to on headphones so you can catch every detail.

What's your fondest memory of your time in Lamb?

I think my fondest memories are of the early days of Lamb, especially around the first album, when our style was fresh and innovative, with jazz and breakbeat influences. I grew up on my mother's folk record collection and watching her sing live (she was a folk singer active on the 70s scene). Andy came from a techno background, but when we met I was listening to trip-hop and early breakbeat, and I wanted to fuse my folk roots with those styles. Our early tours were also an incredible experience, even when my young kids were travelling with me. We lived on a tour bus for a month at a time, and I have beautiful memories of waking up early in the morning, after travelling and sleeping all night, and the thrill of figuring out where we were through the windows of a moving bus.

"Black Salt" was written mainly at Kiiōtō's home studio in North London with a host of phenomenal musicians: how did you choose them?

Rohan: Both Lou and I have worked in the music world for over 30 years, during which we've played with a huge variety of musicians and made a name for ourselves. We've built up a lot of contacts. When it came time to record Black Salt, we drew up a "dream list" of artists we wanted to bring onto the album before actually calling them up and asking. Much to our surprise, everyone said yes! Working with all these talented, creative people was a wonderful experience, and one we absolutely intend to repeat on our next album.

Lou, what do you remember about 1996 and that special era for British music?

In Manchester, at that time, there was a particularly vibrant music scene centred around pirate radio and independent record shops. This was before the internet, so those outlets were the only way to discover new music, but there was an incredible thrill to that kind of discovery. I remember hearing a track on a pirate station that fused a soul vocal with a raw, primitive breakbeat, but I can't remember the title. Nowadays you could use Shazam or look up the lyrics online, but back then we didn't have those options. So I had to go round several record shops (many run by pretty grumpy types) and sing the song at the counter. I eventually found it, and I still have a rather scratched 12-inch of it. It was a track called "Love Is All We Need" by Peter Bouncer.

(June 14, 2026)

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