The future of heavy music here, and leading the charge is thirteen-year-old Kage Archer. At the age of 10, he was already able to add performing with Motionless In White to his resume after his viral cover of "Slaughterhouse" caught the attention of Chris Motionless. Since then, he's also performed with Fit For A King and From Ashes To New.
In this interview, we chat with the Wichita, KS-based vocalist and multi-instrumentalist about working with Taylor Barber (of Left to Suffer) on "Carry the Weight," working with The Artery Foundation, and what success looks like to him.
MSM: "Carry the Weight" is amazing. It just blew my mind. I was watching, and I'm like, "No way is he 13; that's just not possible." Your talent is just undeniable. What was it like working with Taylor Barber and just hearing him on a song that you'd written?
Oh, it was awesome. Yeah. I mean, he's super cool. He was really helpful when it comes to writing because he's really quick with it. And we kind of just bounced ideas back and forth between me, him, and my producer. We all just kind of made that together basically. But working with him was awesome.
Were you a fan of him prior to working together?
Yeah. When my producer was like, "Oh, you want to meet him?" I was like, "Uh, yeah."
Yeah. And then, so a lot of people discovered you through your viral "Slaughterhouse" cover, obviously. And you then got to perform it with Motionless In White, which, I'm sure, was just insane. So you've already gotten to share stages with some amazing people so far. Is there anything that you've picked up from those experiences so far?
Maybe not advice, but I will say I have just learned by myself what to do when I'm on stage and stuff. Because you could probably look at when I went up with Motionless and then the most recent one, with the difference in how much I was moving around. So, I think I've kind of just learned mainly stage presence on my own, but I feel like that's kind of it.
And you went from creating covers to doing original music. How was that transition? Was it exciting for you, or were you kind of intimidated?
Yeah, it wasn't too out of my comfort zone or anything.
Right. You were ready?
Yeah, pretty much because I had already been doing covers for a while just in my room. Me, myself, and a microphone, right? So, it wasn't really anything too different. I think the only thing that was there is just I know these songs when I go into them. These are just stuff that I'm doing on my own, making on my own, so it takes a little bit longer.
What instrument did you start with?
Drums.
And then you just kind of picked up everything from there?
Yeah, pretty much.
What do you go to when you're writing a song? What's the first instrument you reach for?
Guitar.
Do you start with that (guitar), or do you start with a lyric or a concept?
No, I usually just start with guitar, and record it and just put stuff over it.
All right. So far, have you been pulling from personal experiences, or do you use inspiration from just people that you talk to around you as well?
A little bit of both.
So, heavy music has a huge range of sounds. Is there anything in particular that you really want to get involved with that maybe you haven't yet?
I think it's just more of the heavier aspects of music. It's just songs that I really like to write, and I just think it's a fun thing to listen to and play and stuff.
Your voice is incredible. What age did you start vocals?
I think nine or 10.
Oh, wow. Yeah. And what got you into that? Just listening to music?
Yeah, anything. And I was like, "Oh, i want to know how to do this. I was like, "How to scream YouTube tutorial."
Yeah, well, it worked.
Yeah.
And then you signed with the Artery Foundation recently, which is huge. Was there anything that made them feel like the right choice for you?
I mean, if I had to guess, it's probably just because of my age. I feel like that's the main leading point with a lot of it, which isn't a bad thing. I mean, it's pretty cool. But I feel like, I mean, they treat me like I'm not too different from anybody, which I like. I like when I'm not separated from other people and they're like, "Oh, you're like this better than other people." The same type of people basically.
Yeah. Do you mean based on your age?
Yeah.
I mean, you're out doing the same stuff everyone else is doing. You're just way ahead of the curve. Yeah. Getting into it early. What do you think success would look like for you? Do you feel successful at this point, or is it something you're working towards?
I guess when I think of that, I think of touring. I'm not saying this is doing bad because it's not at all. It's going great. But I feel like when we use the word "success," I feel like it's just bigger stuff like touring or getting up with even bigger bands.
Yeah. And then, so with all the things you've accomplished so far, which is a lot, when people look back on the beginning of your career years from now and they look back and this is the beginning of Kage Archer, what do you want them to say about your beginnings?
Maybe just how far it's come to be. I mean, I started at karaoke with my friends one night, and now I'm going out to LA to write awesome music. I think that's probably the main thing. And I feel like that's already something that people would naturally think if they looked at what I do now and then went back to the very first video.
Who is a band that you would love to collaborate with?
This is a far shot, but Bring Me the Horizon would be awesome.
Yeah. Do you have a favorite breakdown out of any song? It doesn't have to be your own, just any song.
I think right now it's probably "Turning Hate into Rage" by Boundaries. The call-out being This World is Evil and I'm the Devil. That's just hard. I love it.
And then who's your favorite artist or album that you've been listening to on repeat lately?
Probably Boundaries. I mean, I'm getting more into those guys. I saw them about a year ago, and I just only just now started listening to more of their music, and they're awesome.
