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For Bookings contact Liquid Shadow Promotions. [email protected] 0871 918 0949Hailing from an area of natural outstanding beauty, Slough, is solo artist KAyaL. Like new sensations Jamie T and Just Jack, KAyaL uses amongst others the influences of Ska, Reggae and British HipHop bringing an urban edge to suburban themes. In recent times British Urban Music has focused on troubled lives of the inner city, KAyaL through his sense of self ridicule highlights the everyday struggles of those exiled to Suburban England. Poignant lyrics combined with uplifting beats and eclectic melodies produce clever catchy songs that are a wry but relevant soundtrack to the modern British life. To hear more tracks go to my other page www.myspace.com/casakayal A band formed with a credit card, a lift from mum, a cupboard under the stairs and a warped view of life.I was asked to provide a watered down bio of myself for promotion and all that bollocks. A kind of ..who am I?.. for the uninitiated. Then a spark of intelligence, a thought that instead of making myself out to be something I..m not, just to sound street, I decided to give the task to my sister. Was it a good idea to give her the power to destroy and embarrass me with one sly story let slip? Well I'll let you decide but I think she did what I would fail to do myself and that was write something real and without any sales pitch. Anyway, here is what she wrote........ It was the 20th of January when Kevin took his 1st breaths into this worldI was wetting myself with excitement with the thought that my little brother had arrived and finally I had the new playmate I was promised. "I can't play with that" were the first words out of my mouth (actually the words I used) when I saw it was a boy, Instead I thought hmm someone to torture.. Kevin was only a few weeks old when he was rushed into hospital to have a major operation on his stomach. Mum told me that we had only borrowed him from the hospital and he might have to go back. When he was in intensive care, I sang and played my musical toys to him which I..m convinced helped him to get better..Actually, come to think of it I reckon the jamming sessions on my musical toys is the source of his musical gifts.Flicking through some of the pictures of us when we were kids, it seems I was always the one smiling, looking happy to be alive. But in contrast, he would always have the face of a duck..s arse about to get the chop from our local takeaway shop. I don't remember him always being miserable but then again photos don't lie. I remember there being loads of fun times with my lil bro, building camps out of chairs and blankets, sledding down the stairs in a duvet, me mixing up potions (magical they were) from bleach ink soap then making him drink them. Ok he didn't fly or get super strong he just got really sick! But still, what doesn..t kill you... Ok I admit I used to pick on him a bit and occasionally hit him with a ruler and stuff but that I was only thinking of him! Character building see.. needed to toughen him up!As we grew up he became less like my object of torture, and more and more like my best friend. When our dad died in 1991, I found it very hard, I know he did too, but he was always a tower of strength and looked after us in every way he could. I suppose that over night he had turned into the man of the house, this made him grow up fast, maybe before he was meant to. But I know I would have found it a million times harder to get through those difficult times without him, and for this I..m truly thankful bruv. A few years went by and found it time to fly the nest; Kayal was 14 at the time. I rented a flat and kindly gave him his own key (never again). I used to come home from work for lunch and he would be there bunking school with his friends, watching TV and eating what little food I had. I never minded, he was my mate and I was kind of chuffed he would come to me. I think in the last year of his schooling, he spent more time at that flat than he did at school! Even helped him get an honorly mention at the school awards with the "Biggest Absentee" and he wasn't there to get his award. Ironic! We always had fun together though and his outgoing personality is very infectious. Mum always says he's like a whirlwind when he comes round, he explodes into a room with so much energy and need to impress people and be centre of attention, all we can do is just watch whilst he dances around, acts the pratt and generally embarrasses himself. Always one for a cheap laugh, always the one to jump over or onto something and hurt himself, always the one to say something without thinking... Actually come to think of it there..s rarely a dull moment when that boy..s around which is why I try and avoid him as much as physically possible! (only kidding) His music only came about three or four years ago when he was asked to write some lyrics for a rock song. He spent hours writing down lyrics, giggling to himself, totally lost in his imagination. He even started carrying around a notebook so he had somewhere to write whilst he was out. I think part of it is was his release, a way of letting out built up emotion. Maybe I'm biased but I think he has a natural ability and a real talent. The music thing seemed to come out of no-where; ok he was always into music, following my trends (I think it was me who introduced him to rap, so there..s my %). I let him listen to my Snoop Doggy Dogg CD one day, which by the way I think you've still got! From there he progressed into dance music and the scene which goes along with it. At this point he discovered pot which slowly lead to speed, ecstasy and god knows what else!! He..s the kind of person that if he..s going to do something, it..s all or nothing, never half-hearted, always the full hog and then even more than that! These were the times I saw less of him and suppose they're the stories and times that come out through his music. There were a few times during this period when I'd see him and think he was either ill or unusually skinny and hoped that he didn't have a problem with drugs.It was when he moved in with me full time after getting dumped by his girfriend (instead of rent free, actually come to think of it you..re a dodgy fucker not paying rent!!) that his writing picked up in a big way. All of a sudden he's got a hundred songs written, desperate to record them and has all these big ideas. Where it came from who knows, but something clicked. When he moved into his next girlfriends (he moved around, he took the plunge and decided to turn a cupboard under his stairs into a studio, which fair play to him he did (much to our amusement). At this point he started making his own music and beats then record it all himself which again we was sceptical. Taking into consideration NO-ONE he knew then was making music and NO-ONE had taught him anything about production. He just did it, which I find quite amazing. The first recording I thought sounded a bit pants, sorry! The lyrics were stupid and the music was pretty shite. But still he pushed on and within the space of a year was shopping for a record deal. Not a chance in hell at that point though! In retrospect, nothing has come easy for him. I won't bore you with tales of his up bringing, our dad's battle with cancer and the fact he laid there side by side with him all the way. The poverty, the alcholic parents, the hand me down clothes of mine to him........ His music tells the story much better than I ever could, it..s the thing he has so much passion for, the thing, which is there for both the good times, and bad, I like to think of it as mine and his open diary.Right, think it..s about time I wrapped this up. Kev, I..m proud of you, all you have to do is believe. Oh and remember my Mercedes..