Toronto trio Keys N Krates launch their new label, Odd Soul Sounds, with the debut release RUAFREAK, a percussive, warehouse-ready collaboration with afro-house collective Afrique Like Me and tribal house producer 96Vibe. Blending hypnotic drums, Afro-Caribbean influences, and a cheeky vocal hook, the track reflects the label's raw, soulful, and cross-cultural ethos. Born from Keys N Krates' own party series, Odd Soul Sounds embraces tribal grooves, ’90s jackin’ house, hip-hop, R&B, and UK garage, focusing less on genre and more on groove-driven energy meant for real people and real dancefloor moments. 

Keys N Krates talk to 6AM about their evolution into groove-driven house, launching Odd Soul Sounds as both a collaborative label and extension of their genre-blending Toronto roots.

 

Hi Keys N Krates! Thanks for talking to 6AM group. How are you all doing?

We are good!

 

For those that may not know, you guys started out as a live band flipping hip-hop and dance records, then pivoted to original productions blending global rhythms and layered samples. What made you want to pivot creatively, and what did that internal conversation look like? 

We kind of all just started naturally making 4/4 on the floor stuff once we started diving more into the pop end of things.  We had this one record with BiBi Bourelly called take it off that was probably our first house record but it was more in the 110bpm range.  From there we started experimenting, speeding up until we naturally landed in the more 120-130 house temp.  From there the experimentation that happened and here we are today.   I think we all like the different grooves you can explore with house and house adjacent rhythms.  

 

Your guys’ early work, like the 2013 instrumental trap anthem "Dum Dee Dum," had a distinct sound. You’ve made a pivot towards working with more collaborators and exploring a myriad of sounds. Now, with the launch of Odd Soul Sounds and the release of "RUAFREAK," there's a shift towards percussive, groove-driven house music. Was this an intentional change to switch within various genres or something that progressed naturally? Looking back, how has that wide genre experience shaped the way you approach groove and rhythm in your current sound? Do you see your house music direction as a culmination of those influences—or is it more of a new chapter entirely?

It’s definitely both.  We learned so much making all the other music we’ve made, and not just trap but the pop electronic stuff we did with BiBi, Ambre, Tory.  We’ve definitely found a nice landing strip to distill all of those techniques and influences into making more groovy dance records now.  I think our swords have gotten sharper and making catchy distilled ideas which RUAFREAK is to a T.  We love simple catchy loopy stuff like this that grabs people but you’re gonna hear more melodic stuff with verses and choruses.  

 

 

Speaking of the launch of your label, Odd Soul started as a party before it became a label, correct? What made you all feel like it was time to turn the vibe of your event into something more permanent, like a label? Is your intention to do primarily self release through this label venture?

It felt like a natural thing to try and kind of document the party in a way sonically and we thought a great way was to put releases out into the world you would hear on an Odd Soul dance floor.  It’s definitely a vessel to self release for us and that’s important cause our taste in music and sound drives the party and who else we book.  But it’s also a place for collaboration and putting people we admire on a platform just like our party is.  So expect releases from us but also friends and people we are fans of, sometimes as collaborative releases with us and sometimes just us presenting their release. 

 

“RUAFREAK” is the first release under Odd Soul Sounds. What is the meaning behind the name of the track? Why was this the track to launch the label with? What did it capture that made it feel like the right opening statement?

The meaning of the title is the hook which can be taken we guess in a horny way or an outlier way.  We are good with however people want to interpret it because the feel of the record is there and what matters most to us.  The line also is paying homage to Afrique like me who’s featured in the track.  When Anowa from Afrique spit the hook, I think she was almost thinking of it as a swaggy tag for them.  It’s kind of a great cause it bolsters Afrique even more through the track and we are honoured to be part of that.  

Overall there’s a lot of different kinds of tunes that could have worked for the first release but it was important that we were on the record so that people knew we were 100 percent behind the label, and we also wanted it to be a collab because that’s what the label is also about.  

 

RUAFREAK brings together Afrique Like Me and 96Vibe—artists with deep rhythmic roots and strong cultural identities. Was it important to start Odd Soul with a cross-cultural collaboration like this, and if so, why?

Yes it was because that’s what the label is all about.  It’s a community of collaboration and sharing ideas and styles and mashing sounds together to create new vibes.  This idea reflects our taste in music cause we often like dance music that’s combining a bunch of different influences and if so reflects the idea that specific perspectives on music need a community behind them to support them.  We really want to expand the intersection between hip hop, rnb and house, also different international takes on house and house adjacent ideas.  Our perspective is influenced by American rnb and rap as it is the Caribbean cause we all grew up in Toronto.  We want to share this perspective but we can’t do it alone.  It takes a village.

 

Thanks so much for talking to 6AM. Wishing you much success with the new label! Is there anything else you’d like to add before we sign off?

Thank you so much!

 

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