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What were most of us doing at the age of ten? I know I wasn’t doing anything too impressive.

In 2021, when Kailash Brumwell was ten, he was already making big moves in the reggae scene. He first made a name for himself by posting masterful covers of reggae songs to YouTube, which showcased his clean and precise vocals. Following the release of his single, “Seems so Strange,” a song written in response to George Floyd being murdered, he was nominated for the Best New Young Artist award at the International Reggae and World Music Awards. In the same year, Don Carlos heard Kailash at the Right Vibes Festival in Santa Cruz and invited him on stage to sing “Satta Massagana.”  Stemming from that encounter, he then sang at Red Rocks Amphitheatre with Don Carlos and Slightly Stoopid, performing for 9,000 people.

Fast forwarding to 2024, we find him with an album pressed to vinyl (2023’s Across the Ocean), while consistently adding concert and festival locations to his list and continually meeting, recording, and performing with a growing roster of legends who have joined him for his young musings.

Across the Ocean is a lyrically deep, musically rootsy masterpiece from this blossoming artist. His vocal qualities express a thoughtfulness and level of precision only expected from someone with many more years of life experience. If his current skills are any sign of what will evolve, the world of reggae has been blessed by a promising torch bearer.

As the busy rush of a new school year begins, Kailash took a pause from his Tuesday evening studies to speak about the success he’s already experienced, as well as about all of the growth to come.

Rootfire: You’re probably tired of people referencing your age. It’s going to happen for a while; you’re a young king on the scene. You’re 13 now, right?

Kailash: Yes, I am. I turned 13 in June.

Rootfire: How are the first days of school going?

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Kailash: School has been going pretty well for me, so far. I mean, it’s only been five to seven days into the school year.

Rootfire: Do you have a favorite subject?

Kailash: If I had to pick one, it would probably be on the math or science side. I enjoy those two subjects.

Rootfire: What do your classmates think of your music? Are they aware, or do you just see them in school, and they don’t know the other side of you?

Kailash: Yes, they do know my music; they have heard of my album and the other stuff I’ve done. At the same time, it’s not like it comes up in conversation every single day. I just focus on school things and kind of unleash the more musical creativity when it’s at home or in a musical environment.

Rootfire: I first heard you on some of the cover recordings that you used to release. It was during the COVID lockdowns. You would have different musicians collaborate on recordings, without being at the same locations together.

What would they do, just send you their contributions, from wherever they lived or had studio space?

Kailash: Typically, we would pick the song, and then each person playing the different instrument would record themselves. The drummer would record his drum tracks from home. I would record my tracks from home. The bassist would record their tracks from home, but it wouldn’t be like, we’re all jamming in the same room.

Rootfire: What did you learn through that process? That’s a very unique performing situation, where you’re not in the same room or on the same stage together.

Kailash: Since we needed the drum track to build everything off of, that taught me a little bit about overdubbing in the studio.

Rootfire: I know you’re a student of music. What’s your current focus of study? I know you’re into jazz, classical, and all sorts…what’s your focus outside of the reggae that we know?

Kailash: As a student, I’m studying jazz piano right now. Also, I explore many different world music genres. My dad has exposed me to a lot of different interpretations of music from all over the world. He would show me, and then I would listen to it a bit on my own time.

I do enjoy exploring these different types of music and just finding out as much as I can about each different one.

Rootfire: Are there any other instruments that you want to play?

Kailash: As a student of music, I’m concentrating on keyboards and vocals, but in the studio, I play drums. I can play a little bit of guitar…I play a bit of everything.

Rootfire: Music is a powerful force. It can impact people in good and bad ways. Do you have any thoughts on why it’s so powerful? It’s a big part of your life.

Kailash: Music connects with people and resonates with people on a deeper level than if someone were just talking to you, like spoken word or writing in a book. Music captivates the person in a deeper way, and people have used this, putting messages into the music because more people will hear them than if they wrote a book about what they were trying to say.

Putting it to music makes it more effective. It just resonates with people better. My dad (Mark Brumwell) always says that musicians are real-life magicians.

Rootfire: Do you know where your own inspiration to create stems from? What makes you want to create music versus anything else you might spend your time doing?

Kailash: For me, I have a lot of different reasons. Like I said in the last question, music resonates with people. That also applies to making music. It resonates with me on a deeper level than, say… going outside and playing a sport. Not to say that playing sports is not enjoyable, but I find a lot of joy in making music.

It also lets me be creative, in my own way…in a way that not many other activities tend to give me that feeling of.

Rootfire: I want to touch on some of your recent stage experiences. It must be an awesome feeling to hit the stage with people like Don Carlos and then Anthony B., most recently. I know your thoughts in those moments are running quickly, but can you describe your thoughts when you’re up there? You look out and see all of those people, and there are legends/foundation artists beside you.

Kailash: Don Carlos and Anthony B. are very kind and very sweet people, and it’s always a joy to be around them, whether on stage, backstage, or wherever. They give off this really sweet, radiant energy.

I have to say, it has been very surreal, being on these big stages. In the moment, I tend to not focus on how many people there are in the crowd, but looking back at the video footage, it’s like, “Wow! Did I just do that?”  I guess in the moment, I don’t really focus on those details, like the size of the crowd.

Rootfire: Similarly, what about when you took the stage for your own set recently – the main stage at Reggae on the River? Did you have any memorable thoughts when you were up there?

Kailash: Taking the stage with my own band and playing my own set, in my opinion, is right up there with playing and singing on stage with these foundation people. I put a lot of effort into these songs, and to be able to go out onto that stage and share that music with all of the people in the audience is an amazing feeling.

Rootfire: Let’s talk about your album that came out last year, Across the Ocean. I have the album on vinyl, and it’s a powerful release. How did it feel to have your album pressed and to hold it in your hand?

Kailash: I am a huge vinyl head. I love collecting old, rare reggae vinyl – all reggae vinyl – I just enjoy having it. To be able to have my own album right in the collection…to see a tangible result of all the work that went into the music really gives me a sense of satisfaction, deep inside myself.

Rootfire: Enjoy it, man – it’s impressive! First album out – enjoy those moments, for sure.

I like the album, a lot. One of my favorite tracks is “Heathen.” The title track is also great. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I love the works of Vaughn Benjamin (Midnite / Akea Beka). “Heathen” has this slow trod to it; am I hearing his style in there as an inspiration?

Kailash: Yes, Vaughn is definitely there, within that music. Some of the musicians who played on the album played with Vaughn, or in his circle.

For me, my style that I feel describes me and my creativity. You can hear on “King David” – where I start mixing lyrical flow with melodic lines. Vaughn is definitely someone who did a lot of that; there’s definitely his inspiration there.

Rootfire: Original material must open new doors. Are people reaching out differently than they did prior to the album’s release?

Kailash: There’s no way I would have secured my own spot, under my own name, at Reggae on the River, if it weren’t for this album. I probably wouldn’t even have been at Reggae on the River, if it weren’t for this album.

Rootfire: Do you have any new music or projects in the works, that you want people to know about?

Kailash: There’s definitely a lot of new music that’s going to be coming out soon. I have a track, called “Ke Mosotho,” which is a song that I sing in the African language, Sesotho. The language is native to my family. It is being released on digital platforms on Friday, September 20th; it’s actually going to be mixed and engineered by Scientist.

Rootfire: That’s massive!

Kailash: THE Scientist! We’re collaborating with him on that, as well as some other future projects. I met him at a show in the Mojave Desert; I actually performed with him. He invited me to grab the mic and perform on his set.

He has given me a lot of facts and advice on mixing. His history with mixing, his history with reggae…he has an extensive history with being in there with the foundation guys, like Junjo, and mixing all of those Roots Radics dub albums in the early ‘80s… he’s been in the business for a long time.

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Rootfire: Yeah – he’s legend.

Kailash: Being able to collaborate with him and talk with him – I have really enjoyed that.

Rootfire: How do you collaborate with and get advice from Scientist, when you’re communicating? Is it phone, video sessions, emails?

Kailash: All of the stuff that you mentioned. Also, on October 25^th and 26^th, I’m doing two shows with him at Great American Music Hall, in San Francisco.

Rootfire: Will he be dubbing while you’re on the mic?

Kailash: Yes – I’ll be on the mic; he’ll be dubbing. Also, I’ll be doing the shows with him and Sister Nancy.

Rootfire: Very cool. I need to move out west; we don’t get all of that out here in Virginia. We get a taste, but you all get everything.

The song you mentioned (“Ke Mosotho”), what does the name mean?

Kailash: It translates to “I am a Mosotho.” A Mosotho is the term that people in Lesotho use. Lesotho is a country in the southern part of Africa. Mosotho is the people. Sesotho is the language they speak.

Rootfire: Have you absorbed much music from that region of the continent?

Kailash: I have listened to and borrowed some elements from the music of people like Fela Kuti and Thomas Mapfumo, to name a few.

Rootfire: Do you aspire to release music in other genres? Do you see a jazz album, followed by a reggae album, followed by who knows what?

Kailash: At this point, who knows? There’s really no telling, as far as what my future holds. I am working on reggae material that is going to come out soon. Past that, who knows?

Rootfire: You may have a similar answer to this question. Imagine yourself in five years. You’re 18; you’re out of high school. Do you know where you hope to be, as an artist? Can you see yourself there, yet?

Kailash: There’s no telling what I’ll be doing in that time. I do really hope to (and I think I will – I have a good feeling that I will) have a closer connection to music – having learned more, studied more, and gotten to better know music, as a whole, and developed a deeper relationship with the music.

Rootfire: You have an in-house production company called Nachiketa Productions. Would you like to speak about the goals and philosophy of the company?

Kailash: We made Nachiketa as a production company and record label because we’ve heard all the stories about big record labels and the relationship between them and the artists.

Rootfire: Do you plan to work with other artists through that label?

Kailash: Yes, I do. Some of the three biggest reggae singers, Sugar Minott, Gregory Isaacs, and Dennis Brown – I always use them as examples because, besides being artists and singers, they all ran their own record labels and production companies. Sugar had Youth Promotion, Gregory Isaacs had African Museum, and Dennis Brown had D.E.B. Music. Through those labels, they helped to release other artists’ music.

I hope to do the same.

Rootfire: Is there anything you want people to know that you haven’t had the opportunity to speak about here?

Kailash: Just, stay tuned for those Scientist collaborations.

I would also like to say “Thank you” to everybody.

I cannot thank you enough for all of the support that you’ve been giving, whether it’s getting booked for shows, or buying the album, merch, or whatever – every single bit of that counts. So, thank you.

And to you, thanks for taking the time to ask me these questions.

Rootfire: Thank you back, brother. I mean, it’s an honor. We only get to hear and see a few powerful artists in a lifetime. I’m gonna keep watching what you’re doing. You’re doing good works; I see it already.