On Friday night, I stopped by Killer Kaya’s living room practice space in South Austin to get to know the band—and to drink Lone Star beer. The psych-rock group has just released a new album, Killer Kaya Live at Wall of Fog, their first since three of five members moved from Santa Barbara to Austin in 2023. After years of long drives just to play shows, they finally found a home where their music can thrive.
“We were about six hours away from San Francisco, the closest scene for our music, so we were traveling six hours frequently to play,” guitarist and keyboardist Zach Rengert explains. “We were also halfway between LA and San Francisco, so a lot of bands would make the stop between those two cities, and we would host them.”
Killer Kaya often passed through Austin on tour, and the scene here always appealed to them. After a while, they realized they had more friends in Austin than in Santa Barbara. So, after nearly a decade there, Zach, along with vocalist Apoorva Chiplunkar and drummer Justin Kass, made the move.
“We were getting really tired of traveling just to play,” Zach continues. “We wanted to live in a place where we can gig conveniently and where people are receptive to our style of music.”
Soon, they linked up with bassist Peter Legasy and guitarist George Fox, completing the current Killer Kaya lineup. Their first shows together happened during SXSW 2024, and they recently wrapped up a December residency at Hotel Vegas.
Killer Kaya Live at Wall of Fog
Recorded live in-studio with Xavier Juarez and filmed by Nick Kwasny, the album highlights the psych-rock sound that Killer Kaya has cultivated with their new lineup—an eclectic blend of cultural influences and progressive rock that gives the band a unique, expressive edge.
The band also credits Levi Murray, a longtime friend who helped introduce them to Austin’s music scene, and John French, who cut the album to vinyl. Inspired by KEXP’s iconic live-in-studio series but created with local collaborators, the live album represents the collaborative, DIY ethos at the core of the band.
“We did the whole set three times and chose our favorite version of each song,” Zach explains.
All the songs on Live at Wall of Fog are previously unreleased, with most being written by the current lineup. I saw some of the band’s collaborative songwriting style firsthand as they workshopped new material during rehearsal.
The Sum is Greater than the Parts
“Everyone plays multiple instruments, so we know a little bit of the language of relating ideas to one another,” Peter says.
They each bring their own ideas to the table, but instead of dictating or micromanaging, they experiment and let every member’s creativity shine.
“The songs we’ve written have been the result of a lot of trial and error,” Peter continues. “I like how open-minded everybody’s been, but also empowered to say, I don’t know if this is what the song is trying to become.“
“But let’s still experiment with it, just ’cause,” Justin adds.
“The sum is greater than the parts,” Zach says. “I really enjoy making music, but even more, I enjoy making music with other people. That back-and-forth is even more fun than just making music itself.”
“We can have an idea for a song, but we want everyone to have their own voice,” Justin says. “When they do, they’re inspired to be themselves and be comfortable, so we can all work through our quirks.”
Opera, Eastern Scales & Marathi Lyrics
One of the biggest things that sets Killer Kaya apart is Apoorva Chiplunkar’s voice. Not only is she classically trained—she has 12 years of opera and even longer in choir—but she’s also a first-generation Indian American who speaks fluent Marathi.
This album marks the first time she sings in Marathi, on a song called “The Princess and Her Tiger.”
“I’d never sung in Marathi before,” Apoorva says. “It was kind of scary, but that song made me feel really empowered. It’s been really cool to come full circle back to my heritage and culture.”
“Recently, we’ve been getting into more Eastern scales and non-traditional tunings,” Zach adds. “That opened up the vibe that made sense for writing that song. And moving from the beach to Central Texas brought a more arid feel, so these alternative scales seemed natural.”
Austin: A Perfect Fit
The move to Austin brought many changes for Killer Kaya, and you can hear it in their evolving sound. Previous albums such as Tunnel at the End of the Light leaned more heavily into bombastic, progressive elements, while Live at Wall of Fog feels more danceable and digestible—yet still retains an avant-garde edge, balancing hypnotic grooves, swirling guitars, and Apoorva’s dynamic vocal style.
“We have this Bedouin, desert nomadic vibe to some of the songs,” Apoorva says. “A sense of vastness, nothingness, and space. We also moved, so there’s all this change, transition, the unknown, and this theme of resilience and overcoming things.”
She also credits ’60s Bollywood as a major influence—something she initially resisted bringing into the band.
“My mother’s a singer, my grandmother’s a singer,” she continues. “My mother hated anything modern—just a real vintage gal. I grew up on that ’60s Bollywood vibe, and for years, I was like, ‘No, I’m not going to bring this into the band.’ Then it just happened. Now it’s a wonderful thing to be able to own that and feel excited about it.”
Austin, it seems, has given the band both a new home and a fresh creative spark.
“When I first came here, I was blown away by how much people love rock and roll and how sacred rock and roll feels here,” Apoorva says. “People are excited about music, engaged, and supportive. I feel like our sound has really found its home here.”
“The average audience member in Austin is one of the highest caliber in the world,” Zach adds.
“We’re not used to people being at our shows or telling us they like it,” Justin says.
“I knew 10 years ago that I’d end up in Austin,” Apoorva says. “It wasn’t the time to move then, but now we’re doing it. And it feels great.”
Killer Kaya will celebrate the release of Live at Wall of Fog tonight at Hotel Vegas with Los Alcos and Temple of Love. Show starts at 9 p.m.