Kiefer, whose real name is Kiefer Shackleford, is an American pianist and record producer from Los Angeles, California.^[1]

Kiefer began playing piano as a child and producing beats when he was twelve.

His father was a New Orleans-style blues pianist with a love for Miles Davis and John Coltrane. He also has a sister and brother with musical talent.In an interview with Bandcamp, Kiefer spoke about his early days playing the piano: ^[11]

"I remember the first song I ever learned how to play was a song me and my sister made up called "The Haunted House Song."

My job was to play two notes: an E-flat and a D-flat, and her job was to play three-notes: a G-flat, a G and an A-flat.We’d

play them at the same time just to make noise, and it was scary-sounding. I

also remember my dad taught me how to play ‘Blue Monk’ by Thelonious Monk. I was really little—I must’ve been four or five. He also taught me how to play boogie-woogie stuff and blues-style piano when I was really young."

He moved from San Diego to Los Angeles and was an understudy to jazz guitarist Kenny Burrell as well as flutist James Newton and pianist Tamir Hendelmanat at UCLA’s Jazz Studies program. Kiefer actively studied Ethnomusicology with a concentration in jazz studies. His style sprang to life when he began applying what he was learning at school to the beats he was making as a hobby. He has played with Mndsgn, Jonah Levine, Terrace Martin, Moses Sumney and others.He used to frequent LA's popular Low End Theory club, and saw Anderson Paak perform as Breezy Lovejoy.

Kiefer released his debut album,* Kickinit Alone*, on Leaving Records last year, which netted him a Best Jazz Album nomination from A2IM.He followed it up with an album called* Happysad* that was released on Stones Throw Records and inspired by Herbie Hancock, Bill Evans, Karriem Riggins, Knxwledge, among others.In 2019, Kiefer released his EP,* Bridges*.^[2]

Kiefer explained his musical process in a Passion of the Weiss interview: ^[3]

"I make two or three beats on any given day and it usually takes me thirty minutes to get the basic idea of a beat done, and then I put it away.Then,

maybe a week or so goes by, and if I want to develop it a little more, I’ll go back and add a piano solo and a bunch of other layers.Then, I’ll

put it away again, and at the end of the year, I have a couple hundred beats and I can just find my favorite twelve or so and turn it into an album."

Genius.com