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We recently had the opportunity to catch up with emerging L.A. duo known as That Kid Is You. If this is your first introduction to the world of TKIY, then we are super excited for you to start that journey. These dudes have been busy creating really dope music for a few years and they produce the best visual content to accompany it. Living together in Encino, Paul and JC craft a truly unique sound that is a sonic trail mix of different vibes that are just the best! No other way to put it folks. Check out our interview with the guys below and be sure to to follow them and stream their latest EP on Spotify here!
Hey guys, thanks so much for taking the time to chat.
Paul: Yo
JC: Hola!
For those just discovering your music for the first time, how would you best describe your sound?
Paul: Someone once commented on our video “two plus two equals five… it doesn’t make sense but it sounds cool.” Sometimes we say that. But basically it sounds like nothing else, but at the same time it sounds like everything else.
Where are you both originally from?
Paul: I’m from Chicago
JC: I was born in Panama. I moved to South Georgia when I was young, so that’s why I sound like a gringo.
When it comes to the early beginnings of this creative collaboration, what were some of the moments that led up to you making music together and realizing there was something there?
Paul: We met in Orlando Florida at a freestyle open mic night. I was the drummer in the house band and JC would host and freestyle.
JC: Yeah and we’ve lived together a lot and are always just making music in Paul’s bedroom and then one day we just kinda got serious about it.
What sort of music did you guys listen to growing up? What were some of those early influences?
JC: Jesus Christ the earliest references for me are gonna be Shania Twain and Gloria Estefan. I know Shania’s whole first album. “Who’s bed have your boots been under, and who’s do I wonder” That’s a Shania bop boy. We should cover that song.
Paul: Let’s do it. For me, my dad loved the British Invasion and my mom loved Earth Wind and Fire, I like Fela Kuti and The Flaming Lips.
What’s the writing and recording process usually look like?
Paul: We just kind of throw paint at a wall and piece it together into something. There’s rarely any sort of plan or outline or anything before we start recording.
JC: Yeah we’ve been recording an album in Buenos Aires with this producer and now really good friend of ours, Nico Kalwil. We went to Argentina with nothing written and just went into the studio and started recording.
Paul: Yeah and luckily Nico is crazier than we are. He produced a lot of Coco Rosie’s music, so he’s not afraid to experiment.
JC: Yeah he’s not afraid of anything. Like one of my favorite things, on the kid aspect, no matter who’s in the room when we’re recording, we’re probably gonna have them do something. A lot of people on our records are recording or playing an instrument for the first time. We recorded our Nico’s 14 year old daughter Maia and it was her first time ever and she’s amazing.
I always love to learn about what type of equipment or unique ideas artists have when it comes to the technical side of the recording process. Any favorite gear or techniques that you like to use?
Paul: I amplify and bit crush shit a lot. I also like a lot of vocal and percussion layers. Like some Paul Simon shit.
JC: I love sampling the shit out of something then putting it into a synth that has a different sound and see how it tweaks the sample. That’s fun as hell.
You have some pretty amazing music videos! Where do the ideas come from and do you ever get the video idea as you’re creating the song?
JC: In a sense, music videos are like songs to me. I’ll go out and see or hear something and it’ll just come to me. It’s like telling a song with little pictures.
Paul: We produce our own music videos. We usually just rent or borrow a camera, have a cool concept and figure it out as we go.
Are there any specific venues or festivals that you guys hope to play one day?
Paul: Tanquerey’s in Orlando Florida.
JC: The White House living room. Cus I love living room parties, but if we get to the stature that they let us do that, that’s when we’ve made it.
With Summer approaching quickly, what else is on the horizon for TKIY? When can fans hear some new tracks?
Paul: So we’re actually working on a lot of music. We have two self-produced albums in production and are also working on the Argentina project with Nico.
JC: We have a lot of music videos coming too and we’re also working on a YouTube video series where we make tracks in Paul’s bedroom. Check the first one out here! We’re also really stoked for the upcoming video for a track off our EP which our cinematographer homie Carlos Veron is directing.
