Karmaloop linked up with the Cleveland to Brooklyn-based indie-pop duo The KickDrums to discuss their debut full-length album ‘Meet Your Ghost’ which drops June 28. The album, which features co-production from Alan Wilkis, will have nine songs that contains a mix of rock and a hint of hip hop. See for yourself what they have to say about the upcoming album and much more.
Continue reading for the interview and
click here to download the mixtape.
What I love about you guys is that you each have your own unique role in The Kickdrums, how did each of you fall into these roles?
Well, at one point all we did was work on beats but that’s kinda evolved over time. I’ve always been solely about the music and Tilla was always about a lot of different stuff like drawing, djing, beat making etc. I guess i give the backbone to the music. That’s always been my forte. Matt fills in all the gaps so the ship stays afloat as well as working on music. When i started really diving into the original sound and singing he supported me and when he got heavy into djing and making mixtapes and i supported him. It just made sense. If we didn’t work as a team we wouldn’t have the opportunities we have now.
You both met in Cleveland, what is your opinion on the Cleveland music scene right now and how has it changed in the past few years (for better or for worse)?
CLE has always had a great crop of artists! You have Mick Boogie & Terry urban, Kid Cudi, MGK, Chip, Dj EV, The Black Keys, etc. I’d put that up against any scene in the country. I think its only getting better. As more barriers get broken down and people really start realizing that its totally possible to be a successful artist from there even though we don’t have the same resources as a NYC or L.A.
What sets you guys apart from other groups of artists?
I think we have a sound that’s all our own. We live in the underground but our songs can still show up on the radio. With our back round as producers we approach music in a way where there’s a lot of creative possibilities. I’ve always said we’re sorta like a combination of the Velvet underground and Dj Premier.
How did your collab with Machine Gun Kelly on his song Stereo off of Lace Up come about?
I actually reached out to him on twitter sometime last summer. Being in NYC i wasn’t fully aware of the buzz he had back in Cleveland i just heard his track “Alice in Wonderland” and thought it would be dope to make a song together. I had been messing around with the concept of being a dude “trapped in boom box or stereo” for a few years. I’ve always kinda felt that way. Like, I’m just a guy living in your stereo. I thought he killed that idea perfectly in his verses!
What is your favorite record you put together for another group?
My personal favorite right now is the Linkin’ Park remix we did for their song “Waiting For The End”. We freaked the song into kind of a beatle-ish sound with live strings but still gave it a hard break beat so it sounds like raw hip hop. Chester’s vox are amazing on that track!
What are you all most proud of in your career right now and what do you hope to accomplish?
I’m proud of the facts that were getting spins on the rock station 101.9 here in NYC now. That’s a HUGE accomplishment for us. When you start out as producers people are always hesitant to except you as a credible artists. We worked hard to get through that transition period. PLUS it’s a completely different genre. Now we’ve gotten spins on Hot 97 and 101.9 RXP. I doubt there are many people who can say that. In the future I just wanna continue to break new boundaries music and business wise. Not relying on a conventional ‘sound’ or conventional label tactics to be successful.
What is next for your guys and what are you working on right now?
Right now we’re doing a lot of shows and prepping to release “Meet Your Ghost” on June 28th. We have an exclusive mixtape coming out with livemixtapes on June 6th that we’re really stoked on. We did a few songs with MGK for his album. People always hit us up for beats so we try and stay on top of that too. It’s a lot but we love to stay busy!
How does the album show the growth of your sound in comparison to the exclusive mixtape you dropped just yesterday?
The Ghost Mixtape is a bridge between our last independently released album Just a Game and our first label release, Meet Your Ghost. It represents a year and a half of collaborations and experimentation. The mixtape goes in a lot of different directions, while the album is more of a focused effort. We feel Meet Your Ghost is truly our best foot forward while the mixtape is just a teaser to prepare fans for the album.
For more on them check out their Web site TheKickDrums.com, Facebook and Twitter!
Via Karmaloop
