Kidi Band
Today, Kidi Band shared their long-awaited second album, So Good. If you’re a millennial of a certain age, the sound of the Los Angeles-based quartet may trigger flashbacks to the late aughts. I’m particularly reminded of summer days spent basking in the glow of the hot sun while Merriweather Post Pavilion and Bitte Orca shuffled through my IPod headphones. Those two 2009 releases are a good reference point for the band’s sound, as it’s quite colorful, placing a similarly strong emphasis on angelic, multi-layered harmonies, complex rhythms, and lyrics that explore existential questions. All members of Kidi Band sing, making the harmonies particularly infectious and deep, and three of four members handle percussion duties, adding a unique beat-driven, World-music vibe to their songs.
On the heels of the release of So Good, we caught up with Kidi Band via e-mail to talk about the album and more:
How’d this project start? Have you collaborated on other projects together previously? What other projects are you currently involved with?
We all attended CalArts at the same time and became friends there. Before Kidi Band, Steven and Linnea were in a band called Aquadeer. Cooper and Steven have a duo project called Stoop. Steven is also in a band called Fell Runner, Linnea is in a project called Stone Fruit Trio, and each of us also have our own solo projects. Kidi Band started when the four of us first collaborated on arranging "After It All Falls Down," one of Steven's songs from our first album Gimme Gimme. We got hooked on weaving hockety polyrhythms into songs.
Your songwriting and recording process seems to be a highly collaborative based on the nature of your music. How’d the pandemic impact that? How do you approach songwriting as a group, since you all contributed songs to this record?
When we individually bring songs to the group, we bring them as skeletons to be fleshed out. A guitar part or bass line with some lyrics and melody, maybe with a couple of groove ideas, which the writer teaches to the rest of the band so all four of us can jam on it until we like how things are sounding. If we have musical disagreements sometimes we will analyze what's happening theoretically and then try everyone's idea until the best one becomes clear. This group improvisational arranging all happens in person, so we have not really been able to make music together during the pandemic.
The harmonies on this record are gorgeous and there’s so much happening sonically on each song. I’m curious, how fleshed out are your songs before you actually start recording them? It seems like there’s probably a degree of improvisation.
We arrange all our songs thoroughly in rehearsal so that we can play live. There is some amount of melodic flexibility and play, particularly with the higher voices, and in the percussion we often play with embellishments, but essentially everything is set.
What was it like recording this record with Pete Min at Lucy’s Meat Market? Was the recording process quick or long?
We only had a few long days in the studio! Pete is so great and it was tons of fun! Plus that space is super nice and creativity-inducing.
It’s been about five years since the release of your debut record, Gimme Gimme. What’s changed for the band during that time? How do you think, So Good, reflects your growth musically and personally?
Since releasing Gimme Gimme our writing and arranging has leaned harder into contrast, groove, density, and instances of abrasiveness. We like to push our songs into true fullness, perhaps more alertness, and keep our listeners on their toes, hopefully dancing...
What was your mindset when you started making this record in terms of how you wanted it to sound? Did you have a vision from the outset or did it come together as you moved along in the process?
Our first record, Gimme Gimme, had a very live feel and we intentionally captured and maintained the "roominess" of the recordings. In So Good we played much more with the production and post-production to see what we, along with our engineer Pete Min and mixer Theo Karon, could create; to see what fullness and character could be brought out in the recordings, distinct from our live performances.
I love “Free Will,” and the existential questions that it dives into. The record’s first single, “Mary (Merry),” and “50/50,” also seem to dive into similar themes with respect to the fleeting nature of life. Was there anything in particular that inspired you to explore these themes and questions on the record?
Well, we were all in our early to mid-twenties when we wrote those songs, and were experiencing many moments of intense transition. That kind of atmosphere leads to all sorts of existential thought!
What songs are you most looking forward to playing live?
We'll answer individually! Linnea: "Treehouse Kid." Cari: "Man of Endless Motion." Cooper: probably "Go On" (cuz he gets to wail). Steven: "Mary (Merry)."
Do you each have a favorite song on the record?
Linnea: "Mary (Merry)" and "Ingomar." Cari: Impossible to say, depends on the day! Cooper: if he MUST choose, "50/50." Steven: "So Good."
You can purchase So Good via Bandcamp. The album is also available on all streaming platforms. Keep up with the band by following them on Instagram and liking them on Facebook.
