It's Alright
Norwegian six-piece, Kid Astray, don’t represent a single genre but rather a distinct state of mind–one of youthful energy. Through a string of singles, the up ‘n coming band have shown us everything from indie rock on tracks like “No Easy Way Out” to Passion Pit-inspired electro pop like “Still Chasing Nothing.” Their latest single, “It’s Alright,” lands squarely in the center of that spectrum mixing airy guitar-driven verses with an undeniably catchy chorus powered by an addicting electronic melody. That juxtaposition is one they masterfully toy with, reimagining and transitioning between different styles all within one track. We had a chance to chat with a few members of Kid Astray–get to know them below and give their infectious latest single a spin above. Kid Astray’s debut album drops this June!
TMN: Thanks for taking the time to answer some questions! Starting from the beginning, can you tell us how you all first joined forces and the story behind the first song you all wrote together?
Jakob: No problem! We are currently stuck in our rehearsal space, preparing for our upcoming scandinavian tour, so it’s nice taking a short break. And talking about ourselves, haha.
We first met back in high school, where we were all studying music. Everyone but Even and myself knew each other from secondary school, and had already been playing together. Personally, I didn’t know anyone else on the school, but I really wanted to play in a band. I just played with anyone who wanted to play with me. I was the only drummer in our class, so Benjamin and Elizabeth didn’t really have many people to choose from, haha. We had our first rehearsal the same day we met. We played our first show after one week, playing cover songs. The first track we wrote was called ‘Eternal Gifts’ and was written in our rehearsal space at the time, Benjamin’s basement. That song is very different from what we do now, it’s pretty much a guitar based rock track without any synths. It’s still a bit nostalgic thinking about the song, since it was the track that earned us our first manager. Who knows, maybe we will use the core from the track again in the future!
TMN: Who were some of the artists you listened to growing up that you feel have inspired your sound?
Benjamin: Michael Jackson has been a huge inspiration! As a child I learned all the dances and songs by watching the videos and live DVDs. I have definitely brought elements from him into the KA sound. For example the pluck funk guitar. My whole family is a bunch of musicians, so it’s hard to name some specific artists. It’s everything from jazz and synthpop from the 80s to mums punkband! It’s all a part off our sound in a way.
TMN:Kid Astray has more members than most contemporary bands. How do you all approach studio time and how does that collaboration process work? Does it make things easier? more difficult?
Alex: There are definitely up-sides and down-sides of being six people. Traveling becomes more expensive, but also becomes more fun. Cause we’re six good friends, so we’re never bored! And even though we’re unusually many people, we’ve got more than enough to do on stage. We even have to be multi-instrumentalists to successfully get through the new album. The studio part of things works very well. We have our little mastermind Benjamin who starts on an idea, and then we all kinda get together and finish it off. I’m not really sure if things are simpler or more difficult, cause it’s the only way we know. But it definitely gives a lot of variety since so many of us have different musical preferences.
TMN: We’ve already heard a variety of styles from indie rock to electro pop on your previous singles. What’s a new sound or direction we can expect to hear on your upcoming debut album?
Håkon: The album reflects the development we’ve had the past two years, so it felt natural to have the variety in styles that we’ve been through as well as those new songs which are slightly gritty and edgy but still cool and catchy. Putting the new songs into a category or style is of course very hard though.
TMN: What have been the most challenging and rewarding parts of your journey as young musicians thus far?
TMN: Your videos do such a great job of capturing the youthful spirit of your music. What’s your approach when putting together visuals and how involved is the band in that process?
Even: Thanks! For us, the approach has been to make the visuals match the mood of the music. We’ve been lucky to work with some talented directors and designers the past years, and whilst we’re always involved in cherry picking ideas and concepts, they deserve the credit. Liz Harry, who did the album art for “Home Before the Dark”, did an amazing job in capturing the pop vibe and spirit, I think. Loads of love coming her way. We haven’t released any videos for the album yet, but there is in fact new stuff being filmed over in NY as we speak. We’re all mega stoked about showing you, so keep an eye out!
TMN: Who are some other contemporary Norwegian artists we should check out?
We’re currently staying in a studio collective in Sandvika, with many other artists and bands. Amongst them are Coucheron and Frøder – you should definitely check them out. You should also check out Emilie Nicolas (you might actually have heard her already, but we’re going to mention her anyway. She’s amazing).
TMN: If an extraterrestrial came down to earth and asked you what music was, what song would you play for them?
Jakob: I would probably play them «Life is a Rollercoaster» by Ronan Keating, hoping that they will leave us alone and don’t murder us all. On the other hand, that might be a good reason for murdering us anyway, so I guess I don’t know what to do.
TMN: Any thing else coming up that you want to let fans know about?
The album is out 15th go June, and we’re coming for you! We’re going to break your dancing muscles.
