The Kick releases intergalactic debut album '1+1'

THE KICK RELEASES INTERGALACTIC DEBUT ALBUM

1+1

LISTEN HERE | WATCH “I AM NO ONE” MUSIC VIDEO HERE

PRODUCER DUO CHARLIE ZIMAN & NATHAN TSUNODA 

REINVENTS PSYCH ROCK WITH FLARES OF ELECTRO POP, GARAGE PUNK AND GLITCHPOP

THROWBACK R&B FOCUS TRACK “PRICE2PAY” OUT NOW

Today, The Kick–producer duo consisting of Charlie Ziman (Malcolm Todd’s main producer) and Nathan Tsunoda–released their debut album 1+1 via AWAL Distribution. On 1+1, Ziman dialed down the poppier, more polished style he favors for his works with Malcolm Todd, sprinkled in the spirits of garage punk and indie sleaze. The result is an electro-pop forward record filled with breezy guitar riffs, spacey distortions and a signature California freshness contrasting the indie sleaze-grim. 

While Ziman & Malcolm Todd’s music dominates the charts, The Kick is asking for permission to chill. Ziman and Tsunoda grew up and reside in sunny West LA, and their Californian musical influences seamlessly weaved through their debut record. 1+1 can be witty, self-critical amidst its carefree, experimental, trippy production, it can also get indulgent, obsessive with elongated breakdowns and bubblegum pop aesthetic. Implied by the album title, things get extra and inquisitive on The Kick’s debut album. Driven by a sense of wonder and curiosity and a goal to have fun, 1+1 is both a nonchalant introduction and Ziman & Tsunoda’s dream to become a must-hear name in the late 2020s.  

Ziman remarked on the title of the record and the meaning behind it: “For starters, there are two of us. If you look deeper into the music, there are a lot of double tracks on the album. It just feels satisfying when I have two layers of vocal, or guitar. We are always subconsciously making things sound even, treating songs as if they are towers that can be layered, or maybe even like a pillared space.”

A subtle intergalactic theme weaves through 1+1: the album opener “Cosmo” transitions seamlessly into the record’s thesis statement track “I Am No One” with warped, distorted effects reminiscent  of vintage space movies; lead single “Wish 4” features a spacey breakdown alongside Ziman & Tsunoda’s effortless attempts at Casablancas-esque distorted vocals; “The Truth!” opens like radio statics you’d hear on midnight programs while you drive through the valley; then there’s “Halfway,” which features a breakdown that literally sounds like an echo from outer space. 

Another highlight of the record includes “Price2Pay,” one of the tracks on the project that takes on a more throwback R&B approach. The distorted production makes Ziman & Tsunoda’s voices sound like they are coming through an empty ballroom’s echoey speakers, while a metallic beat ushering time and space, moving the song along among sound effects that feel like disco light beams.

LISTEN TO 1+1

WATCH “I AM NO ONE” MUSIC VIDEO 

Single cover art [Download]

READ LINE OF BEST FIT EXCLUSIVE FEATURE

TRACK LIST

1. Cosmos

2. I Am No One

3. Mental Health Day

4. Wish 4

5. In The Stars (Interlude)

6. The Truth!

7. Myriad

8. Halfway

9. Wiretooth

10. Twisted 

11. Price2Pay 

12. You

13. Lil Song

14. Destroy My Life

BIO

You’ve heard Charlie Ziman before, but maybe you haven’t heard of him.

He’s the producer, mixer and co-writer behind some of Malcolm Todd’s biggest hits, including “Earrings,” the breakout single that earned the young rising star’s first #1 on the global Spotify chart. It may be just a bit too early to declare, but Ziman & Malcolm Todd’s music is quickly becoming the defining sound of the late 2020s. The Kick’s upcoming debut album 1+1 however, sees Ziman and his other best friend, Nathan Tsunoda, letting their inspirations and ideas run wild. 

Ziman and Tsunoda grew up and reside in sunny West LA, and their musical influences are undeniably Californian. From Sublime to Earth, Wind & Fire, Beach House to Tame Impala, if you are from the West Coast, the sound of psychedelic surf rock fills the wide boulevards and tucked away cul-de-sacs. For the Kick, Ziman dials down the poppier, more polished style he favors for his works with Malcolm, sprinkles in the spirit of garage punk and just enough of California’s freshness, in order to let the electro-pop flares shine. The result is a sound adjacent to the current indie sleaze revival blooming in New York City; but with their breezy guitar riffs, spacey distortions and a California-certified psych rock groove, The Kick brings a freshness to the griminess of indie sleaze. 

“We never really meant to dig into the whole indie sleaze thing,” said Ziman, “I’m also not in New York. I think people are actually having a lot of fun there, (indie sleaze) is a fun genre of music. Like any genre, there’s a lot of people trying to do exactly the thing that The Strokes and other artists did 20 years ago; to that I ask, why? I think you should do that and put a twist on it, and mesh it into your own thing.”

The album’s lead single, “Wish 4” shows off Ziman and Tsunoda’s production and composition chops by subtly giving nods to some of the duos’ inspirations. The Casablancas-style distorted vocal is dressed with a minimally reverbed drum beat and sunny guitar riffs. Contrasting the brightness on the first part of the track, “Wish 4” eventually descends into a whirlwind breakdown. Done by putting the entire track with all its instruments through a single modulation tool, the song’s extended outro/bridge becomes crunchy, trippy, or as Ziman would call it, “Intergalatic.” 

Like what the album title implied, there’s always something extra and additional to each track, a sense of wonder and curiosity that may not have permission to chart, but a permission to chill. You can feel them having fun on 1+1. Distorted vocals, elongated bridges and breakdowns, guitar solos that can only be the products of post-4am wild thoughts… “Oh my gosh, I get the sparks from everything,” said Ziman, “I get the sparks from… I don’t know, looking at a tree. Literally being near another human being can be very inspirational, or we go see a movie or something. Sometimes we would just leave the studio and thrive off the feeling of wanting to go back to the studio haha.” 

Jokingly, Ziman compares his collaboration with Malcolm Todd as the times when “the Bat-Signal is on.” For now, when the Bat-Signal is off, Ziman and Tsunoda are simply having fun. “I mean, I really want to have some songs that can be someone’s favorite song,” Ziman remarked on the album, “I think for Nathan too. It’s the best we can do, and we really pay a lot of attention to details in every song on this project. Hopefully, the record will become a classic in 20 years… These are my hopes. It’s really just the best I can do at this moment, and I’m proud of it.”

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