Q&A: Meet The KickDrums

Indie hop artists The KickDrums used to get their kicks mainly from producing and remixing the work of huge names like Adele, 50 Cent and Peter Bjorn and John. But then the Brooklyn-based duo, which consists of singer-songwriter Alex Fitts and DJ Matthew Penttila, decided to take a shot at crafting their own songs.

This summer, they followed several Coachella mixtapes and a 2009 EP, Just A Game, with their debut full-length Meet Your Ghost. Meet Your Ghost is layered with heavy drums and the artists’ vast range of influences melted down and poured over a hip hop base. They haven’t given up the producer’s seat, though, as Fitts recently explained to American Songwriter.

Tell us about how you formed. What made you stay together?

We joined forces after working in a recording studio together back home in Cleveland, Ohio. We’ve always had similar goals, so arguing is usually minimal. Not to say things don’t have to be talked out every once in a while.

When you remix music by artists like Adele, Ben Harper, 50 Cent, etc., how do you go about it? Do you have a guiding aesthetic?

Not really but I definitely try to incorporate more hip hop vibes if it’s a rock track and a more rock vibe if it’s a hip hop track. It’s fun to see how far you can get away from the original and still have the artist like it.

With all the different artists whose music you’ve worked on, how did The KickDrums’ own sound emerge?

It was a bit of a slow process. I started recording songs with my friend Daniel Weiss in his basement like three years ago just for fun and to try something different on the side. At that point it was all live instruments and didn’t sound anything like our hip hop shit. Meanwhile, The KickDrums as producers were cutting tracks with Kid Cudi and a bunch of rappers. At some point I was flipping a sample, making a hip hop beat and a light bulb went off in my head that maybe I could sing on it. So I lay down my ideas and played it for Matt and he was really diggin’ it. That’s when the two styles started to mess into one. It was cool stumbling upon that initial idea, because we were then able to make original songs that still sounded pretty close to what we were known for. From there, it just kept growing and growing.

Tell us about making your debut album. How did you decide what songs went on there?

A lot of work went into Meet Your Ghost. We started working on it about a year and a half ago, and a bunch of the songs didn’t make the cut, because we took the “less is more” approach to the final album. Most of the cutting room floor stuff ended up on our Ghost mixtape, so you can basically hear everything else if you download that. The final track list was kind of voted in by committee, but I think everyone agreed what the strongest songs were, so that part was easy.

What’s your songwriting process like?

My songwriting process is just a lot of time in the home studio messing with different sounds and ideas. It definitely takes more of a producer angle. Like, I don’t sit down with a guitar and write a song out. I mainly make a beat and then try to come up with cool changes and sound layers. After that, I’ll write the song itself. I think the trick to The KickDrums sound is actually playing all the stuff out, so you get a bit of that organic vibe. Otherwise it might sound too electronic

The music on the album blends indie-pop with hip hop undercurrents. Is that a challenge to pull off?

I think any blending of genres can be dangerous if you don’t have significant background in the areas you’re combining. For us, it was just a matter of working and weeding out what sounded good and what didn’t. I don’t think we were sitting down and trying to combine a bunch of stuff, though. It’s just sort of who we are.

As producers, you’ve had to figure out the artist’s vision and make that happen. What’s it like to have the tables turned?

It’s great [laughs]! Nothing’s better than crafting your own songs and then having other people coming in to help make them just right.

Is it more difficult producing your own work or producing other artists?

Both can be a lot of work and have their pros and cons. If I had to choose one that was most difficult, I’d say producing our own stuff just because it’s always really intricate.

How do you think you’ve progressed since your 2009 EP Just A Game?

The music has come a long way since then. Just A Game was mostly sample-based. This new album is sample-free. That was really important to me in a weird way. We both sample all the time and I love sampling, but I’ll listen to a Pink Floyd album or a Radiohead album and think to myself, “Wow, these guys played and recorded all of this! How could I even begin to get on their level if I can’t make an original album?” So it was a challenge to myself. It’s different in hip hop though. Sampling is a part of the culture and a respected art form.

You’ve gotten a lot of positive response from critics. What’s the response at live shows?

It’s been really good. It’s cool – we can play a lot of different kinds of shows because our sound can fit in almost anywhere. We did a show for the rock station 101.9 here in New York last week and all those guys loved it. I was a bit nervous because again, coming from a hip hop/producer background, and I want to prove to people that we can hang with really good rock bands onstage. It’s the final piece for us, because we already have a lot of support from the hip hop crowd.

Your sound is pretty intricate. What sort of digital tools do you like to use?

I use Pro Tools with Waves plug-ins. Tilla uses Ableton, mostly.

Who are some of your big influences?

Our main influences are Pink Floyd, Nirvana, Wu-tang, The Beatles, The Cars, Trent Reznor, Three 6 Mafia, Tool, Sublime, UGK, Dr. Dre, DJ Premier, Flaming Lips and Outkast.

What artists would you like to collaborate with in the future?

I would love to possibly collaborate with Trent Reznor, Beck, maybe Sia from Zero 7? Those would all be sick. I wish Al Green were alive. That would be the ultimate.