Louis the Child –Interview

Written and Photographed by Bailey Wort

On producing, writing, and their passion for music, this is: Louis The Child.

Impulse Magazine’s Bailey Wort caught up with Robert Hauldren and Frederic Kennett of the production-duo Louis The Child in anticipation for their third annual Friendsgiving show in Chicago, Illinois’ Aragon Ballroom. Here are the highlights.

BW: Describe the lifecycle of one of your songs.

LTC: Every song is pretty different. It will usually start with either something that we make randomly at home or on the bus or in a hotel room. [Other times] we have a day booked out at a studio with another artist to make a song, so we start something with [the artist] right then and there. [Occasionally, we’ll] make something ahead of time and then we meet up with an artist and play them a couple beats [and they like it, so we’ll go with it] Then we write to [the beat] and keep developing the song. Every song is totally different. It always just starts with some kind of production idea or some little drum group or some little loop of a synth or something.

BW: Do you typically start with the conceptual aspects of a song or a beat?

LTC: Any of those things. It can start with a concept, or a lyric, or a melody idea. [Possibly] a string line, or something [along those lines]. We don’t start with the same thing every single time. It’s really whatever feels right at the time. Then we build around a cool aspect of the song and then try to make the [rest of the song fit around it].

BW: Obviously, you’re the brains behind the beat. How involved are you on the lyrical side of your songs?

LTC: We definitely enjoy writing a good amount. Also, we make sure that the song concepts are something that we [believe in], or something that we think could help someone in the world or [a concept that someone can] connect with. It also does depend on the artist. There are some people who are insanely good writers and you [just have to let them take over]. They nail it. It all depends. We definitely do like to have a hand in the lyric writing to make sure that it’s something that we believe in and it’s something that we can stand behind.

BW: What was your favorite song to produce off of your new EP Kids At Play?

LTC: Oh Baby was really fun to produce, just because of how crazy it is. There is so much going on, because of the drop and everything. LOVE was really fun to produce and it came together really quickly. [However,] Better Not is my favorite, because of what the song has turned into and how loud people sing all of the lyrics. Seeing [the crowd] go so crazy to the drop at the shows is unreal. Everyone felt this really awesome energy in the room while we wrote it with Wafia. Everything came together so naturally. [When we were in the studio, we all said] ‘Oh my god, this song is so good. We love this’. We couldn’t stop listening to it.

BW: I know you’re both from the Chicago Area. You’ll be coming home to play there this Friday. Can you describe what it is like to play in Chicago?

LTC: It’s awesome. It’s definitely something that we get more excited for. This will be the third year in a row where we’re playing in Chicago the day after Thanksgiving. This is the second time that we’re calling [the post-Thanksgiving show] “Friendsgiving” and [playing it] at the Aragon ballroom. What’s really cool about [this show in particular] is that [it is right after] Thanksgiving, so all of our families are in town and it’s the show that all of the extended family gets to come to. You get [to bring] your aunts and uncles, and your grandparents, and all of your hometown friends. It’s the show that your hometown and your family gets to [experience]. It’s always a fun show where we get to show all of these people what we’ve been doing, what we’ve been working on, and how we’ve progressed. It’s crazy to be able to play a venue [as famous] the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago. We’ve both seen tons of shows there and grew up always wanting to play at certain venues in Chicago. The Aragon has always been one of those [venues] that [would be] a dream to play. It’s really crazy that we get to have our own show there. [Especially because] it’s the second year in a row that it’s sold out.

BW: What is your favorite show that you’ve seen at the Aragon?

LTC: That’s hard. We saw Worlds by Porter Robinson there. That was probably my favorite show I saw there. The Neighbourhood show was really good a while ago.

BW: What would you say the key to your success is?

LTC: Patience and dedication over a long period of time. Working [with a team towards] one common goal.

BW: What music are you guys currently into?

LTC: I’ve been listening to a lot of Lo-Fi House lately, been digging that. The new Joji album is pretty cool. The new Vince Staples album is really good. Sheck Wes. Phish is awesome. New Whethan is dope as well. Dominic Fike is crushin’ it. We’re always listening to new [music] and we have a very broad music taste so there’s typically no genre that we’re not listening to – except country. Don’t really like country.

BW: What keeps you both passionate about your work? What continues to excite you about music and wanting to create?

LTC: Just being alive. It’s what we do. This is who we are at this point. Making music is as normal for us as breathing or drinking water. Also, you never know what’s going to happen when you sit down at your laptop or when you go to the studio that day. [Who knows] what’s going to come out of that session or what’s going to come out of that day. You could write the greatest song you’ve ever written. We might end up writing the greatest song ever right after this.

Louis The Child’s music can be found on Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube.