14 minute read
Meet nicopop & Kyan Palmer
© Jonathan Benbaruk exclusively for On The Move
Kyan Palmer & Nicopop.
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© Jonathan Benbaruk exclusively for On The Move
Now this is a peculiar duo. Pop/RnB vocalist Kyan Palmer and electronic producer nicopop. joined forces and shared their musical influences to create flawless tracks. Combining emotive lyrics with upbeat and joyful, dancey production, they managed to be more than just another pop-dance duo. Whereas 2018 saw Kyan Palmer’s emergence as an impressive RnB talent, nicopop. has kept it low profile. With their new tracks «Antisocial Socialites» and «Headcase», Kyan Palmer and nicopop. are making their ways into the music industry. Let’s have a chat with Kyan Palmer and nicopop. before they make it to stardom!
On The Move: For those who don’t know you yet, can you tell us about your musical journey, as solo artists and in this common project?
Kyan Palmer: My name is Kyan Palmer. I didn’t get into music for a long time, I actually started working in the music business first. I knew that world as I worked in marketing at Republic. I went to school for marketing, started there, lived in New-York for a couple of years. And then put out my first song as a part of a college project, it was called «Burn Mona Lisa » and it kind of started my whole career. I did that for about two years and then, you know how things take a lot of time. As much as I learnt from there, I knew I had to leave and move to LA and to keep things going on a more professional level. My debut EP came out in October and now here we are.
nicopop.: My name is Nick but I go by the name nicopop. I started making music when I was 12. I was making hip-hop hits with these others kids in my class, in middle school. We had such a fun time. And then, I stayed up until 5 am every night in my parent’s basement, making beats and it kind of took over my life. That was the only thing I could do. My parents were very supportive, they were like «Do it! Go for it! Make music! You can go to college, as long as you get a degree, you can do whatever you want.» So I went to college and I moved to LA because I knew that was where music was. It’s nice because I got to be creative all the time and I was making fine art and music on the side. But then I graduated and I really wanted to do it full-time. So I took it on myself to find a manager and I’ve been releasing music for 5 years now. I decided to make nicopop. its own thing with a different sound. Something that reflects me and the music that I want to make. It took a long time to understand what kind of musician I wanted to be. I met Kyan a year ago and we put on sessions in my apartment. We knew each other so we just sat down and made a song. It took us four hours to make the first song. Everything happened really fast and it was an easy session, so we started working together a lot. We’ve been doing a lot of pitch songs for other artists. We did so many, like my Soundcloud has hundreds of pitch songs. It’s really hard to land a pitch right. There were so many songs that we loved that we just decided to put them out and release them, to see how people were reacting. We have a lot of singles coming out and we are working toward an album.
On The Move: Is your album the next step? Or do you prefer to release singles first?
Kyan Palmer: I’d love to just put out an album like in the old days. It’s like a whole thought. That way you can be way more artistic. But the way the industry works now in the streaming space, you need content that are more snackable. If you are going to listen to a whole album then congratulation for doing that. But once you put these songs out, they’re not new anymore. Even algorithmically, if you’re putting an album out, you can only use one focus track. So it’s actually a lot better if you’re putting a new single every single week and then end up making a playlist. Artist like Lauv have done that. It’s hard to be an album artist. It’s different for indie artist to put out an album, a body of work, have people ready for it. Indie artists/ pop artists need content and content, something to stick to and remember you by. It’s oversaturated.
On The Move: You have so many new music every single week that people don’t know what to listen to. They listen to big artists but after that, their attention span is very short, so when you don’t stand out in a way, and if you don’t find the right channel to showcase your music, especially when you have an album coming out, they don’t see your what you’re up too.
Kyan Palmer: So the more music you put out, the better your chances are at being seen.
nicopop.: We’re shooting for a lot of singles. A lot of them.
Kyan Palmer: We don’t know the number yet. Because we don’t stop making music, that’s the issue. We literally made a couple last week and we were like «this piece needs to be out!» It’s hard to wrap it up, and we don’t actually have to do it, so...
On The Move: I feel like, you can write tons of music but you need to be specific of which songs you are going to release.
© Jonathan Benbaruk exclusively for On The Move
nicopop.: You can release 800 tracks if you wrote 800. We want to make music for people and give them something they can enjoy. What we’ve been doing is making little playlists with possible singles to see what people like and see where we are in the music industry. It helps with making the decision of what songs we want to put out.
Kyan Palmer: It’s actually funny to see that people who work in the industry know the least about what a single should be. People that are just consuming music are the one who do.
On The Move: At the end of the day, it’s about the fans and they know what’s best. It’s a very good strategy to ask for opinion from listeners.
nicopop.: From the time you start making a song and the time it comes out, there are so many roadblocks. There are managers, lawyers, you have a label, you have so many opinions coming into the matter, we are just finding out what people want and what they like and we’re putting it out.
Kyan Palmer: Also, you can’t put out a song that you don’t like. You can’t make it if you don’t like it.
nicopop.: We had one song, we sent it around and I thought it was good and then they were like «I’m not feeling this one.» Now I listen to it and I know they were 100% right about it.
Kyan Palmer: It’s good not to rush it too. Once you have it, you can sit with it. If you can still listen to it after months, and if you still like it, that means it’s good.
On The Move: You were talking about your EP «Burn Mona Lisa» and Nick, you released different singles with different artists. What do you think your collaboration will bring to the music scene?
Kyan Palmer: To me, I think us collaborating opened my ears to different kinds of music. I was more lured toward that dark sound, this kind of trendy Spotify thing. Because it was the type of music I grew up with, pop music. When I started working with nicopop., I think I got exposed to a different kind of pop music. It’s almost like a throwback to really big pop songs in the past. When you’re going to go out to your friends, you’re going to listen to something that you’re going to dance to and drink to. And I know that on my own musical journey, I was definitely making music more for you to listen at home alone or drive in the car with the window down to. That’s where I was. That’s where our joint project comes in. My sound is so different from the «Burn Mona Lisa» era. I think that’s the one thing that can make you an artist, rather than just a writer. You can constantly develop into the sound that you want. The smartest people pick up what they get from other people along the way. If you’re doing what you ears want and you don’t listen to other things, you’re going to do the same song over and over again and it’s boring.
On The Move: If you listen to albums from people like Bruno Mars, you realize each of them is so different. He’s taking inspiration from his idols and everyone along the way. You cannot get stuck into one box and one genre and do the same thing over and over again.
nicopop.: My favorite thing is to see that my favorite artists and their albums show an evolution of sound. I listened to all of his albums today and he goes from so rock to a beautiful and pretty and easy listen. There is this huge arc. I want to be that type of artist. Whatever we’re doing now, it’s part of the journey and I’m sure like, 10 years down the line, we’ll be doing something totally different.
On The Move: What can you tell us about the latest single «Antisocial Socialites»?
Kyan Palmer: I love it. It’s very rare for me. It’s one of those songs we did a long time ago and I always liked it, as well as my friend. It’s a good change for me in my own artist journey. It’s the first pop banger that I’ve been a part of and I love it. It’s a commercially viable. At first I was really scared to do something like that because I think the stigma is to be this RnB trendy vibe type. But it is fun and I like it!
nicopop.: That’s why I like it. In music you tend to sit down and listen to a song, notice every details and pick up lyrics you like. That’s why «Antisocial Socialites» is cool because you can put it on and have a great time, you can dance or just be cleaning your house. You can listen to it in the car, or whatever you want.
© Jonathan Benbaruk exclusively for On The Move
Kyan Palmer: To me, it’s such a relatable song. I am that song. I’d rather just sit at home and drink a little bit than go out to the club. I feel like a lot of people feel that way but it’s fun. You really should dance and clean and drink some wine and then listen to it.
On The Move: How did you come up with this contradictory title: «Antisocial Socialities»?
Kyan Palmer: You can be in the entertainment in Los Angeles and not be a fake social but you can’t be antisocial. People want you to go out, they want you to show up but you really don’t want to go. You’re the star, people want you out but you’d rather hang out at home with wine and your dog. It’s a type of person that always gets invited to parties but loves to say no. That’s a social antisocial life.
On The Move: What do you think of EDM artists collaborating with pop artists? Or EDM switching to pop music?
nicopop.: There’s a lot of crossover now, which I love, I think it’s really cool when you mix two different genres and you can find something cool. But I feel like you shouldn’t make pop unless you want to. We naturally gravitate toward popular sounds and we also like the dancier stuff, so we also gravitate toward a more upbeat and happy production with drum beats and stuff like that. That’s where the EDM comes in. But dance music will never go away as people will always love to dance. The musical landscape is always changing. A great example is Zedd. He makes house music and now his sound is changing but he never lost the sound that he uses. There’s a lot of him still present but it’s also changing and probably doing more of what he wants to do right now, working with poppier vocals. I think it’s cool and I think that there are still a ton of people out there making EDM bangers and there is a huge market for that.
On The Move: In France too, there is this huge EDM scene…
nicopop.: I went to Europe, in Sweden, in October and we were listening to the hit radio and I remember everyone being just shocked at how different it was compared to US mainstream radio. It was much more dance orientated and way more melodic in general. I remember thinking «Oh my god, we are so in a bubble in LA but there is such a huge market for that, and people seem to love it so?». I think, whatever music you’re doing, there is a market for that, somewhere around the globe.
On The Move: A lot of DJs come from Norway, Denmark. It’s very huge there and they need to make it in their country before coming here.
nicopop.: We’ve been in Asia, and there is this huge EDM crossover there. We see it happening with Korean pop stars and I think it’s really cool.
One The Move: It’s really global now. You were talking about Kpop but now it’s happening here. They’re making it huge here as well.
Kyan Palmer: That’s the advantage of streaming. It is global now. You’re seeing foreign artists on top of the charts. Which is also why I think there’s such a crossover in pop. I’ve actually found that my poppier song did better on streaming platforms than RnB ones. RnB is a very US sound, whereas pop is more global. Those songs, every single time, their market is not even in the US. For example, now it’s in Sweden. That’s the advantage of a more dance sound, you’re taking out the lyricism. Even if we’re listening to latin songs here, I don’t even know what you’re saying in this song but as long as I can drink and dance to it, that’s all I want to do. That’s why everyone is doing a dance sound because it’s more global.
nicopop.: It is a global sound. Everyone likes to dance but it’s what they bring into it and their influences that matter. That’s the beauty of music.
On The Move: What are your influences? The songs you’ve been listening to a lot lately that inspire you?
nicopop.: I really like Kim Petras. She’s a pop star from Germany and she’s in LA now. Her sound is really cool, it’s very like melodic, dancy-pop. I really like her, I think she’s a big influence for me now.
Kyan Palmer: I grew up listening to 50 Cent and Céline Dion. That’s why I sound like both of them (laugh). Right now the pop-dance sound have my ears, so anything in that lane, I really like. I gravitate to vocals more than anything. That’s my own little thing. Even if somebody is mainstream, like Ariana Grande, she records really well, she has a great voice and she knows how to use it on a record. That’s what I’m hearing, more than anything.
On The Move: That’s actually a good way to put it and actually listen to the music. For you, what is your collaboration process? Do you like working from scratch together or do you bring ideas after working separately?
Kyan Palmer: One of us would have a melody out of nowhere or we would start with a base and a beat and start writing into it. Sometimes we also just hop on a microphone, sing gibberish and we find a good melody, piece them together and start thinking of a concept and what would work with the sound of the track. We have a good rhythm.
nicopop.: There are some days that are different. I write down everything I hear, anything that somebody says that I think is interesting, I’ll write it on my notes for concept titles and possible piece. I could just have this line in my head, I’ll try to sing it and make it work the way people want to hear it. There’s a lot of writers who would write the lyrics first and then sing after and add melody, but I learnt that it’s not my favorite. If you’re singing on the microphone, the goal is to convey an emotion and if you’re just singing non-sense, you’re still feeling something. And that’s why that style of writing is what I prefer and what works best for most people.
nicopop.: We have a couple writers that we really like to work with and they get where we want to go in terms of sound and lyrics. Everyone has random phrases and sentences written everywhere, and they can become lyrics, song title, and a piece of the song. It does change every time. You could sing the melody in the room with everybody and think you really like it, but the second it’s recorded you’re thinking that something else would work.
Kyan Palmer: Sometimes, whatever feels natural is what is going to be and if we need changes, we’ll change it later. I’ve been to a lot of session where you get stuck on one little part in the collaboration. Like, this melody is a little off, but a lot of time you can’t even tell it on the moment because you’ve been there for hours and hours. It’s good to let it breathe and when you listen to it in the morning, you know immediately what needs to change.
nicopop.: We have a song that we did the chorus 8 times. We re-did the chorus 8 times. We couldn’t get it and we went back to the third one we did and realized it was the one. But it took all those 8 times to realize what was working.
On The Move: Tell me more about your next single. Now you mention it.
Kyan Palmer: It is a pop song, it’s very fun. It’s dancey!
nicopop.: It’s has kind a disco turn to it. It’s very funky for sure!
Kyan Palmer: It’s almost like «The Jonas Brothers meet Charlie Puth.» When you’ll hear it, you’ll get it and be like «for sure!» (Laugh). It’s really fun and it’s a great summery follow-up single. But it’s different, so you’re not going to be like «oh it’s the same thing again.»
On The Move: So when is it coming out?
nicopop.: It’s coming out very soon. That’s all we can say. We try to get our songs out quickly as we want people to stay updated and keep on hearing new stuff from us so they don’t get bored.
On The Move: Are you guys planning to actually play live the songs that you’re putting out? Or for now, is it just a project with singles and songs?
Kyan Palmer: Funnily enough, I think I’ve actually played the first three single live before, a few times. I’ve definitely played the next single live, so some people have already heard it, they just don’t realize it. More than venues, we want to play at clubs and dance-clubs. Something different, as if we just happen to be playing there, rather than being «oh that’s their show.»
nicopop.: Having a night out and then seeing something that you really like, it’s different. It’s hard to get people to go out just for you. You just want to show up and be like «hey we’re here!». I’m sure we’ll do more independent live shows if there is a serious demand for one.
Kyan Palmer: Even our next single that is coming out. We re-did it.
Interview by Pam Charbit and Lenaelle Fontaine - Photos by Jonathan Benbaruk
