KTJ & CARLY
Photo credit: Jake Pool
KTJ & CARLY are back with some new music and I’m happy to feature them once again (I’m sure I will feature them many many many more times). To be honest, it’s bold to release a song with a different sound. People are not expecting to hear this (I know I wasn’t expecting this at all !) but it’s a good surprise. It’s a feel good song, a song that will make you “forget” about your troubles and worries, a song that will make you smile and have fun. Isn’t it what we all need right now?
KTJ & CARLY did an amazing job with this new single. As always, they remain very unique with their style and that’s what makes them stand out from everyone else. KTJ & CARLY have their own musical signature and it’s not often that we get to say this. They never disappoint and I will always support them.
Go stream “Cherry Coke” now !! :)
Photo credit: Jake Pool
Hi girls ! Happy new year !! How are you? What have you been up to?
Happy new year!! We have been great! New year and leaving out all the negativity this past year has brought. We have been constantly writing, producing, and lots of collabs in the process. We also have been doing film auditions as well, just trying to keep busy. :) - Carly
"Cherry Coke" is your first single of the year - what made you want to release "Cherry Coke" as the first single?
- Like I said before, 2020 just had so much negativity. To be honest, we decided last minute to release Cherry Coke instead of a different one for that very reason. We decided we wanted to start the year off with something upbeat with a groove. Something that could engage our listeners and feel happy, or something positive. - Carly
- Exactly what Carly said, we wanted to release a song that someone would hear and want to tap their foot, dance, or jam out in the car and just escape for a couple of minutes. A 90’s nostalgic vibe.
What's the story/inspiration behind this single?
- We wanted to write something with a lil’ rock n roll. Back in October, we had a session with Katie Buxton, and at some point we were talking about cherry coke and how its the bomb and then we started talking about relationships and decided to put the two together. - Katie
- Exactly, and to add onto that, we were really inspired by the romanization of toxic relationships. we wanted to get perspective of the passion the occurs in these kinds of relationships and why it’s so hard to leave them. So we put ourselves in the point of view of that person and wrote this song. At least that is how I see the song. - Carly
Could you describe the songwriting/production process? When did you start working on it?
- We wrote this song with the wonderful Katie Buxton (who we also wrote Someone You Like, from Identity with). it was over zoom in my bedroom and we just wrote to the constant bass riff that you hear in the song. When we began to produce it, we were really inspired by the early 2000s and 90s punk rock/pop vibes. We tried to portray that feeling we get when listening to music from my childhood into this song. So that when people listen, they also may feel that sense of nostalgia. - Carly
At what point did you realize "Cherry Coke" had to be a single?
- Honestly, from the moment we wrote it we knew it had potential. If I were to show you the demo we had in the beginning you would laugh. It is honestly really bad but I really felt like this song was going somewhere. So we worked hard on making the song the vision we had it. I’m really glad we stuck with our gut on this one. It’s a little different of a vibe than our typical stuff but I really love it. - Carly
- This song just had such an interesting glow up from the start of our production we had to give it the honor of releasing it haha. - Katie
What's your favorite thing about this song?
- My favorite part is hands down the bridge. I don’t know why, but the repetition and lyrics just really make me emotional haha. I also love a good guitar solo… been waiting for a good time to add that in a song. - Carly
- Same. Definitely the bridge. -Katie
What did you learn about yourselves after the release of your debut EP Identity?
- We can still love ourselves and one another if we mess up… We’re all human and we’re alive right now, which is so rare and beautiful in itself. Sometimes it feels like life is a giant elementary school and it feels as if I’m still continuing to learn the basics of life. I’m still learning and I always will be learning something new about life. After the release it really helped me see that it is normal. - Katie
What major life lessons have you learned in 2020?
- I learned that it is important not to stress over things you cannot control. As we all know, so many things were out of our control last year, for everyone. I’m a huge control freak and I’m the first person in line to admit that haha. We were able to adjust, but it was quite difficult for me have to put so much stuff on hold because of Covid. But honestly, this was blessing in disguise because I learned that no matter what, we managed. And that is how it always is in life. Shit will be thrown your way constantly, but you can always pick yourself up if you have the courage to. At first I put a lot of stress on myself but realized that we were still able to do what we love: make music. And that’s what was important. This year taught me to look on the bright side. - Carly
- Life is never easy. Just when you think you have it all together, it can come crumbling down, and you’re left broken. This year I’ve learned how to pick myself back up, to always be ready, and to live in the present 100% so I can be more aware of the world around me. I’m still learning and growing every day. - Katie
What are your goals for 2021?
- Our goals for 2021 is to keep releasing music, do more production and writing for other artists, get more projects into film & tv with our music, grow our listeners, but mainly give our listeners a reason for listening! We hope to continue to speak the truth through our music… with meaning, honesty, and translucency. - Carly
What message do you want to give to the world?
- Go stream Cherry Coke! This particular song was inspired by the thrill of something you know is temporary. Our goal was to embody a song that gave us the same nostalgic feeling that we get when we hear Cherry Coke. And as always, this song is up for your interpretation. Love you all.
Thank you so much !!
Thank YOU for having us. You’re the best! Much love xo
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