Influenced by strong female artists like ROZES and Chloe X Halle, KTJ & CARLY continually pour their hearts into synthy-pop masterpieces. Their singles, including “Almost True,” Otherside,” and “Enable Me” have been featured in American Songwriter, PopularTV, and Earmilk. Even amid a pandemic, they continue to make their mark on live music, performing for the virtual Pridefest, and their own late-night sessions, deemed “Late Night Live.” This year marks another milestone in their already incredible careers, seeing them score their first feature film, “God Save The Queen,” directed by Jordan Danger. With the release of their electric debut, “Identity,” they plan to identify themselves as artists with a mission — to mark pop music with their unique DNA and a message that matters.
Debut EP “Identity” explores the tumultuous experience of finding yourself in a world filled with outside influences and immense pressure. From the start, it makes an immediate impact with a thumping beat and soaring hooks saturated with frustration on
“SELL UR SOUL.” Between fluttering falsetto and silky alto, KTJ& CARLY are melodically and mentally lost in the glitz and glamour of social media and peer pressure to look perfect. As they sing, “in our quartervois we see cosmetic smiles and captions,” they call-out the tragic impact social media has on our psyche.
As one-track fades into the next, they begin the synthy atmospheric reflection of banging down the door to someone’s heart on “LET ME IN.” Amidst funky beats and pitch-perfect vocals, it sparkles with pristine production. The track showcases the duo’s unique ability to build layers of vocals over one another until it’s unclear where one talent ends and the other begins. More than that, it examines how we start to lose ourselves to people who refuse to reveal their true selves to the world. As our true identity fades, we give others the power to influence us with their falsehoods. On “ENABLE ME,” the simmering slow-building melody bursts into a raging, beat-forward explosion of a track. Hushed vocals mingle with signature synths and give rise to the emotional intensity of the unforgettable chorus. It’s a hard-hitting look at how we lose ourselves in other people, misplacing our identity and making the process of our self-discovery harder than ever.
Next up is “SOMEONE LIKE YOU,” a slow burn that shifts the focus to the duo’s undeniable vocal talent. As they play vocal gymnastics, layering one voice on top of the other, they hypnotize listeners with each passing chorus. This is the first flicker of
realizing self-love’s power—the importance of knowing yourself instead of impressing someone else. For anyone who grew up amongst the social media influencers, their reflections and realizations ring true. Quiet and dreamy, “DEAD PERSON TALKING” sees a softer side of the duo as they dive deep into the power of depression in a world where everyone aims for perfection. It’s the ideal of-the-moment pop song, simmering with equal parts despair and strength in the search for purpose and identity.
In a society where it’s normal to hide your pain under picture-perfect moments, KTJ & CARLY exam the impact of keeping it all inside on “ALMOST TRUE.” While they don’t force the heart wrenching jolt of it all into a standard ballad, they instead craft a low-key, synth-forward anthem that radiates with perfection. This track marks their awareness of the people around them, presenting a false identity to the world, and how it impacts their desire to find themselves. The EP comes to an end with “DISTRACTIONS,” providing the perfect finish to a project that defines who KTJ & CARLY are as artists. It’s the pivotal turning point in self-discovery, where they realize distraction versus reality and begin to decide what’s truly important. The track combines everything they’re known for — soaring synths, introspective lyrics, booming beats, and of course, flawless vocals. The kiss-off track swells with emotion and billows with hooky melodies as the perfect finish to an incredibly vibrant musical experience.
On an EP that defines their personalities as artists and songwriters, KTJ & CARLY come into their own, leaving no doubt about their musical identity. More than that, it resonates deeply with the journey of self-exploration so many young adults experience, shedding light on an existence that makes many of us feel alone.
Hi ladies and welcome back, you’ve pretty much become a part of the OLC! family. How have you both been?
We have been well! Quarantine may suck but it hasn’t stopped us – Just trying to stay busy, having fun, and making as much music as possible!
Now it’s finally here, your brand new EP called “Identity”, what can you tell me about it and how did you decide on the name for it?
Last November, we wrote Almost True with Jaidan Millar. Then, we had a bunch of sessions in between. It felt like we kept getting stuck on the same songs about love or heartbreak (no hate on those songs… gotta love them) but those are just so easy to write. Love is SO easy to write about because we live that everyday or think about it. We had decided that we were gonna challenge ourselves and write about something different and dig a little deeper in our next sessions. So, flash forward to our another session with Jaidan around December last year or January of 2020 I wanna say. That was when we wrote Sell Your Soul. We then realized that Almost True and Sell Your Soul had a similar vibe and message. It both centralized around the journey of finding oneself. We decided, “Let’s keep this going. Let’s make a damn EP.” We went on a crazy journey of inspiration, life stories, amazing co-writes, and honestly found a bit of our own identity through this project. Towards the end of tightening everything, we were ready for distribution. We had our minds set on the title identity for a while, but I think we had also considered a few other names… all with the word identity in it, I know. I can’t recall them but felt that the one that went best suited for the message of the project. All together, this is a collection of songs about someone finding their own identity. We go through the journey of conflicting outside forces like social media, appearances, relationships, depression, pretending, facades, strangers, and distractions. – Carly
“Someone Like You” is my favourite song on the EP, what inspired this song and who helped you produce it?
Thank you! It is our mom’s favorite too:) KT and I co-produced it together, just us, but we co-wrote the lyrics with Katie Buxton. This was something I had started a while back, and during our session with Katie, I pulled it out and was like… I have this super unfinished track… Wanna write it together!? And we did. It has come such a long way since then. That one was particularly really fun to produce. Vocals too. – Carly
My favourite colour is red so I have to say I love the front of the EP, where was this shot taken and who took it?
Thank you! Red is a vibe… When I listened to the EP I kept feeling the color red needed to be shown in some way haha. The story behind this photo is actually kinda funny. So KT, myself, our incredible manager Sera, and our incredible photographer Will Townsend all drove out to Salton Sea at Bombay Beach at 3:00 AM from LA. The forecast was looking like it would hit around 120 Fso we decided to leave super early to get there around 4 or 5. So we start taking pictures having a grand time… going to the car back and forth for shade and air. Then, my car A/C gets overheated and breaks. It starts getting HOT. It was insane. Sera brought ice packs for drinks and I don’t think we would be here with those hahaha. Anywho, this photo was taken right when we were about to explode in the heat. Looking back it is hilarious. We were not laughing then though lol. We weren’t planning on this being the cover art at all, just content. We had a completely different idea that we were gonna roll with but then I made this along with a few others but we all really digged the vibe of this one… So that was how the cover art was born! Tip: Don’t go to the desert and then have your car A/C break… haha. – Carly
You’ve both been in front of the camera’s a lot, is it something that comes quite natural now that you’ve done it so much?
I used to have a love hate relationship with the camera when I was younger, but now it’s much easier. We both act and grew up acting for film, so being behind the camera all the time definitely helped make it more a natural thing. However, it’s different in those situations because I was playing a character. Deep down and honestly, on the surface, I’m a very naturally awkward person who thrives in awkward humor/situations. When we do photo shoots, I’ll let half of them be hella awkward stances and the other half will be hella badass. It’s all about balance haha. Acting is not only a passion of ours as is music, but it has helped so much with confidence. I better understand how we communicate through body language. If I could, I would tell everyone to take an acting
class no matter what they are doing in their lives. -KTJ
I also love the song “Distractions”, what was the story behind this song?
Once upon a time, I fell in love with someone who was clearly not on my wavelength. I was never sure what went through my mind or why I fell so hard, but towards the end of it I truly forgot who I was. I would push the good things out of my life if that meant I could see him more. I soon realized that it wasn’t him that I fell so in love with, it was him distracting me from dealing with the pain and hardships I was too scared to face at the time. This song is basically a reminder or I guess a “checklist” that someone you’re with shouldn’t be a distraction , but rather supportive and encouraging, and collaborative. If you’re with someone, they should push you to be your best self. Otherwise, they and all the other narcissists need to go haha. -KTJ
Was there any artists you were channeling when you were working on this EP?
For Sell Your Soul, I kinda channeled Banks, who I LOVE. It turned out a bit different but her vibe always inspires me. For Dead Person Talking, I was really inspired by Ida Lauraberg. The song turned out super different than her, but the way she is so specific yet vague all at the same time with her lyrics inspired us to try something like that. -Carly
Now the EP is out what do you hope your fans will get out of listening to a KTJ and Carly record?
I just hope, (if they don’t realize already) that they know that most of these stupid societal pressures we face today do not have to met or even real. You don’t have to be perfect, you don’t have to have all the likes, you don’t have to have clout, and you don’t have to know who you are yet. You don’t have to say yes! With songs like Almost True and Someone You Like, I hope it gives them an empathetic edge, and with songs like
Dead Person Talking and Sell Your Soul, I hope they feel less alone through depression and feeling like they must conform to society. To know to stay true to themselves and if they aren’t happy in a certain place, they can leave or do whatever pleases them (rest and recovery is important). We have this entire world just waiting to be explored and learned about. Everyone’s journey is different of course, but I hope that someone out there can listen to these songs and feel comfort along theirs. At the end of day, the takeaway is your identity is yours, and nothing in the outside world should affect that. Be who you wanna be, don’t play to the gallery. -KTJ
Thanks for stopping by ladies we always love having you here. What’s the next big event on the calendar for you both?
Until we’re able to perform live again or tour, we will be releasing more music next year and continue to write and write. Scoring our first feature film and music videos are also in the works. Stay tuned -KTJ
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