Q&A: TWINKIDS Take An Introspective Approach Towards Their Pop Music

 

☆ BY FRANKIE TAMERON ☆

__Session Photo 4 Nina Raj at Yellow House Sessions.jpg
 
 

IT’S POP WITH AN INTROSPECTIVE TWIST - TWINKIDS gives us an album that listens like summer but feels like it’s digging into the dark depths of our subconscious with their new project Nobody Likes Me. The queer pop duo consisting of Matthew Young and Jin Fukui pair light and airy synths over lyrics like “every time I’m next to you I’m feeling ugly” and “all my friends are depressed, guess I got the disease”. The duo explores universal themes we know all too well centering around the anxieties, vulnerabilities and acceptance when it comes to identity. Touching on raw topics while bringing a fun ‘80s-infused pop feel, TWINKIDS allows a light approach to more deep topics. This juxtaposition of sounds and words ultimately leads to the final track Jpop singer Mariya Takeuchi with a cover of her 1984 song “Shetland Ni Hoho Wo Uzemete”, serving as a tribute to the inspiration she has served for TWINKIDS.

Since meeting at Oberlin college, Young and Fukui have allowed themselves to evolve and dive into what they care most about, while exploring a variety of soundscapes under the Pop umbrella. Their new album reflects this growth and all that comes with taking a more introspective approach to yourself and life, the band shares “Our album, Nobody Likes Me, is about just that—those intrusive thoughts of self-doubt that appear when you’re at your worst, and they tell you: nobody likes you. Most of these lyrics are coming from that irrational voice, when you question yourself if you’re stupid, undesirable, ugly. In the album we explore what happens to your relationships when you can’t keep those thoughts out. How it strains your love life, your friendships, your self-esteem and self-love.”

Check out their new project and read below to learn more about how things are going for them, the album and what it means to them, as well as future plans.

LUNA: How has the spring season been treating you both so far?

MATT: It’s definitely felt more hopeful. I’ve now been fully vaccinated (!) and am starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel… Been spending a lot of time hiking in the Angeles National Forest and quiet, quality time with close friends. Just trying to take it one day at a time.

JIN: Going to get my second vaccine dose soon... until then, I will continue to be wine drunk on my couch with my dog. Who am I kidding, I'll probably continue to do the same thing even after my second dose.

LUNA: Congrats on the release of Nobody Likes Me! Sonically, what are some of your favorite elements you got to explore in the project?

TWINKIDS: We think there’s a simplicity to a lot of these songs that maybe hasn’t been what characterized our music in the past. In Lizard House we were starting to get there, but something about these songs feels a lot more distilled and nicely packaged to me. We're really excited about that - having fewer layers that are working harder, so we can let each song shine through more.

LUNA: The album touches on a lot of vulnerable topics and overall is pretty heartfelt & personal. Why is it important for you to have those messages behind your music?

TWINKIDS: When you’re hurting it’s so easy to feel like you’re the only one who has ever felt that way, that the whole world is against you, and you just fall victim to your own intrusive thoughts. We wanted to give life to that voice on this album, not just so people can feel less alone by hearing we’ve gone through that too, but to bring some levity via the pop song frame, and hopefully to disempower those thoughts as a result. We were just talking about how growing up queer leaves you with a lot of bullshit to unpack in adulthood. Of course we’re writing these songs for everyone, but we hope they especially liberate our fellow queers.

LUNA: Can you share a favorite moment / memory from the making of the album? 

TWINKIDS: Definitely getting our mixes back from our amazing collaborator David Burris! We’ve been friends for a while and worked with him for the first time on Lizard House. I think Dave really “gets” our music, and has this incredible ability to zoom in and fix exactly what needs to be fixed. He’ll clarify something we didn’t realize needed to be clarified, and get the mix back and suddenly understand that that’s what the song had been missing all along. True genius. We love you Dave!

LUNA: If you had to recommend 1 track from the project for someone to get a feel of your music, which song are you picking?

TWINKIDS: Definitely our song “Eighteen” from our 2019 EP Lizard House. Hands down I think this is both our best pop song and the most TWINKIDS song. Production, songwriting… We lucked out and it all really came together here. If you’re enjoying “Nobody Likes Me”, please give it a listen!!

LUNA: What are some positive changes you hope this past year will have on the music industry as a whole? 

MATT: I hope we can all calm down a little. Like… it’s not that serious. Not to be blunt but the world is on fire. Our planet is crying for help and our country’s political system is deeply broken. I swear, if one more industry person tells me that I need more Instagram followers… In my opinion that’s not what it’s about, nor is it what’s most important. I hope we can all make music for music’s sake and for a real, deep love of the art form, from a place of reverence rather than as a vehicle for virality.

LUNA: A fun one - if you could only bring 3 items to a deserted island what are you bringing? 

MATT: My Kindle (not a single MB left of storage), a piano (not sure how to get it there but I’m going with it), and my running shoes.

JIN: My Nintendo Switch, my iPad (for comic books...), and a boat obviously. I'm a nerd and a realist. 

LUNA: What intentions do you have for the upcoming months?

MATT: This is so cliche but I’m genuinely trying to stay in touch with what serves me, and let go of everything that doesn’t. In that spirit I’m hoping to stay slow, and yet devote more time to projects that I believe in and hobbies that make me feel whole! I think it’s just looking at yourself and your life in the eye, and asking those hard questions and answering them in the present. It absolutely comes and goes, but that’s where I’m trying to be!

JIN: I guess I would echo what Matt said, and on top of that try a bit harder to connect with my friends--I feel like we all need to start resocializing (like dogs..) since we've all been so isolated. It's not yet the time to congregate in big groups but it's time to start having more safe hangouts!

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