Diandra Interviews Middle Kids: Finding A Common Language As A Band

Interviewing Middle Kids, I realize they are as concise, sweet, and thoughtful as their music. Playing Bowery Ballroom on November 30, they are a show I recommend for a quick burst of happy energy. They are funny, relaxing, and completely approachable. Yet, most importantly, they are clear for a band singing to the times when you are young, confused, but ready to still have fun. Discussing their “fast success,” Middle Kids open up about what it is find a common language, as a band, that seemingly burst unto the scene shortly after its formation.

Diandra: When people discuss your band, they say you have quickly risen or have had “fast success.” Do you feel you have risen quickly or are as successful as you dreamed?

Middle Kids: Things did happen pretty quickly which was a surprise. A lot of the opportunities we’ve had to tour across the world and to support other artists we grew up listening to and really admire. we couldn’t have dreamed of. But we still feel like there’s a lot more music to create and get out there like, we’re only just getting started.

Middle Kids – Salt Eyes (Official Audio)

Diandra: How do you blend classical training into the fluidity of your creative process? What have you learned from both having structure and just jamming?

Middle Kids: I think the way I have approached songwriting has always been quite different to my classical training. One thing though I am still learning is the art of improvisation and jamming. It’s like that old joke: How do you stop a pianist from playing? Take the music away from them. How do you stop a guitarist from playing? Put music in front of them.

Diandra: With the success of your debut, what of its songs now feel altered in meaning and favor for you? How has its success affected how you see yourselves as artists/ creatives?

Middle Kids: I’ve really enjoyed hearing from people that certain songs that aren’t singles are their favourite. Tell Me Something has been a track people often mention they love, which has been a pleasant surprise. The main way I see it has affected the way we see ourselves is just continuing to solidify our unity as a band.

Middle Kids – Mistake (Official Video)

Diandra: Having self-produced the record, what were the joys and challenges you learned from “DIYing” your debut?

Middle Kids: One of the joys was being able to record on our terms, in our places. Tim has done a lot of DIY recording so it’s kind of how a lot of the earlier recordings for the EP were done anyway. So it wasn’t hard to know what sounds to go for. One of the challenges (especially knowing that we were sending the sessions to Peter Katis for mixing) was knowing how ‘polished’ they needed to be. A recorded part that is super vibey but maybe a bit lo-fi could be a problem, or could not. You don’t really know. But seeing how Katis mixed it made us realise that actually taking risks is the best thing to do, and everything can be cleaned up later.

Diandra: Your music has taken you across the world. What about the power of music have you discovered is global? What has been your favorite place to explore, and did any places inspired a song?

Middle Kids: That’s one of the most exciting things about doing this, being able to meet so many different kinds of people all around the world. It helps you remember the power of music and that it is so incredibly meaningful and can be healing for people. We’ve just finished up our first European tour and that was very exciting, I’ve got some memos of new song ideas I’m excited to sink my teeth into.

Middle Kids – Your Love (Official Video)

Diandra: What do you feel each member offers to Middle Kids in sound, style, and spirit?

Middle Kids: Hannah is the spirit, Harry is the style, Tim is the sound.

Diandra: Writing Lost Friends, you seemed pretty clear on your goals and sounds. Have you been making new music? What do you feel has changed in your process and set goals?

Middle Kids: We’ve been working on new music and experimenting with a few different ways of recording, trying to record live a bit more, which has been fun. I think we are trying to make the next body of work a little more raw and immediate than the album. Previously the process has been quite linear: Hannah will write the song, Tim will produce it, Harry will play the drums in. We’ve been moving towards workshopping the songs together a bit more once Hannah has brought them to the band.

Middle Kids – Don’t Be Hiding (Official Video)

Diandra: Your songs can be about growing up and finding your sense of self/ space. Since Middle Kids’ conception, how do you feel the group has found and grown itself?

Middle Kids: We’ve pretty much been finding our feet from the get go because the band started not long before we released our first songs. It has taken time to develop a common language to talk about music with because we all came from different musical backgrounds. We’ve grown a lot through playing live so much together and that has begun to impact how we flesh the songs out as well, trying to bring some of that energy from our live show into the recordings.

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