90’s Kids
After a string of early streaming successes, 90’s Kids plan on taking 2020 by storm. The group was formed in a college bedroom, and hadn’t even decided on a name before writing their first songs. In the two and a half years since, the band has simply defied expectations; The 90’s Kids currently have over 1.5 million streams between 9 successful singles and an EP. Self-described as “pop music for people who don’t like pop music,” the group puts out their incredibly catchy melodies that check all the boxes of a textbook pop anthem. Impressive vocal harmony only adds to their signature sound. This success is a trend that is expected to continue with the release of their new single, “Freak Me Out,” on Thursday, June 25th. We recently spoke with 90’s Kids about how they came to be, their musical influences, and more!
How did you get started making music, and how did the group come together?
90's Kids started in a college bedroom at the end of 2017. It started with two of our first singles, “Champagne” and “Somebody Just As Good As You,” which were really written before the 90's Kids even had a name, or a formal lineup. Once we found a group of people who were really invested in the music and the message we were portraying, it was really full steam ahead for us. We all moved to Columbus in 2018 and since then it's been a wild ride — US Tours, music festivals, all of it — it's crazy to think it all started out in a small little college town.
You describe your music as “pop music for people who don’t like pop music.” Could you elaborate on what that means, and how you want to be defined as artists?
For the longest time we were boxing ourselves into the idea of "Nostalgic Alt-Pop." We really were going for this modern '80s feel and that type of music is really what got us into the scene to begin with — but over the last year or so we've really found that what gets us most excited about songwriting, is the experimentation. We want to push the boundaries of what 90's Kids is, and what pop music can be. We settled on the phrase "pop music for people who don't like pop music" because our influences seriously come from all over the place, and we're not afraid to be weird and different. I think people will really see that with the new music we have coming later this year.
What are some upcoming projects you’re looking forward to?
We're all really excited about the release of our newest single “Freak Me Out”. It's got this raw, live energy to it that's totally different from anything we've done, but it still feels like such an essential 90's Kids track to us. It's safe to say it's the weirdest song we've ever written, but in such a refreshing way. As songwriters and producers, “Freak Me Out” was probably our favorite experience to date.
Which artist or groups would you say have had the greatest impact on your work? Who would you guys consider a “dream collab”?
The answer changes almost every day. Recently we've been listening to tons of artists who are really pushing the boundaries of pop music, like Jeremy Zucker, Chelsea Cutler and Bulow. On the other side of the coin, we're always going to have that bouncy, catchy, energetic pop feel in our DNA. We're huge fans of The 1975, Joan, The Aces, and artists of that nature as well. A dream collab would probably be The Band Camino!
Favorite non-music activity?
We're big "patio hangs" kind of guys. We spend so many evenings just hanging out on our patio and enjoying the weather & a couple White Claws. Especially with quarantine going on, the best you can do is just spend time outdoors and unwind.
