KITTEN Gets Retrospective on Their New Music

by Natasha Wolff | March 8, 2018 12:30 pm

With a bright personality and an even brighter style, retro darling Chloe Chaidez offers an energized pop sound on her band KITTEN’s newest single, “I Did It![1]” When this frontwoman walks through the DuJour offices, she is donning a multi-colored jacket with faux fur and an adorable pixie haircut that I can’t help but covet. From growing up in Los Angeles to living in a DIY space in Bushwick, New York, Chaidez has had her share of urban adventures, evident through her edgy and fearless style. She’s currently living in New York along with her band that is made up of all native New Yorkers, from Manhattan, Staten Island and Pound Ridge. KITTEN[2] is gearing up to release their sophomore album, a self-produced collection of songs, but first, they’ve offered a teaser in the form of “I Did It!.”

Laced with a glittery and infectious pop vibe, Chaidez speaks honestly of the song’s lyrics. “It’s about a triumphant mistake. A mistake you’re happy you made, in retrospect,” the singer says. “Maybe it helped shape your life or you learned from it.”

We vent about how difficult coming to that revelation can be when you’re in the moment and she recalls a specific time that glorified this exact sentiment. “We were playing two sold out shows at the Troubadour in L.A. and mid-set during the first show, I completely lost my voice,” she tells me. Without a voice, she says her band carried them through the remainder of the show. “The next day I had a ‘down on my knees’ moment where I needed to either learn from this mistake and grow or go down a worse path of destruction.” She adds that in those heartbreaking moments on stage she couldn’t have felt worse but since then, she’s learned to protect her voice and be more careful.

Just 15 when the band formed, Chaidez has blossomed into a glorious frontwoman over the course of KITTEN’s near 10-year run. She says that in that time, the band has grown tenfold though there’s one change that has been especially crucial. “This is the first time the band feels extremely gelled. There’s a deep camaraderie and bond you share when you’re in the studio together and then on stage performing all together,” she says. “Sometimes we’ll be on stage and we just look over at each other and we’re like, ‘This is dope.’”

Incorporating Led Zeppelin-esque impromptu solos and jam sessions into their sets, Chaidez says the band’s capacity for spontaneity proves their closeness as a group. “We want to show people we can play our instruments, jam out and have fun. I hope that becomes our identity. I think it is now but I hope it continues,” she adds.

With their new album ready to be released, Chaidez says listeners can expect groovier and sexier sounds with a funkier rhythm throughout. Having changed management mid-album, she admits to moments of self-doubt in terms of songwriting and self-producing, but in the end, she’s never felt more gratified. Of her bandmates, who all contributed to writing and producing the album, she says, “Maybe they don’t have the biggest names but once you do it together, you’re like, ‘Yes, we fucking did it.’”

Watch the official video for “I Did It!” below.

Source URL: https://dujour.com/culture/kitten-new-single-video-i-did-it-upcoming-album-interview/