Chicago duo KAPUT delivers “Runner”, an electrifying track driven by its playful, percussion filled, energetic groove. Anchored by a raw and gritty post-punk performance, the song weaves in sweet, melodic chords that dance subtly on one side of your stereo pan. Read our discussion below!
Describe your sound in 3 words
BF: hmmm I guess I would describe our sound as chaotic, beat driven, ….
NG: relentless haha
Runner’s rhythm and bass feel tailored for the dance floor. What is the main idea behind it?
BF: When the music originally came together for Runner we were definitely trying to create something that makes your heart race but still has a pop feel. Something exciting but accessible. A lot of that inspiration musically came from artists like Talking Heads/ESG/Lizzy Mercier Descloux. The main elements in a lot of those projects are bass, drums, and vocals. Focusing on those three things gave us a lot of room sonically to play with other more random elements over the top.
Runner has a very kinetic quality. Did you draw any inspiration from particular scenes, environments, or experiences to capture that feeling of movement?
NG: I just kept having this vision of a person running endlessly down a street in a suburb or some similar homogenous area. I think that really set the tone for me as we approached lyrics and instrumentation. In terms of experiences, I think everyone has had a time when they felt as though they were “running” themselves too hard for something that was ultimately not worth it. Unfortunately it’s very much part of the culture but that seems to be maybe changing, I hope.
How do you strike a balance between experimental sounds and keeping your music accessible for a broad audience?
BF: It’s a lot of trial and error. We experiment and throw away a lot. I think it’s sometimes easy to confuse alienating your audience vs challenging them. We definitely don’t want to alienate them and try to be conscious of that. Some of our favorite bands blur the line of experimentation and pop regularly. Like Pere Ubu for instance, who will go from a completely free open section to a super strong chorus in one song. I love that.
NG: I agree, it’s really a balance. It can be easy to get too self indulgent with noise and experimentation to the point where it’s not really “for” anyone anymore. That said, it’s still not for everyone and that’s also ok.
Your most honest and personal lyric?
NG: On this coming album there is a song called Teal, the lyric is: “Can’t accept that this might just be what it is, and can’t that be lovely”
Artists and people that have influenced you?
BF: As I mentioned above, we are definitely influenced by Talking Heads, ESG, and Lizzy Mercier Descloux. But also by artists like Brian Eno, This Heat, Kim Gordon, and Big Black. Eno in particular has not only had a massive influence on me as a producer/engineer but also on how we write as a band. For instance you can essentially look at a recording in two ways. The first one being that the recording is a capturing of a live event, essentially a “photo” or second, that the recording is a “painting”. We definitely tend to lean towards the latter. Our process of writing goes hand in hand with the recording process. Very much inspired by Eno’s idea that the studio is also an instrument.
NG: I draw a lot of influence from poets, especially of the beat era like Diane di Prima and Gregory Corso. Vocally I like to reference other harsh or “non traditional” female vocalists, Kim gordon being a good example of that but also Poly Styrene and Lydia Lunch, just to name a few.
Do you think there is a true underground sound today?
BF: I think people’s tastes are a lot more eclectic now than they used to be. Which I love. But it’s harder to pin down a specific sound. There is definitely a strong goth scene right now. Which we both love and dip our toes into on occasion.
NG: Definitely, I think it’s hard to see anything as truly underground with how accessible everything feels but I think that’s the good thing about the technology. I appreciate the underground music scene we have in Chicago, folks like Cheer Accident and Ono who have been making music their way for years, it’s really something special.
BF: Yes! lots of great bands here in Chicago.
A song that makes your heart beat faster?
NG: Atari Teenage Riot- Sick To Death
BF: Fela Kuti – Expensive Shit
Thank you!
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