Today we’d like to introduce you to Kiki Machine.
Hello Kiki Machine; we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, let’s briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today.
Kiki Machine started over a sake toast at Kome in Austin, TX, back in January 2020. Lyric, our guitarist, and Kathleen, our vocals and synth, were brought together through a random Facebook group for girls new to Austin. It only took one post to ignite the spark that is Kiki Machine. Through a friend of a friend, we found Kelly, our bassist. We were 3 girls working in tech who were all struggling with the emotional turmoil of a global pandemic & we desired an outlet to express ourselves. Eventually recruiting our token boy, Dillon, for drums, we became Kiki Machine — 4 queer people making sad songs that slap. Focusing on writing through zoom until we could safely meet, we were finally able to play our first show dressed in superfluous power puff girl-inspired outfits at a literal swamp in May 2021. Since then, we worked on our first music video, released this Valentine’s Day, released 3 singles, including our newest single, “Sakura,” and have been featured in KUTX and Austin Chronicle (describing our sound as a mix of Mitski meets Avril Lavigne) and played packed out shows at Cheerup Charlies, Empire, axel rad Houston, and Hotel Vegas. With a sound contagious and cute as a Sanrio character, Kiki Machine is sure to be your new favorite indie pop act.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Our experiences, good or bad, innately flood into our music. Though we may look femme and cute, and sing upbeat songs, most of our songwriting comes from our struggles and darkness. All 4 of us went through relationship breakups that weren’t meant for us, some even stemming from abusive foundations. Looking for an escape, we found music together as a band to cope. We co-write our songs, merging our experiences to tell elusive stories about struggling with mental illness, relationships, and queer identity. Our song “Spooky” (unreleased) directly talks about the struggle of taking care of yourself when mentally ill & not being able to take care of yourself to the point of being unable to sleep, eat, and enjoy your day-to-day experiences as a living conscious person.
Let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
We’re all creatives specializing in illustration, design, & social media by day. Although we are talented musicians who love expression and music theory, our performance focuses on bringing the vibe and creating a safe and fun space for queer people. We love to dress in outlandishly cute outfits, scream, jump around, and get the crowd dancing to our melodious indie pop tunes. We all have day jobs to fund our music.
Some fun facts about our musical background as individuals:
- Kelly takes bass lessons with phoebe bridgers bassist Emily Retsas and picked up the bass in 2020 at a music boot camp for women
- Kathleen has been classically trained in piano since age 7 by a strict Russian piano teacher. She also is a music theory fanatic, has done ear training since age 10, and has a relatively perfect pitch.
- Dillon plays several instruments aside from drums & has been playing since childhood with his dad in NOLA.
- Lyric had a previous rap personal called “princess unagi.” Our crowd-pleasing unreleased song, “Coconut La Croix,” was originally a rap song by Lyric and converted into an indie song. She has played guitar since high school
We’re most proud of creating an intimate fan base that relates to and enjoys our music and comes to our shows, bringing a crowd to iconic Austin venue Cheerup Charlies during freezing rainy, cold weather, and creating a music video that we’re proud of and going to release this Valentine’s day.
Is there any advice you’d like to share with our readers who might just be starting?
Don’t be afraid to share your fragmented ideas, melodies, and art, even if you have an idea. Collaborate with your bandmates; you don’t have to write every song alone. Have fun, and make sure you’re friends with your bandmates and form a loving bond; you’ll spend a lot of time together. Rather than focusing on popularity, focus on expression and making music you enjoy and are proud of, and the streams will come. We’re still just beginning our journey, but we’re having fun, and we believe that popularity will come if it’s meant to.
Pricing:
- Merch is mostly all $25 for each piece; we have totes, t-shirts, and long sleeves, and we will make hats. We sell them at shows & through dm on Instagram.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kiki.machine/?hl=en
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZ1ibnX_2b7HzzNSsdpFBuA
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3AYr6oalkEVCOry8wjPVVI
Image Credits
@erinephoto @heyjinnnij @__scanlikely__ @catxrae
