Catch up with Austin-based indie eletro-pop group Eyelid Kid's Paul Grant and watch the video for single "Landscape" off the group's upcoming album, Hometown, to be released this Fall.
What brought you all together?
Paul: My drummer, Sam, he's been my older brother's friend for a long time so he's known me since I was 6 years old so I kind of grew up with him and he watched the project grow and saw what I was doing and really wanted to add his touch to it, add live drums and make the live show a little bit more interactive and energetic. So, he joined in and then I performed with the two Taylor twins - dancers - they improv-d at one of these art shows that we were throwing and it just meshed really well with the music, their style of dancing, and so they just joined in as if they were a bass player or guitar player, something like that; we picture them as much a part of the band as any other member would be.
Which musicians would you say you've been influenced by?
Well I started out just listening to pretty indie music and experimental music but, as I've grown up in the music scene, I've slowly just gotten more attracted to pop. Lately, I would say Drake has been a really big influence on just songwriting and lyrics and melodies and things like that. Justin Bieber's new album is really killer, I think, with the times and sounds. And, besides that, Animal Collective was really influential a few years back and Vampire Weekend and Foster The People; I'd say those are a good solid few.
What words would you use to describe your own sound?
We've kind of been calling it frosting pop which I guess is kind of hard to describe, but I think it's really a blend between hip hop influence and indie pop. It takes on two pretty different cultures and blends them together a little bit, but the production is very electronic and pop-y and the vocals are very, I wouldn't say out of my element in the way of hip hop, but they're like rhythmic, sensual rap.
I think what's funny about that is just, being here in Austin, it's very not a pop culture city. There's just a lot of people being alternative and rebelling and a lot of bearded hipsters and specialty beers and it's just funny coming out of here. I mean, there's a lot of people who support it too, but I feel like a lot of people don't really know what to think about it.
What were your inspirations behind your single and the video for "Landscape"?
That track was a bit different, it was more of a synthetic ballad of sorts. It didn't really have a lot of different parts, but it definitely had build and intentisty. My girlfriend at the time, she just really liked that track and wanted to make a music video for it so we went into this abandoned house and we were a little intoxicated and started writing the music video that night [laughs] and the next week we went and shot it. I think that house that we were in really shaped the inspiration for the music video because it was a very old house, very haunted feeling because no one had lived there in a really long time, and it seemed like everything was really empty and decayed. The kind of lo-fi scary aesthetic I think came from just the location and being in that space.
Could you tell us more about your upcoming album, Hometown?
Yeah, Hometown is the first body of work that kind of represents the style or that sound that I feel I've really found, that blend between hip hop and other genres - like indie pop and alternative, whateve you want to call it - so I think it's its own thing as a pioneer of that, for me at least. Other than that, it's my first body of work as a producer. I self-produced all of it and, actually, it has a few credits for producers who helped me on a few tracks but, for the most part, it was all out of the bedroom and learning software and everything, so I think it's a really special project in that sense. It's just a first of many things for me.
Is there a track off that album you're most excited to be sharing with fans and listeners?
I think the ones that may not get the most hype are a track called "White Noise" and a track called "Man". They're a little more just softer, introspective songs that aren't just about a relationship of anything like that, they're kind of just father questions for me and I think, for that reason, they hold a special place and I'm just really excited about them. But then, besides that, I think "Touch" is one that stands out to me on the album; it's one that actually uses acoustic instruments and things like that, so it really blends the electronic and acoustic world together in the album.
How would you sum up Hometown in one sentence?
Hometown is understanding a dream but questioning reality.
What do you hope listeners are able to take away from your music?
Just a relatability to it and just enjoying it, it being true entertainment that they can just listen to with their friends. There's tracks like "Heartbeat" that can just wash over you and just be dance-y, but for those who want to listen in deeper to some of the lyrics on some of them, I hope to just relate with people and address some of the feelings that I feel like a lot of people are feeling right now.
Is there anything you want to add?
I also do fashion. It's at eyelidkid.com/wear and I'm pretty into it and wanting to get more into it. I'm about to go to Fasion Week in New York in September; I'm pretty excited about that but, yeah, it's just another aspect of the project.
