BIO
Legendary author Alan Watts believed we as humans need to go completely out of our minds to come fully into our emotions, as he so famously discussed in his book, Out of Your Mind. Self-proclaimed sexistential alt-pop duo RKCB draws upon this concept for their forthcoming music, which throb with enlightenment about the life and death nature of love, our relationship with consciousness and even global warming.
Finding creative liberation during a trip to London, and having flipped through the pages of Watts’ insightful ruminations, band mates Riley Knapp and Casey Barth felt the energy between them monumentally shift. “It was like this big veil had been lifted, and we both felt the energy,” says Barth. “Watts’ book really opened up a lot, philosophically and emotionally, that we wanted to explore in the music.”
Essential cut “Alone with You Pt. 2” hauntingly fixates on piercing distance between two lovers and the longing to reconnect. The synths swirl around their minds, glued together with spectralish “ooo”s and “ahhh”s that seem to tear time and space in equal halves. “This was probably the fastest musical process we’ve experienced with our own music,” says Knapp. “Each song was fully written and produced in one day, completely from scratch.” Turning to various up and coming producers, Barth and Knapp were given permission to explore, play and arrive on a cohesive but richly dynamic body of work. “We learned that living life is one of the best things to do for creativity.”
Embedded beneath the scratching of synths and rhythmic layering, both musicians draw from an array of influences, which go back to their youth. Knapp, whose father’s family were all musicians, calls upon Fleetwood Mac and The Beatles for much of his approach. Like many potentially vibrant creators, he took piano lessons as a kid — before shifting entirely to drums. “I was groomed to play an instrument from a young age,” he notes.
Meanwhile, Barth grew up on classic Motown, including the Temptations. “My mom says I came out banging on pots and pans, so they knew I always had a fascination with rhythm and music,” says Barth, who dove headfirst into writing and producing his own material at 15. As he began dabbling within his own self-made basement studio, containing gear from his father and brothers, he came to understand “the language of every instrument,” he says. “I definitely had an ‘a-ha’ moment watching Elton John’s 60th birthday concert at Madison Square Garden. I think I literally said out loud, ‘I wanna do that.’”
Knapp and Barth’s destinies would become forever entwined during their music studies at University of Southern California. It was during a masterclass given by hip-hop performer and producer Young Guru that their worlds opened up, and they were able to see inside each other’s work. Their subsequent first creative session together gave birth to a song called “Comatose,” a cut off their 2015 debut EP, Short Films, which gave way to a yin-yang friendship. “Figuring this process out has been the most exciting part about this journey and is what gives us faith that we have a lot more to do and say,” says Knapp.
“Pure ecstasy… nothing short of lush.” – NYLON
“Modern, soulful R&B-pop hinged on elastic vocals that can stretch into a perfectly pitched falsetto, pulsating synths, and a production value so clean you could eat your morning eggs off it.” – Noisey
MUSIC
Buy/Stream “Till We’re In The Sea” here: https://rkcb.lnk.to/Sea
Buy/Stream “Know Love” here: https://rkcb.lnk.to/knowlove
Buy/Stream “Alone With You Pt. 2” here: https://rkcb.lnk.to/awy2
RKCB TOUR DATES
More Info + Tickets to All Shows HERE
1/26 – Phoenix, AZ – Valley Bar – #
1/29 – Dallas, TX – Deep Ellum Art Co – #
1/30 – Austin, TX – Barracuda – #
1/31 – Houston, TX – White Oak Music Hall (Upstairs) – #
2/02 – Nashville, TN – High Watt – #
2/05 – Washington, DC – Union Stage – #
2/06 – Philadelphia, PA – Voltage Lounge – #
2/07 – Brooklyn, NY – Rough Trade – #
2/09 – Boston, MA – The Middle East (Upstairs) – #
2/12 – Toronto, ON – The Drake – #
2/13 – Ferndale, MI – Magic Bag – #
2/14 – Chicago, IL – Subterranean – #
2/15 – Minneapolis, MN – Amsterdam – #
2/19 – Denver, CO – Ophelia’s Electric Soapbox – #
2/21 – Salt Lake City, UT – Kilby Court – #
2/23 – San Francisco, CA – Rickshaw Stop – #
2/27 – Seattle, WA – Neumos – #
2/28 – Vancouver, BC – Fox Cabaret – #
3/02 – Portland, OR – Doug Fir Lounge – #
3/07 – Santa Ana, CA – Constellation Room – #
3/09 – Los Angeles, CA – Troubadour – #
# – w/ Shoffy
