Interview: Catching Up With Kick & Casonka + Stream “Created”

Busting right out of the gate with their debut single, “Created,” Raleigh-based duo Kick & Casonka have established the scope of their sound blending tropical electro-pop with minimal trap. With a follow-up in “Stressed” already on the way, we sent some interview questions over to Ryan Magnusson (production/synth/percussion) and Carson Koenig (vocals/percussion/guitar) to learn more about this exciting new group.

Stream “Created” while reading the interview below and keep up with Kick & Casonka here.

Hi, Kick & Casonka! Congrats on your new single. Can you tell us a little more on who you are and how you first got into making music?

Thank you! It’s been a really long journey to where we are now. We grew up as childhood friends but we first started collaborating as individual artists 5 or 6 years ago when we ended up on the same concert bill in Raleigh. We got back up about a year ago and sort of discovered this sound on accident, and decided to form this project and devote all of our energy to it.

What’s your songwriting process like? Who are some of your biggest influences?

Our process really varies from track to track but a majority of the time it starts with Carson (casonka) writing a hook and a loose rhythm with bongos or something. He’ll bounce it to me (kick) and I’ll build a song around it and bounce it back to him. It’ll go back and forth like that until we’re really happy with it.

First and foremost we both are greatly influenced by live performances and connecting with people in a live setting. As far as the “who” part of the question, here’s a pretty random list of artists that we’ve been vibing with recently, so their influences have definitely come through:

Kid Cudi, Post Malone, Rae Sremmurd, Elley Duhé, Mura Masa, Hippie Sabotage, Julie Fowlis

“Created” and “Stressed” occupy a similar space in sound, but diverge a bit thematically. What are these songs about exactly?

That’s right, both songs definitely have the same set of ingredients but a different vibe. “Created” really stands as a statement about where we’ve come from and where we are now. Over the past few years we’ve both had our own struggles and been to some dark places and “Created” is really about owning our past and present while creating a positive future.

“Stressed” really dives headfirst into those dark times. How lonely and disorienting it can feel to be battling something on your own. We stripped this track pretty bare to let the most powerful elements shine through, hoping to really convey these thoughts and emotions.

Any new Raleigh-based artists/venues/purveyors of the arts you could turn our readers onto?

We held our record release party at a place called Imurj in downtown Raleigh. It’s a new venue that is geared to support local art and music. It’s a really awesome space and they host a ton of eclectic events. It’s definitely a place to check out if you’re in Raleigh!

Where can we follow you and where can our readers catch you live next?

For our new music that’s on the way, following us on Spotify and Soundcloud is definitely the move! We’ll be doing some interactive studio/performance sessions on Facebook in the future too.

We’ll be doing another release party and/or performance at Imurj in the near future so keep a look out!

Any parting thoughts? Open platform!

Our sound is continuing to evolve and mature every day and we’re really excited to be on this journey with everyone that connects with it. We have some crazy tracks on deck right now so stay tuned!