October 21st, 2021.
I woke up to a call asking if I wanted to interview these two artists. All I hear is a jumble of letters and numbers when told the artists’ names, and my mind goes blank. Without the slightest clue what I was getting myself into, I said yes, and I was put in contact with 4cf and KBL very shortly afterwards. Within twenty-four hours of initial contact, the interview was scheduled and understandably so, I was nervous. This sense of unease just kept growing in the moments leading up to the interview, and nothing was helping. KBL and I live in the States, but 4cf is on the other side of the pond, so we had a very small timeframe in which to schedule an interview. I had no time to do my research on the art or the artists and I felt disappointed in myself for feeling this intense sense of unpreparedness. I didn’t even get a chance to hear “Jade” until about 30 minutes before the interview, and I had no clue what exactly I wanted to focus on gleaning from these two artists.
When I did hear the song though, a switch flipped. Anxiety melted away under the scorching heat of sheer starpower, and I suddenly knew exactly what I wanted to ask 4cf and KBL. In fact, I inadvertently ended up focusing on the reasons that made the interview feel so rushed in the first place, and that’s what I want to talk about now. Before I can do that though, we need to talk about this song.
Now, you might’ve heard a snippet of “Jade” somewhere online, or seen a clip of breakout artist ericdoa going absolutely ballistic during a live reaction to “Jade” - hell, you might’ve even discovered it for the first time through this weeks Aurision’s 18 playlist (which you should definitely check out now if you haven’t yet).
But for those who are out of the loop completely, this song is an industry hit in the making - you’re going to wish you heard this sooner, trust me.
A sharp guitar starts grinding out sparks over punchy drums to begin the song, as warm vocals dripping like pure honey spill over with ease. 4cf waxes poetic as the waves start to crash over again, and begins to thrash about, screaming his heart out with straight jaw-locking bars in a seamless transition as the song reaches its climax. An utterly addictive drop screams back to life as 4cf seemingly fights to make himself heard. Nothing I say could do KBL’s production justice either, but both artists leave a blinding shine on this track, and it deserves a listen at the very least.
That isn’t to say that the artists don’t deserve their respective spotlights though. Both 4cf and KBL have interesting stories to tell that play a big part in their art. 4cf, for example, is a nineteen year-old from Mount Vernon, NY, but moved to Paris two years ago for school and has lived in Italy and Germany. At such a young age, 4cf is already quite worldly and his nomadic lifestyle is ingrained deep into him and his art, as it comes to him as second nature. KBL, too, is a twenty year-old who hails from all over California and spends most of his time crossing the Bay frequently - and as I know well, the Bay Area is a world of its own.
Their influences vary wildly for a pair that displays this much chemistry, but it makes a lot of sense after hearing their work. 4cf lists pop-punk legends like My Chemical Romance as all-time inspirations, and absurd personalities like Tyler the Creator as rap influences. KBL’s origins from 2016 trap producers like Ronny J and the “audio meme” scene surprisingly give way to a wide skill set that serves the duo’s current interests quite well.
Recently the two have both started to delve into hyperpop and the hyperpop-affiliated communities and claim contemporaries like brakence, ericdoa, and lieu as big influences for the current direction of their art. The two artists show a lot of promise in their backgrounds as inspiration to draw from for future releases - their story is one that is part of the larger story of the current generation, and it is one that has yet to be told in completion.
The way their story is coming together and being told is what intrigued me the most, really - the insane chemistry behind the pair of artists and the way they have to collaborate given their backgrounds should be the main focus here, and this thought might be reminiscent of something I’ve said previously.
In my last article with Juliana Maria, I was more interested with the creative and collaborative process behind the single than anything else. My intentions with that article were to reflect my admiration for how the current generation has dramatically reshaped the landscape of music and how it is made in an ever changing world, because I personally believe that music is very heavily centered in the here and now, and I congratulated the artists of now in overcoming the challenge of creating together without occupying the same space at the same time.
This time though, I saw that the artists I was talking to had faced a uniquely harsh limitation on their ability to openly collaborate and still managed to carefully craft a hit despite this belief of mine. I mean, 4cf and KBL have a twelve hour time zone difference - they should share virtually no waking hours. This means the duo had to work on the project on their own time, and would have very little time to share their thoughts and progress with each other every day. For a song that shows such painstaking dedication and care in the arrangement, this is a highly inefficient process. Still, the two withstood this immense pressure and delivered a masterpiece with confidence, and they aren’t done yet.
The only thing that could make this collaboration possible despite the challenges is a rare and intense chemistry, and both of them know it. KBL said himself that his biggest inspiration and drive to create is his partner 4cf, and 4cf acknowledged that KBL is the only one to understand his creative vision in the same light. Perhaps I’m only speaking for myself here, but I feel as if every hungry artist envies a bond like that. There are very few times when you meet someone who shares the same creative vision, and those are the connections that inspire the most growth in artists, so the pair aren’t taking a break from collaborating just yet.
This track itself is the byproduct of continuous collaboration between the two, and is actually the fourth track they’ve made together. Following the release of “Jade”, 4cf and KBL are releasing a joint project titled “POPSTAR”, which will be available everywhere on the 5th of November and consists of the first four tracks they have made together. Furthermore, the vault of music between the two is constantly growing, so don’t be surprised if the collaborations continue. If “Jade” goes to show anything about what these two can do together, then I am beyond excited to hear what else they’ll do in “POPSTAR”.
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