The duo, more, comprised of Los-Angeles based singers, songwriters, and multi-instrumentalists Kane Ritchotte and Malcolm McRae harmonize so well that their talents together are musical kismet. The duo blends powerful melodies among the genres of rock, pop, alternative, and Americana. They both hail from different States, one from the East and one from the West, but their styles mesh succinctly well together.
Kane and Malcolm draw inspiration from a wide range of artists, from classics like John Lennon, Harry Nilsson, Bowie and Jeff Lynne to more modern artists like Gorillaz, Kendrick Lamar, and Tame Impala, among many others. Earlier this year, the duo released two EPs (1/2 and 2/2), featuring their knack for strong songwriting, and incredible harmonizing, and were mentored and produced by the legendary Tony Berg. Kane and Malcolm met only a few years ago through mutual friends in LA, and Kane was a staple in the music scene who had played drums with Portugal.The Man and Grouplove, who decided to express himself musically a different way. Malcolm is an architecture school dropout and moved to LA from Alabama and wanted to expand his musical landscape. Both knew they were musically inclined to perform and write songs together, that “we jumped so quickly into our musical partnership from being perfect strangers, but it’s turned into a healthy dynamic, both personally and professionally, because our friendship was birthed directly out of a huge degree of musical and artistic respect for one another,” shared Ritchotte.
more have released a few singles, first with their debut of “Settled In,” “God Is in the Details,” and “The Way,” featuring the duo’s mesmerizing vocals and gorgeous songwriting featured on EP1. On EP2, the songs contain a little funk with “Keeping It in the Family,” and the rocker “Lazy James,” along with “Green,” “Like Me,” and “Ride Along.” We chatted with the duo about their latest music, signing with Warner Brothers Records, their inspirations, and what’s coming next.
Congrats on your debut EP! What made you decide to title it 1/2?
Kane Ritchotte and Malcolm McRae: Thank you very much. It’s genuinely exciting for us. This is our first time releasing music and, while it’s more challenging than we predicted, we’re having a really good time coming out of our inception period and sharing things with people.
The title is wildly symbolic. It’s derived from Sanskrit where, in the ancient language, these characters combine to mean “Flower Children”.
No, not true- it’s just that we went into the studio to make a cohesive album of ten songs and didn’t initially intend to release them as two separate EPs. We wanted to be somewhat clear that these are a pair of EPs from one period of time. The mentality of ‘pairing’ things is pretty relevant to us, I guess, considering we’re a duo. Yin, yang, vice versa, mano a mano, you see. As we’ve always correctly stated, “we’re two peas in a pond”.
Do you each have a favorite lyric or line off of the record?
Malcolm: In a perfect world, Kane’s favorite lyrics would be anything I’ve written and my favorite lyrics would again be anything I’ve written. And, as is being proven constantly this year, we clearly live in a perfect world…
You recently released two music videos, were you involved with the concepts?
Kane & Malcolm: Not really and sort of. The concepts for these two were definitely spawned by our director, Justin. Justin was very considerate of our constant creative particularities and specificities. He’s the best. We love him.
Do visuals play a role in your music?
Kane & Malcolm: Of course! They constantly influence us while we write / record music and continue to do so when creating visuals of our own. Anything from graphic design to photographic composition to typography to architecture can become artistic supplementation. However, while we tend to think every tiny, visual affectation will influence the listener and their perception of the music, it probably doesn’t. We still dig that aspect of music. At the very least It’s an important change in perspective as we tend to obsess over the music itself. Making the music qualitative is the most important thing to both of us. Whether we succeed in that is subjective.
How did signing with Warner come about?
Malcolm: Kane had been friends with our now A&R, Chris Morris, for years and Chris was curious about the project when we started demoing our newly written songs on an iPhone. Once we felt the studio versions were in a shareable state, we invited him to listen in person, at Sound City, where we had been recording. Luckily for us, he liked it and brought Aaron Bay-Schuck in to listen a week later. On our end, we saw Chris and Aaron to be very forward-thinking in their approach to running a label. They had clear concepts and were attentive to the importance of fostering teams who were not only great at what they do but also were great people. Being a brand new band, their enthusiasm early on has gone a long way.
Taking it back, how did you each get into music?
Malcolm: Kane is the musical one. He was a drummer starting at age 3 or so. The raw footage of those home videos from the ‘God’ video are so compelling to watch because you get to witness, very quickly, his skill level evolve on a plethora of instruments and his love for anything musical. His pop is also a fantastic guitarist who played with Steppenwolf and Cher, to name a few. It’s in his blood. You can see the comfort spill over him whenever he’s with an instrument. And I’m jealous of him for that.
I was raised Christian in the south, so my experience came from church choir as a kid. My mom and dad also sang, both well. My mom introduced me to Ray Charles and my dad to shit like Madame Butterfly. Wanting to copy my brother, I started playing guitar around 16 or 17 years old, which is relatively late, but it’s ok. I’m always late.
Have your influences and inspirations changed over the years?
Malcolm & Kane: Change in that regard is constant. Some inspirations like to stick around longer than others, though.
Since most of the country is or was in quarantine, what did you each do to pass the time? (New skills, bingeing shows, cooking, etc.)
Malcolm & Kane: Who’s in what, now? Quarantine…? (Writing, reading, recording, playing Mario Kart every now and again, learning new instruments, walking, yada yada – we’ve tried everything once)
Photo by Drew Escriva
Did you find it easier or harder to be creative while at home?
Malcolm & Kane: Initially, easier. As this is being written, it’s become more difficult. Hoping it’s a cyclical kind of thing.
What else can fans expect from you this year?
Malcolm & Kane: Hopefully, first and foremost, our literal survival. They can also expect “Flower Children II.” We’ll be steadily releasing ‘more’ music and visual content through the year….(wink wink nudge nudge)…
On a serious note to close, fans can expect us to challenge both ourselves and our listeners to take a closer look at each person’s interior self and at the exterior world we’re living in. Our influence on each other is now more important than it’s ever been in our lifetime. We’re holding ourselves and our peers to a higher standard because of it. Artistically, socially, politically. Now is the time to think deeply and to make considerations that were easier to ignore or turn a blind eye to in the past. The arts have always been a more palatable way to confront the human condition. Like choo-choo train-ing a spoonful of what would otherwise be too bitter to swallow. That’s not a responsibility we take lightly. No matter the size of our reach.
Thanks for the questions and the time! This was fun!
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