We recently caught up with pop singer-songwriter’s KTJ & CARLY who have just released their spectacular new EP “NUKETOWN “and, played a little game we like to call “10 Questions “

First off…Congratulations on an amazing E.P.!
1- Can you tell us about the title “NUKETOWN” and where it comes from?
Thank you! We first were inspired by this concept after watching Indiana Jones, and rewatching this scene where he accidentally ends up in a nuclear testing site… how much it reminded us of our childhood when we would play this video game called Nuketown. It is an eerie world where the only living and breathing thing is yourself, and we wanted to create a world like that where the only person you must face is yourself. – CARLY
2- The Overall sound on “NUKETOWN” is a very mature and defined sound . Did you do anything different on this EP as far as the overall process with bringing these songs to life ? Or do you think that the sound is changing and developing is just a natural thing that happens over time?
Every song came about differently. One of the songs was from a few years ago, while the others just came naturally. We wrote the songs before the concept of Nuketown. – KTJ
3- We know this may be a tough question… between the two of you do you have one song that is perhaps a favorite in the collection of songs from the EP?
I favor the message of Shitty People, but I favor the energy of Body and synth in Nosedive. It just depends on the day and what mood I am in. Maybe we should make a combo of all of the songs and we’ll call it the. KTJ AND CARLY COMBO– KTJ
What Katie said, I think it definitely changes for me, but I will always find that Body & Shitty People really hit home for me. I struggle with both dissociating and constantly knocking myself down to seem like I have my life together which is what both songs are about and they are my favorites on the EP for sure. But I also love the energy of Nosedive and Backfire 🙂 – CARLY
4– The songs on “NUKETOWN “ are extremely honest and authentic. We’re guessing some of the songs are from personal experiences. Is it easy to put it all out there in song? and also in doing so is it at all therapeutic to do so .
Like I said before, I struggle with feeling out of my body constantly. If a single thing happens in a public setting that triggers me, I’ll just snap out of it and start dissociating. Over the past few years, I had felt myself become a shell of the social butterfly I used to be, and I had been aching to write about it for a long time. Writing about it helped me break out of that shell a bit too. And of course, shitty people specifically is a really vulnerable song. It’s almost embarrassing sometimes, because it feels like someone is reading your diary. But at the end of the day, its always the greatest feeling to share these lyrics and songs with the world because while yes, it is therapeutic, there is also a chance that someone else may relate to this, leaving me and that person in it together haha. No one is alone when they have music. We are also the most open books you could find, some may even call me an oversharer, so I’ve never been afraid to say what’s on my mind. – CARLY
Yeah! I struggle with lots of the topics in the EP, as do a lot of people in their early 20’s. It’s the most fun, amazing, happy, hilarious, sad, and therapeutic process as far as creating and writing a song goes, but it’s definitely not easy to put out in the world.–KTJ

5- The Vocals on “In My Ways “ are absolutely stunning. The simple melodic arrangement really makes the vocals stand out . How did that come about ?
When we write songs, oftentimes we will just start out with a simple synth and basic melody. When we wrote this with Meg Delacy, after listening for a while, we just didn’t want to add anything else! Something about that first demo just felt finished and that is how the song came about! – CARLY
Thank you! We wrote the hook melody and we were just playing with different sounds in production , ended up putting a vocoder on it and threw a bunch of harmonies over that. We felt that it stood strong on its own so we took it in a simpler route as far as instrumentation goes, andnowitiswhatitistoday!:) –KTJ
6- Can both of you share maybe some bands/artists that you are into that may not be well known but you are big fans of ?
Lately, I have been listening to this cool duo band Tommy LeFroy, I just discovered this new girl band The Last Dinner Party, and artists like Paris Paloma, Kiki Rockwell, Frankie Cosmos, and Lowertown. – CARLY
Noah Kahn, Reneé Rapp and MUNA are a few I’m listening to right now. I assumed everyone was well known by now, but someone asked me “who sings this song playing?” and it was “River” by Leon Bridges which has gotta be in the top ten songs ever made. – KTJ
7- We are super excited that you guys are hitting the road in August. What are you most looking forward to ? ( We hope you’ll eventually make it close to our home base (Boston) Soon.
A north east tour is definitely in the books SOON and Boston is our college Alma Mater so have always wanted to play there!! For our most upcoming tour, I am really excited for every single one of the shows of course, but the roadtrip in between was so fun last time and I am really looking forward to just getting to explore the rest of California again! I really loved playing Chop Suey last year and Brick & Mortar so I was super excited to play those venues again. – CARLY Thanks! And yes!! I love traveling. I’m looking forward to quality time and high energy shows. Our older sister was just there, Boston is close to our hearts and we hope to visit/tour there soon!! I am looking forward to the shows and meeting new faces. – KTJ
8 – What are 3 go to items that you must have while on the road ?
When we were on tour, we listened to these silly narrative podcasts the whole road trip and we were so emotionally invested the car ride felt like two seconds. And of course you can’t forget snacks and music:) – CARLY
Headphones, pillow, blanket (optional). – KTJ
9- If you were not pursuing music what do you think the two of you would be doing?

If I wasn’t pursuing music, I would probably be full time behind the scenes, whether it’s directing films, writing and directing music videos, and/or producing. But who knows, maybe in another dimensional universe I’m a doctor or an astronaut. In all, if I wasn’t pursuing music, I still would be pursuing something music/film related/adjacent. – KTJ
If I wasn’t pursuing music I would probably be doing acting/graphic design/behind the scenes/what katie said, but I am still doing that sorta now anyways! So, to make it fair I am going to choose something out of the entertainment field! When I was a kid, I wanted to be a vet for two seconds and then I wanted to be a musician haha… I suppose if I didn’t want to do what I do now I would have stuck with that one. – CARLY
10- And finally …. If you could describe the “NUKETOWN” EP in one word …. What would that one word be ???
Deforestation – KTJ
Solitude – CARLY

We thank KTJ&CARLY for playing “10 Questions “ with us here at The Whole Kameese !!!! Be sure to check out their amazing new EP “NUKETOWN” , you can check our full review Here