Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith started producing at the age of 14 and became a professional producer at age 25.
"I first started learning about production through a mentorship program that I did as a teen with a film composer," she says. "I then studied sound engineering in college & composition. I got into synthesis later on in my early twenties through a neighbor lending me Buchla synthesizers to play around with."
Meanwhile, Joe Goddard (well known for his work with Hot Chip) started making music on his computer at around 14-15 also.
"Hot Chip began around then," he says of his band. "I began DJing at friends parties at around the same time and began doing gigs for money when I went to Uni. Kaitlyn and I have been friends for years and just decided to have a go at making music together."
"Joe and I had met through a synthesis email group of musicians that love modular synthesizers," says Aurelia Smith of their collab. "We first started remixing each others' music and had always wanted to collaborate on a song together."
Aurelia Smith describes this project's sound as, "Beat-driven sound design and melodic synthesizer house music." This can be heard on new EP Neptunes.
As for gear: "I used a Buchla 200e, Buchla music easel, wasp synth, Ableton, and my voice," says Aurelia Smith.
"I used a bunch of drum samples on Cubase, Omnisphere synth sounds, lots of Culture Vulture," says Goddard.
Looking ahead, both artists have plenty planned for the coming months. "I have a show in Asheville Nov 17th," says Aurelia Smith. "I am releasing my next solo album in 2025 - starting to share songs in the beginning of 2025."
"I have a short tour of the U.K. and Europe coming up and then plan to start making some new Hot Chip music," adds Goddard. "I'm going to Australia after Christmas, and to Japan to DJ in march next year."
Photo by Elizabeth Weinberg
