Q&A: The Kick’s Intergalactic Debut Record

Creating a new sound and nearly unlabelable genre is something you rarely find anymore, and the Los Angeles duo behind The Kick, Charlie Ziman and Nathan Tsunodam, have found the way. Their passion for creating music shines through and allows them to create a brand new sound that seamlessly blends between psychedelic, punky, and indie; creating a sound they like to call intergalactic. 

The Kick’s debut record 1+1 is releasing November 11th 2026, and I had the privilege to interview the duo ahead of the release to chat about the start of the band, the process of creating the album, and what to look out for from the duo following the album release. 

Culbertson: You guys are childhood friends and grew up together in LA, what inspired the two of you to start creating music together, and is there a story behind how the band came to be?

Charlie: Yes, we met in highschool and have been best buds ever since. I was in a band in 6th grade and on, and when I met Nathan in high school, he ended up joining that band, so we really bonded through that. And on the side we were just making like really goofy songs, we were really inspired by this one band called The Garden. I don't know if you're familiar, but they are like very punk. 

Nathan: They’re crazy. 

Charlie: So for a while there was this moment when we were both already recording and producing a little, but we were just kind of making these crazy songs because we have a lot of energy. It was basically us getting the yayas out as I like to say. So we were doing that a lot, whilst playing little shows here and there. Then kind of near the end and after high school, I distinctly remember making a song and it was pretty cool and listenable to…

Nathan: Yeah, was that Tangerine? It was the first not crazy song that you could play to like, my mom, and she'd be like “Okay that's cool.” 

Charlie: Then I wanna say like 2 years ago, we were like okay lets make this stuff cool and fun to listen to, and that's when we started working on our first project Supernova. 

Culbertson: Do you find that producing for other artists has an influence when creating your personal music?

Charlie: After high school, or starting in high school, I was producing for Malcom Todd, and still am. We all kind of grew up in the same scene, went to the same school, and both were in Malcom’s band, so it all kind of circles back. Outside of The Kick, I'm definitely doing some production here and there, sending people stuff, but The Kick is very much its own kind of entity. We’re very locked into it and we work very well together, and fast, so I think The Kick is its own little world. We’ve done a couple sessions set up through my publishing with some artists so we’ve been doing that as a duo as of recently, but with The Kick, we definitely inspire ourselves. That’s probably the most motivated I am for any projects really right now. 

Culbertson: What has the process of creating this record looked like? Any fun memories you look back on while you were recording? 

Charlie: We’re in this studio that’s in my house that I grew up in, happens to be a completely sound proof room. For this past year we’ve been pulling all nighters in here, really in our own little bubble when it comes to The Kick for sure. 

Nathan: During this album I would wake up, decide I should eat, and then the next thing was like okay lets work on the album, lets work on this song. We’d work on it, stay up really really late, if not an all nighter. 

Charlie: Yeah, lots of all nighters. 

Nathan: Then I’d go home at like 7am. Then do it all over again. 

Charlie: Being in this room in general is such a comforting, safe zone, and I feel like its so different going to a studio and being on a clock. In here it's really just complete creative freedom. I remember there was one night we were tired, but Nathan played this note that was kind of a chord, and we ended up just jumping into making it into something, and then by the morning we had made this beautiful thing. We were both floored, so that's a good memory I have. It would just start as the smallest idea and then we were listening back, super delirious, and honestly we were both crying a little bit. We were like “Holy shit!! This is the best, most beautiful thing we’ve ever made!” It’s not even on the album, just this awesome beat we still have locked away in the vault. 

Nathan: Another one was we went to NY for like a week and rented out this place called Flux. The plan was to finish the album there, but we kind of got side tracked and procrastinated finishing the album. So we started another project in the studio in NY and the vibe was so different from Charlie’s house where we can literally just slip in, start making music, and there's not a lot of pressure time wise making anything. It's really freeing to not have that. That week in NY was really fun, but also a very different way of making music. 

Charlie: Especially too, I mean earlier in the year I was doing a little bit of touring but I ended up staying back from this last Malcom tour, which I usually play drums for, to work on this and it was this moment of okay, we have complete freedom and these 2 months to literally like lock ourselves in this room to finish it, and we did.

Nathan: I remember this one day, as a joke Charlie was like, “Okay you can't leave until you do some vocals.” He ended up crashing and I was there like okay maybe I shouldn't leave until I finish this song, and I did which was pretty sick. 

Culbertson: I got the opportunity to listen to the album in advance and was so impressed by the multitude of different styles and sounds you two incorporated into the tracks that blend together seamlessly. As someone who listens to a lot of different music, it was so fun to listen to because it felt like a whole new genre. How would you guys personally label your genre or sound for any new listeners? 

Charlie: Ah man, I feel the same way. I’ve listened to it a million times back and forth and its a little hard to pinpoint. I hate when I'm out and about and someone asks me, because I want to give them the right answer, but I usually end up saying it's like psychedelic, indie, alternative pop. Those are the words I can describe it with, but I like to say its intergalactic and a little spacey. 

Nathan: You know those 5 Gum ads? Where it's like “This is what it's like to chew 5 Gum?” [laughter] Some of it feels like that. Explosive.. and minty. This album sounds like a gum ad, that's what I would say. 

Charlie: That's really cool to hear though. I think what really inspires us is to create something that's right in between the lines and not really “labelable” or hard to put a real label on. Thats something I think we were trying to do, kind of create a new genre. It's poppy, a little punky sometimes, really ambient sometimes. We did our best to keep it the same sonically whilst having every song be a new thing. 

Culbertson: What went behind the decision to choose “Wish 4” and “Mental Health Day” as the lead singles preceding the record release? How would you say those represent the rest of the album? 

Nathan: “Wish 4” is a good example of the kind of different sounds we put in the same song. Because the second half is so different, so spacey, and the first half is pretty upbeat and kind of in your face. That song in particular is a good showing of the experimentation we're doing with the album. “Mental Health Day” is a little calmer and more straightforward. 

Charlie: For me, it was kind of a fuck it thing. I thought a 7 minute single would be cool because it's not a thing that people in music would really advise. I think it was a mix of these two singles representing the record without giving too much away. It was kind of a let's just put them out sort of thing. I'm trying to conquer the fear of overthinking, so it's been important to sometimes just put it out and let it be, like a leap of faith. 

Culbertson: Are there any standout songs that you guys had the most fun creating and experimenting with, or a favorite off the record? 

Charlie: So cliche, but all of them were so fun and all of the songs that we just love listening to. “I Am No One” is a really special one for me and Nathan because the first half is very loud, a little rocky and punky, and a contrast to the second part [of the song]. I think there are three songs that do this on this album, Halfway, being one. Those kinds of songs that have a different second half show the moment we decided to continue it on.

Nathan: For me, they're all a blast to make. It's all so fun. Even if the song isn't high energy or anything, it's still just exciting to make music and make these songs. As far as favorites… “I Am No One” is pretty special and those other A side/B side ones. My big take away is that this was just a really, really fun time making this album, and I hope that comes across. Because we do get kind of deep with the lyrics, but it's also like you know, we’re just having fun.

Culbertson: What are your guys’ next big goals and aspirations for The Kick following your debut album release next month? Dream venues to perform at, possible tour, etc? 

Nathan: I'm excited to go into the next one, honestly. Let's do it all again.

Charlie: I think we're both very studio based and we just really love making music together. It's the same feeling as it was in high school when we were just goofing around. It’s so fun and we already have another project that we started in NY that’s just waiting to be worked on. We definitely want to perform live, because that's kind of huge component to music. [laughs] We’re also editing all the videos and we’re very independent, so after shooting, Nathan editing, all this planning, it feels like a lot to go to a rehearsal studio right now. But once we finish rolling this record out, I think that will be our next step; a big first show and all that jazz. I think we’re really just going to want to be back in the studio.

Nathan: Maybe we take our vacation to Palm Springs for a week? 

Charlie: Yeah, maybe we take a little vacation and then be “I kinda just want to be making music” and then drive back. [laughs]

Interview by Maddie Culbertson