KARABOUDJAN – “UPSIDE DOWN”
A SPILL EXCLUSIVE MUSIC PREMIERE
Karaboudjan is the solo project of multi-instrumentalist Billy Kim, who has toured with musician and composer Tycho since 2016. Born in Inglewood, California, but raised a stone’s throw to the east in Fullerton, Billy grew up watching his parents sing together at home. While his parents saw music as more of a hobby, Billy knew he wanted to be a professional musician at the age of 13. By the time he was 17, he had already embarked on his first real nationwide tour. At the age of 23, Billy was featured in Rolling Stone after getting an opportunity to record an album with Grammy Award-Winning producer, Jacquire King (Kings of Leon, Modest Mouse, Tom Waits). While enjoying the high from this remarkable opportunity, Billy lost his father due to Alzheimers. Karaboudjan is a tribute to Billy’s father.
2016, Kim joined Tycho’s touring band and relocated to Union City, New Jersey where he wrote most of his debut EP, Imago. “Our apartment faced the Hudson River, and we had the most incredible view of the Empire State Building. It was magical to have that view every time I looked up from my computer. It was the first time I ever lived away from home, and there was something so enchanting about the city for me. Probably because that’s where I fell in love with my wife.” Much like Karaboudjan, Imago is also something of a tribute to Kim’s youth. Influenced by artists like Radiohead, Blur, Tame Impala, Jon Hopkins, Department of Eagles, Animal Collective, the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and Simon & Garfunkel, Karaboudjan describes his sound as dreamy psych-indie rock.
“Like most artists, I tried to hunker down and write as much music as I could during the start of the pandemic. I’m already a bit of a homebody, so I embraced the beginning of lockdown with open arms. I wrote enough tracks to create a few different projects aside from Karaboudjan, which tends to be a recurring creative issue of mine. I even contemplated releasing a new project/EP instead of these singles, but I really felt that the concept of Karaboudjan wasn’t finished quite yet. It’s like I’m still figuring it out as I go.
I’ve always been attracted to songs where the music contrasts the lyrics. Like a song that makes you want to dance but with somber lyrics. That’s what makes ‘Hey Ya!’ from Outkast so compelling for me. But in my case, there wasn’t previous foresight in writing ‘Upside Down’ that way. I tend to write vocal melodies around the instruments, and not so much the other way around. Usually I approach all creative writing free of rigid outlines or concepts. It’s hard to explain, but really a simple idea to create like a child, free of any criticism and without any boundaries.” – Billy Kim (Karaboudjan)
“Upside Down” was self produced by Karaboudjan, and mixed and mastered by Stefan Mac. SIngle artwork photos by Nitemoves (Rory O’Connor).
Karaboudjan
[Single]
(Independent)
Release Date: September 9, 2022
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