Indie-Pop Duo KTJ & CARLY Won’t hold back with New Track “Mister Bare Minimum”

I don’t think it’s been any single event but rather a collection of small moments that have accumulated over the past few years. Navigating the dating scene in your early to mid-twenties is so confusing! Because it often feels like there are two distinct camps… one group isn’t looking for anything serious, while the other is OVER eager for commitment. This creates a weird dynamic where it seems like there’s no middle ground. For example, if I am ready for a committed relationship, it’s impossible if the other person is either focused on future milestones like marriage and kids or is hesitant to be “tied down.” Since that heavy commitment isn’t on either of our immediate horizons, I’ve noticed that many recent relationships—both ours and those of our friends—suffer from imbalance. Like clockwork. Or it’s because one partner invests deeply in the relationship while the other contributes the bare minimum or even less. This imbalanced, tumultuous, and frustrating kind of love is so many people have experienced. Giving someone all of you to get none of them in return… not great. And it was something we knew we had to write about eventually. – CARLY

It wasn’t one particular event that made us write MBM, but a cumulation of experiences of the way men have treated all women I know. They will see how little they can do while getting all the benefits of a relationship. In LA, it’s rare to run into men that want to serve and leave places and people feeling better than he found them, it’s often the other way around. – KTJ

I’ve personally struggled with this and still do. What’s worked best for me is focusing on myself. If I invest energy into something that doesn’t reciprocate it, I simply stop. I’m not referring to acts of kindness or helping others, but rather the kind of energy that comes from mutual connection and relationships. I just redirect the energy into my own aspirations and goals. – CARLY

To never settle or think you need them. We don’t need them or anyone who doesn’t add value and good vibes to our lives. We are better off alone. By remembering that, they have no choice but to step up if they do want to be in our lives. If they don’t, then goodbye, their loss. -KTJ

Thank you so much! Lately, I feel like we’ve been drawing more from personal experience than we used to. It’s been cathartic in a way I haven’t experienced in our songwriting career before. Not that we haven’t done that before, but it feels more authentic now. I used to worry about how writing about my personal life might change how people perceive me, but that’s exactly what music is about—transforming emotions into something deeper and almost ethereal. So, to answer your question, as far as the album goes, I feel like the ideas mainly stemmed from our personal experiences, and we just aimed to be as honest as possible. However, I also find inspiration from life outside my own. There are so many people with so many stories; and in our digital age there is nothing to stop us from learning about them and letting them inspire us and find a way to relate to them. – CARLY

Thank you! Our ideas are serendipitous and ever changing, but they flow by talking about these topics and we just find ways to make them come to life through art. For example, when we wrote the line ‘miss communication,’ it started off as mis-communication. We realized with Mister Bare Minimum, that it’s really Miss Communication. – KTJ

My friends definitely inspire my attitude and style. All of them are all so creative and talented. and it inspires me all the time. LA is also filled to the brim with super cool and talented indie artists, I’ve been particularly really inspired by a few artists the past month… Amelia Moore, VERITE, Role Model, and Crystal Castles. My all time heroes are my parents. I don’t know where or who I would be without them.  -Carly

Same about my parents, I’m so lucky to have them. We are inspired by many artists, but mainly the inspiration I find is from all the women in my life. The resilience they have blows my mind. With everything they’ve been through and have had to deal with, they still have grace and humor and love. I look up to my big sister and our Roomate who is practically my big sister as well. I’d be lost without them!

 – KTJ

I don’t know if it’s some twin telepathy we have, but coming together sonically feels very natural. I think it is that fact that we have 100% the same genetic make up and we know each other better than anyone. We have experienced every stage of life side by side. When you know someone that well, making art together comes quite intuitively. I’m so thankful to have that. When we create music, it’s pretty a collaborative process. We start by sharing ideas and influences, and then we blend our individual styles to create something unique. A lot of the time, we also bring more fleshed out ideas to each other and we build on it together. There’s a lot of back-and-forth and experimentation involved—testing different sounds, melodies, and arrangements until we find the right mix. It’s a dynamic and sometimes spontaneous process.. but overall a combined energy that makes our final songs. – CARLY

Creating sonically, we start with melodies and we just hear a certain timbre and vibe and try our best to match the idea in our heads with the sound escaping our computer! That was a big reason why we got into production, because it’s easier to just create the sound than to explain it. But like Carly said, our twin telepathy kicks in here. We both hear and play things differently, but we meet each other in the middle to come up with the best outcome. – KTJ

I would really like to explore bringing in more analog to our music. I feel like the power of DAW and producing in this day and age is so amazing, and I love that current technology allows anyone to make music from anywhere on a low budget… I do sometimes miss that feeling you get from a full band together on records. and I would love to do something more like that in the future. – CARLY

I really want to write more happy music. The topics do not have to be happy, but sonically I want to make happier dance music. As the world is low key falling apart and nothing is being done about it, I feel the world and myself included could use some Happiness and groove in their headphones and speakers. Topics however; l want to write more about timeless concepts and state of the world topics. I have a million different things I want to write about that are heating up in my notes app.. so stay tuned!! – KTJ

I just always try to set clear boundaries from the get go and always stay prioritizing my own well-being. If I recognize that someone isn’t putting in the effort or commitment that I value, I’ll maybe address it once, but if things don’t improve, I move on and invest my energy elsewhere. – CARLY

You get rid of a mister bare minimum by simply not giving him the time of day. Never accept the treatment you don’t deserve. And if you think you deserve a MBM, I’m here to tell you no one deserves that. Everyone deserves love and a healthy relationship! Life is too short to surround yourself with MBM’s who don’t care about you that much and can’t see and appreciate the immense wisdom beauty and fun you are! If you’re blinded by love, always consult with a  friend or therapist. A true friend will be honest with you and wish the best for you. At the end of the day, those are the relationships that truly matter anyway, not some guy who just waltzed in and thinks that he is God. – KTJ