Kid Apollo - 'lost in her phone'
A trio made up of twin brothers Felix and Theo and frontman Jimmy, Kid Apollo are quickly making a name for themselves in the London underground scene. A mixture of R&B, lo-fi and electronica, their latest track ‘lost in her phone’ explores the liminal spaces in a relationship.
The final track to be released from their new EP ‘u the real star here’, ‘lost in her phone’ is an escape into the unique type of sound which Kid Apollo have crafted over the last year. A reflection on the difficulty and inability connecting with the one you love, this track embodies the feelings of emptiness and space with tranquil instrumentation and soft and heartfelt vocals. It is wild to think that they only started releasing their music properly last year - their sound has an air of experience to it and when listening you really get the sense that they know the kind of music they want to make. Jimmy explained his motives behind this track as
‘Writing about a time when I thought I needed to make space between myself and someone else, but then realised that this didn’t actually help. Lost in her phone is just a way of expressing that I didn’t feel like I could reach that person anymore.’
Opening with a melody played on muted keys, the instrumentation of the track immediately takes you out of yourself. The piano is missing a fullness and clarity which is an illustration of that feeling of not being whole without that person. The twinkling synth sounds which highlight the melody line give the track a spacey quality; rather than big booming beats and elaborate guitars this instrumentation characterises the emptiness Kid Apollo are trying to convey. Jimmy’s vocals are delivered with indisputable melancholy and carry a sense of longing and wistfulness for the love lost.
‘She’s what I’m clutching on, I cannot help trying by myself just don’t do it well’
The lyrics and vocals have a fluidity which makes them sound like they are overflowing and running into one another - something which is only made clearer when the background voices come in. There is a lyric where Jimmy talks about not feeling in control; the ‘she’ in this story is who decides how he feels. Everything working together creates a feeling of confusion and loss, you’re not entirely sure who to listen to and while the voice itself is light and soft, the sheer number of them is too much to handle. The smothering nature of certain moments is perhaps a reflection on how Jimmy felt as though he needed space and is in deep contrast to the instances of quiet and emptiness when he comes to the realisation that the space was preventing him from reconnecting.
Kid Apollo have been pretty quiet about their plans for the new year. 2021 and 2022 were huge for the group though so we can imagine they will want to take things further as we head into january. They’ve already started to see glimpses of great things to come after being named Spotify RADAR artist last week and while their social media has been vague and selective, there is so much space for these guys to grow and blossom as artists.
Words by Kirsty-Ann Thomson
