kid apollo; The Tender Trio Documenting The Joy And Strife Of Metropolitan Youth

We all find ourselves feeling nostalgic. Whether yearning for a time gone by or tinged with unsettling regret, the consuming sensitivity creeps in, often when we are at our most vulnerable. kid apollo, the pensive rising South London threesome, seem to live in a state of constant nostalgia, gazing back at the wistful past and peering into a bittersweet future.

Desperately difficult to pin down stylistically, kid apollo are connoisseurs of encapsulating mood. Made up of twin brother producers Felix and Theo Ratigan and vocalist Jimmy HM, the childhood friends have barely made it into adulthood. This youthful vibrance, and perhaps a sliver of naivety, makes the trio all the more compelling, spinning stories of late night romance, self contemplation and hazy seshes. The vivid realism to the narratives is like a reflection in a mirror, with the listener emitted to look deep within themselves through the words of Jimmy; “It’s just how I find myself writing lyrically, and we find ourselves instrumentally”, he tells me over our zoom call. “We’re pretty naturally downbeat. It’s what we listen to so we’re not gonna go make some mosh pit song”.

The art to the ruminative relatability that the boys have obtained lies in a concoction of inward and outward musing. “I think it’s just the balance of making it personal enough that it’s not generic”, Jimmy remarks. “It’s not about fitting in with everyone else, but it shouldn’t polarise people or make it too personal to me. I want the listener to have their own spin on it and be able to take it for themselves”’. This nuanced duality was illustrated in abundance on their impressive debut EP, All I Think About. Unveiled last November, the project gave listeners a raw and spirited glimpse into the underbelly of young adult life in the capital. A poignant masterclass of downbeat charisma, the generically boundless body of work was far from perfect - but it wasn’t meant to be. “Those tracks in the EP were just good enough to put out. It touched on our lives: we were doing a lot, meeting new people and experiencing London and going out everywhere”.

Following the endearing promise of their debut, the trio were faced with the precarious burden of forging a more potent and expressive follow up - a task which they passed with flying colours. u the real star here is the winter to its predecessor’s autumn. Leaning further into sombre piano-led ballads and lo-fi production, it’s a far more intimate and cerebral collection of cuts, drowsed in individuality and character, unafraid to be encompassed by its own emotional resonance. “This second one has become more about personal topics and spending time with yourself, thinking about all the things you think about. It’s very obvious when you listen to it what I’m going on about”. Listeners find the group in a meditative state, now more rounded as people and musicians, thriving in the solemness that surrounds self reflection. “We had way more time to actually think about it and the process. It’s just better all round. It all feels a bit more complete as a whole thing. It’s still us figuring things out - it’s disjointed, raw and we’ll probably be saying the same when we drop our third EP”.

It’s quite apparent that kid apollo have barely begun their musical pilgrimage. The next natural step for them is that ‘big break’ moment, but these boys are not going to rush it. “We have been figuring out the balance of staying authentic but compromising the sound a little bit. We want to make music that nobody else is making. The idea of permanence and standing the test of time, making music that does something. We don’t think that’s happening now, and you shouldn’t expect to make music that does that at this stage. It’s just following the process to get there”. With two disparate, creative and explorative EP’s under their belt, the ingredients for the trio to revolutionise are laid out appetisingly. Right now though, kid apollo are just enjoying the starter; “It’s quite an amazing thing, putting music out into the world, new sound waves that people connect with. We just enjoy it”.

Words by Ben Tibbits