Hailing from Chicago, Illinois trap duo Collin Burdick and Bennett Kohler established a frenzied following at their alma mater, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champagne, where they laid the initial groundwork for music production and performance under the alias Kyral x Banko.
Now toting a heavy hitting trap EP, Focus, on Quality Goods Records, an official remix for Jantsen‘s ‘Badboy Sound‘, and a slapping collaboration with Holly, the pair show no signs of slowing down in the coming year. With a deeply rooted background in hip-hop, their sound fuses captivating rap vocals, meticulous synth patterns, and staggering bass, achieving an uncanny style, which expertly encompasses multiple genres.
We were delighted to catch up with the pair to discuss producing and performing as a duo, digging deeper into their creative process, and get a sneak peek at what they’ve got in store for their performance at MorFlo Music Festival this upcoming weekend.
Be sure to check out the full interview below!
How did you guys originally meet at UIUC?
K & B: We met through a mutual friend Bartek (Allen Blackwell). We all DJed the campus bars and we both knew him separately. One day he told us it clicked in his head that we needed to meet each other. He set up for us to meet up one night and listen to some tunes and we definitely clicked on musical taste so it was pretty easy to take it from there.
Was your relationship purely professional from the beginning, or did you become friends due to a shared passion for music and production which eventually led you to birth Kyral x Banko?
K: Shortly after Bartek introduced us, we were playing our first show together opening for a Flux Pavilion tour as local support. Although we began Kyral x Banko almost immediately after meeting, we’ve been pretty much best friends since the beginning due to a shared passion for music and production.
What were the primary motivations behind your move from Illinois to Denver? Has this relocation been fortuitous for your project?
K: My primary motivation behind moving was Bennett moving out to Colorado first. Although I always wanted to move out west, him taking that leap and building a network in Denver was my main inspiration. The relocation was definitely fortuitous in my opinion. There’s always pros and cons to every move, but coming to a new music scene with new people has really helped us expand our musical boundaries and we have so much more inspiration to still get in the future.
B: After coming out to Colorado for a few summers to my girlfriend’s family’s cabin in the mountains, I definitely fell in love with the state pretty quickly. Moving away from Chicago was always something that was in the back of my mind, and although it will definitely always be ‘home’ for me, Denver and the culture here has definitely propelled a lot of things in a very positive direction. It’s a pretty incredible scene out here.
Do you notice any differences in the music scene between Illinois and Denver?
K: I would say there are huge differences in the music scenes. The styles of music that come from each city for one are vastly different. Music is undoubtedly a product of your surroundings, and our style has definitely evolved since we’ve moved out. There’s also just a LOT more music on a daily basis. Between Denver, Boulder, and Red Rocks, there’s good music somewhere every single night. People call it the bass capital of the world. Also the DJ to Producer ratio is much smaller out in Colorado. Many more people out here make original music rather than just DJ. Also there’s not much of a club scene out here, whereas Chicago thrives at that nightlife (lots and lots of house music) until 6am or later most weekends and some weekdays even.
B: Oh definitely. I feel that with any huge city like Chicago, LA or NYC there is a huge focus on clubs. Although playing in clubs is always an amazing experience with the world-class sound systems and all, it can get quite exhausting when that’s all that you’re doing as far as shows go. There are a ton of small, intimate venues out here that have tons of character and people actually come out to support the artists that are playing. We have a pretty awesome group of producer friends out here as well, and we’re all motivating each other to grow and innovate.
How about any differences between the college music scene at UIUC as opposed to the scene in Colorado?
K: Firstly, when I started DJing at UIUC, there were almost no rules. We played dubstep, trap, and big room house for hours on end. That kind of freedom to play endless electronic tracks was a huge reason for my evolution into this scene. It was like a breeding ground for ‘edm’ at the time (~2010 and on). In Chicago though, there are almost no clubs that you could do that in unless it was an ‘edm’ or ‘bass’ exclusive event. At UIUC it was happening in almost every top club/bar all night every night. The college music scene still though was more similar to the Chicago scene I’d say in the idea that it was more DJs, Clubs, and Clout, rather than original music and low-key homie thrown shows showcasing the local talent. To be fair though, I was more in the DJ category until my senior year when I finally downloaded Ableton and started learning my own production.
B: I’d say the scene in Champaign/Urbana was way more similar to the culture out here in Denver. We got our start at this venue called Canopy Club in college, and that place was extremely amazing in terms of the friends and staff that we met there. Way closer to the Colorado-type welcoming energy there as opposed to Chicago.
Do you guys have any other interests or hobbies outside of music?
K: Another reason I moved out to Colorado was definitely for the Snow. I’ve been snowboarding for about 12 years now, and the mountains out here are magical. That’s probably my second biggest passion in life honestly, and I never get to do it enough. I’ve also loved all other snow and water sports my whole life too, skiing, wakeboarding, tubing, etc. I also have a love for pretty specific video games that I try to suppress haha. Final Fantasy, Star Craft, and Counter Strike ( haven’t played that in years but I know I could get sucked into it ) to name a few. Nature in general though is big for me, another reason for leaving Chicago, and there’s a ton of that out here.
B: Outside of music, I’m extremely passionate about coffee. I’ve been working in coffee shops for about 9 years now and definitely have long term goals of opening a shop of my own down the road. Other than that, being outside and going hiking up in the mountains is a pretty flawless way to clear your mind and get some inspiration to carry back into the studio.
How long have you been producing music, both individually and together as Kyral x Banko?
K: I pretty much started less than a year before Kyral x Banko began. I had gotten Ableton in 2012, so I’ve only been producing for about 6 years, but I’d say only about 4 years more seriously.
B: I was producing some pretty simple hip-hop beats in high school, so about 2008 would be when I got started in terms of learning DAWs and techniques. KxB started in 2012. Definitely quite a bit of years of developing our sound.
Do you typically begin with some rap bars and transform that into a song, or does a tasteful beat tend to lead into a vocal accompaniment?
K: It always varies, but more often than not, a beat will come before the vocals I think. Usually it’s music first, and then if we think it needs vocals, or some are found along the way, we go with what feels right.
B: Honestly there hasn’t ever been a rhyme or reason to adding vocals. Sometimes the track works around pre-existing vocals, other times the music is first and vocals come later. I’ve always been a big supporter of not being to rigid in the production process and let ideas flow loosely and work with whatever comes out at the time.
Your style of trap music beautifully blends the coveted uncanny sound design with powerful, well-articulated vocals. How do you maintain this essence in your music, while constantly striving to bring something fresh and new to the table with each release?
K: Well thank you sir, that’s quite a quote right there. We’re constantly learning new techniques, and I think we just sort of naturally evolve to want to try and make new things. Other music often inspires us too, and we just go with what we’re feeling at that time and try and make it sound as best it can.
B: First off, that may have been the most well-worded interview question I’ve ever answered haha. We’ve constantly had the idea of evolving on the forefront of our production process. Working with producers like Holly also helps a ton in terms of trying to push a certain track hard enough that it’s up to industry standard.
I’d say in my head visually, Focus is a mini war with 4 different battles.
Let’s talk about Focus for a bit. Tell me more about the project from your eyes and ears, what visual imagery were you hoping to depict with the EP?
K: Since you’re asking now, I’d say in my head visually, Focus is a mini war with 4 different battles. Each song is energetic and aggressive in its own way, with some interlude ambience and melodies. We wanted to make a statement with the unique/experimental sounds accompanied with driving energetic bass lines. As long as we’re moving the dance floor, I hope people imagine whatever they want to it.
B: I had actually moved out to Colorado about a year before Collin, so this project was mostly bounced back and forth from the studio out here and back to Collin in Chicago. We started realizing the extent of the focus that we were putting towards the project in terms of making some of the more forward-thinking tracks we’ve ever made, and that’s how the title of the EP sort of came about. Definitely quite proud of the project and how it turned out.
When it came to the visual side of the project, how was the album art selected? Did you have the freedom to weigh in with input, or were the visual aspects largely determined by QGR?
B: They have a pretty amazing team. Mouna, the label manager, had us put together a mood-board of pictures we thought emphasized the EP visually. From there, they sent that over to the in-house graphic designer Julien Rivoire who handles all of the graphics for the label’s releases. His style and abilities with 3D rendering is pretty insane and makes the aesthetic of the label very consistent.
What was your favorite thing about working closely with UZ and the QGR family on Focus?
K: Being able to go back and forth with them about which tunes were strongest, whether or not they were finished or needed more work, getting them mastered correctly, and meticulously planning out the release were my favorite parts hands down.
B: For me, just being a part of that team is enough to motivate us to constantly grow. There are some seriously world-class producers on their roster and having the constant drive to work to make our tunes stack up with theirs is a huge factor of our growth as artists over the past few years.
Are there any alarmingly positive or negative aspects to producing/performing as a duo?
K: Being two heads rather than one, we can either butt heads with each other, or reinforce our creative ideas, edit them perfectly with a secondary opinion, and blossom them into fruition. Sometimes it’s great, sometimes it’s not. You can pretty much apply that to every aspect about the career, and you’ll get the point.
B: I’m always an advocate of the concept of ‘two minds are always better than one’ and I think that has always held true. Obviously with any partnership there has been subtle moments of butting heads and disagreeing but at the end of the day it’s always motivating to be able to bounce ideas off of each other constantly and grow the brand together.
Do you ever feel like your creative capability is hindered or expanded by having two minds and two tastes contributing towards the same project?
K: Pretty much what I said above explains that. Sometimes I would say yes, especially because an idea can be shut down to early when it hasn’t had proper time to be developed. But other times it’s complete opposite. One of us gets stuck and then the other brings in a new idea that helps move it forward.
B: Collin’s definitely more left-brained and methodical most of the time mostly because he has a degree in Chemistry and has always been more mathematical. I’m from a family of very wildly right-brained people and tend to be a little more loose and messy with the production. The combination of the two often makes things way easier and more efficient because we are both attacking a project with our own individual thoughts and opinions. Occasionally there is disagreement but I think it’s mostly beneficial in the long run.
Tell me a little bit about your live performances. What type of vibe do you hope to achieve for the crowd? Do you plan to bring any visuals along with you?
K: Energy has always been the name of the game for me. Strategically planning sets to hit the right energy and maintain it through every tempo/genre has always been one of the most important parts of the live show in my opinion. We constantly analyze the shows we play, identify which parts we lost energy, and make sure to avoid that issue in the next. Shows/crowds in different places though always bring different energies, set times can be a huge influence, and other things can always change what we plan for though. We have some dope logo animations right now that we take along, and are hoping to do something a bit bigger for the future.
B: We usually plan our sets pretty meticulously in terms of energy and flow through different tempos and genres. I will typically be doing vocals live and both of us strive to really leave it all out there so that the crowd doesn’t have to sort of stand through an hour of two people standing there playing their music. That isn’t necessarily always a bad thing, but I am almost always in the mindset of going as hard or harder than anyone in the crowd so they’re motivated to sort of let loose and feel the energy that we felt in planning the set out. Julien, the graphics guy for QGR made us some pretty epic renders of our logo that we’ve been using for visuals also.
Any secret unreleased goodies from you or friends that we can expect to hear live at MorFlo?
K & B: If there’s one thing that’s come from moving into this house together and setting our studio up in the garage, it’s a ton of new tunes. We just wrapped up a new EP with our guy FiYah. All in all, we’ve been playing about 50-60% original music in our sets and at least half of those are unreleased.
Seeing that piece of music that you might have started in your bedroom, airplane, garage studio, or other spot make hundreds or thousands of people dance at one time is truly a sight…
What has been the most rewarding aspect for the two of you in your time producing and performing as Kyral x Banko?
K: Watching crowds react (well) to original music is always one of the most rewarding parts. Seeing that piece of music that you might have started in your bedroom, airplane, garage studio, or other spot make hundreds or thousands of people dance at one time is truly a sight and an unmatched feeling. Getting to also share that with one of your best friends on stage simultaneously is pretty epic.
B: I’d have to say one big thing is the producer friends that we’ve made along the journey that we used to look up to and still consider huge inspirations. It’s also always pretty wild to play festival sets with thousands of people moving and feeling the energy that we work pretty tirelessly to craft.
What can fans expect from the two of you in the coming year?
K & B: Just continual growth. We appreciate every single push of the play button and make it a huge goal to make each listen a unique experience and not just another EDM track. We’re working to grow the brand and take this ship as far as she’ll sail.
