Video Premiere
Fresh from releasing their debut album, sexually liberating music duo CRISP&CLASSY launch hot new music video BOOM BAY
CRISP&CLASSY is an LGBTQIA+ & Feminist musical love affair based in East London, comprised of Scandinavian producer Kat Knix and Transylvanian songwriter Plushy. Following their debut single ‘Suffocate’ in 2019, C&C have since hit the London electronic music scene with eccentric performances at London Venues like The Waiting Room, Netil House and The Social.
Their new album ‘XTRA CRISPY’ Album (released on 15/10/2021) celebrates duality and the battle between being sassy or emotional, being punk or pop, being sexy or needy. The sound is Inspired by pop royalty like Janet Jackson and Madonna and is a delicious mix between futuristic alien guitars, New York House synths and crunchy beats.
A self proclaimed anthem, the first single – ‘BOOM BAY’ could not have been anything less without the signature empowering lyrics and sassy production of CRISP&CLASSY. ‘BOOM BAY’ is now accompanied by a hot new music video directed and produced by the award winning filmmakers of Kougar Media.
The essential vibe of ‘Boom Bay’ has been captured and translated into the stunning music video which follows Kat and Plushy on a sexy journey surrounded by a community of LGBTQIA+ performers, including rising drag star Polka Dot and intersex model Deanna Jade. Directed and produced by award winning Leo LeBeau and James Bell, the video was shot by recent National Film and Television School Cinematography graduate Arushi Chugh, who has already begun to make waves within the industry.
To mark the moment we caught up with CRISP & CLASSY to chat about their music and the new video.
Let’s start with the basics for anyone just getting to know you. Who is CRISP&CLASSY?
We are a LGBTQ & Feminist musical love affair comprised of Scandinavian producer Kat Knix and Transylvanian songwriter Plushy.
C&C was a conscious decision we made after officially spending creative time in the studio together since becoming friends in 2013. C&C was born out of the idea of us uniting our skills and forces to create something that we both enjoyed working towards. We wanted C&C to be a project that would empower us by speaking about things we felt had to be addressed, and tackle topics that would resonate with our listeners and therefore create a CRISP&CLASSY community where every preconception disappears.
CRISP&CLASSY is a spoiled and ignorant child; always in your face, screaming their lungs out to be heard. Because every day is riot day!
How did you get started on your music journey?
Kat Knix was a proper indie rock chick in her teenage years back in Stockholm, while Plushy worshipped the pop divas and joined contemporary dance classes in Transylvania.
We met in London in 2013, whilst working together in retail. We started hanging out because we were both heavily into music, live gigs, and drinking wine…. It actually took us a good few years to write anything decent together because of too much wine! After performing together for a while under Kat’ solo project KatKnix, we eventually decided to officially unite our forces and create something together that was never seen before, and CRISP&CLASSY was born!
How would you describe your sound?
Both of us being 90’s kids, the C&C sound is bringing the 90s to the 2020’s flavours, with lyrics that approach current issues like sexuality, self confidence, queerness, and virtual property (nudes). These two iconic decades in music and fashion awaken an incredible nostalgia in both of us. They make us feel forever young and childish, and give us the power and inspiration to speak about the things that we tackle in our songs with poise and innocence.
How do you define something as crisp and/or classy? What about you as a music duo makes C&C crisp? And what makes C&C classy?
The CRISP&CLASSY sound is a marriage between crisp electronic synths and pop hooks, and classy dance and reggaeton beats.
Beyond the alliteration of it all, CRISP&CLASSY is a lifestyle and community who are either already celebrating themselves, or are in the process of discovering how much you should celebrate and cherish yourself, and the others around you. This translates through clean productions and dirty lyrics. CRISP&CLASSY can also be interpreted as the duality of being sassy and sweet, pop and punk, commercial or niche.
Boom Bay is the first single off your new ‘XTRA CRISPY’ album. Before getting into the actual video, tell us about the song.
We wanted ‘Boom Bay’ to be memorable. We wanted it to incorporate a few of our favorite things – 90s flavours, sassy lyrics, and a happy and anthemy feel, reminiscent of our first single ‘Suffocate’. The first creative decisions of ‘Boom Bay’ were taken while we were still far from one another, during the first lockdown in 2020. It was then that the song title, and the original beat and bass line of ‘Boom Bay’, came to Kat. Then the main lyrical theme and the verses came about when we reunited in the studio during the summer of 2020. This is when we decided we wanted to spread love and empower whoever listens to it.
‘Boom Bay’ is an anthem for ALL Bad Bitches; a celebration of our minds, our bodies and of each other. This song is designed to instigate joy, and is an anthem for everyone who is ready to reclaim their pre pandemic positivity.
What made ‘Boom Bay’ the song to lead the album in releases?
Boom Bay was an obvious decision because it is the epitome of what CRISP&CLASSY stands for, before experimenting with production and writing on the other tracks of the album. The concept for ‘Boom Bay’ was such a no-brainer we decided to shoot and release music for it way before we even finished the album.
Turning to the video, conceptually there is a lot of fun happening while presenting important images of representation. How did you come up with the vision for the video?
The video for ‘Boom Bay’ could not have been possible without our dearest and incredibly talented friends – directors and producers Leo Lebeau, and James Bell, who managed to translate the essence of the song into this stunning music video!
The storyline follows us on a sexy journey, surrounded by a community of LGBTQIA+ performers, including rising drag star Polka Dot and intersex model Deanna Jade.
This is how we’ve always wanted our fans to see the CRISP&CLASSY World.
The video is a fully inclusive project of the LGBTQIA+ community. How important was it for you to ensure the strength of representation?
Empowering women, non binary people, and the LGBTQIA+ community has always been our mission statement, and was important to include in this video, and our future work. We love giving our audience a gender and genre bending experience, inviting them to a safe space where everyone can feel safe and seen. If you get a place in the spotlight, use it well! And this is how we wanna use it, every chance we get!
As artists conscious of the need for LGBTQIA+ support and inclusion, how inclusive are you finding the industry on a whole? Where have you seen the strongest support of LGBTQIA+ music and art?
We generally found that the queer community is where we received the most support. The love and care is endless. It comes from other queer artists like Andree Di Giovanni, queer promo pages like @queerartistsconnect and @qreviews, and queer playlists. There are also a lot of support from platforms for female and non binary people in the music industry, that we admire so much, and get so much support from.
The video is also very inclusive from a body positivity aspect. Is positive body image part of the Crisp&Classy mission?
Our fight for body positivity was born out of rage against people who are monetising our self hatred. The diet industry feeds off our fat phobic thoughts that have been imprinted onto our brains since the day we were born.
In the C&C World everyones’ day starts by looking at themselves in the mirror saying : ‘Thank you body for always standing by me and taking me through the day. You are stunning and I love you!!!’
What’s the biggest thing you hope fans take away from the video?
We want everyone who watches the video to feel like they wanna jump through the screen into the C&C World! Take a break; have a boogie, take a bubble bath, pour champagne over your bestie, eat fried chicken til you burst, dance yourself sweaty in the sunshine (don’t forget your SPF!). But above all: EMBRACE YOURSELF AND FEEL YOUR FANTASY!
The video project was crowd funded. How long did it take you to reach your goal?
We were encouraged to start a crowdfunding page for the music video by Leo Lebeau and James Bell. We started the campaign in April, and shot the video in May, so it was a tight time frame. We were quite reluctant about the idea at the beginning; we had no idea what to expect! But we soon learned that people were thirsty to support, excited to donate, and their want to be part of the project exceeded our expectations! We ended up raising almost £2000. This video would not be possible without our amazing supporters!
The love we received during our crowdfunding campaign was absolutely unbelievable, and we’re forever grateful to everyone who’s donated. This was the first time we felt we’d actually managed to build a fan base, and again we could not be more grateful for all of the donations our CRISP&CLASSY family have made.
How challenging are you finding it as independent artists to have access to funding opportunities for these projects?
It’s mostly a case of endless amounts of research and hustling, which we do every day! Seek and ye shall find!
The challenging part is investing a lot of time and energy into something uncertain, where you don’t know where it will lead, or if it’s even worth your effort. You can easily feel mentally vulnerable, and you constantly ask yourself ‘ are we doing enough?’
We encourage each other no matter what happens, and we know it’s a learning experience for us. But little did we know that it would be a success!
What do you think independent artists need the most access to funding for? What is the biggest limitation for you when it comes to releasing projects?
We’ve learned that music marketing requires quite a lot of financial resources. People should know that if you’re an independent artist, it mostly comes out of our own pockets. Beyond the creative aspect of being an independent artist, you should also see your project as a business. A business needs a tireless work ethic and also investment. CRISP&CLASSY is a long term investment, and we are confident that the work we put in will eventually pay off. When it comes to love and appreciation from our fans, it already is worth it!
What’s on the horizon for Crisp & Classy? What are the 2022 plans?
Get yourselves ready for more C&C gigs in 2022! Also, stay tuned for more music and music videos! Whilst promoting the album, we’ve really missed being creative together in the studio, so that’s definitely something we’re excited to get back to.