Daringly Experimental: These Two West Coast Misfits Are Redefining Their Own Sound

Living in New York City is pretty sweet, but sometimes we listen to music and it engenders this wanderlust feeling; a desire for something new, different, and exhilarating.

Solidifying this energy while delivering chill and feel good vibes is the Los Angeles-based band, Coast Modern. The American indie pop duo is made up of Luke Atlas and Coleman Trapp, who are rapidly making a name for themselves.

Their classic, yet modern mix of blissful sounds has had no problem catching the ears of listeners. 

With just over 2,000,000+ streams in Spotify, Soundcloud, and iTunes, this West Coast band keeps on growing rapidly, showing no signs of stopping.

Earlier this year they performed live at South by Southwest and went on various tour dates with bands such as BØRNS, The Temper Trap, and The Wombats.

Trapp is from Denver and Atlas grew up in Seattle but was born in Southern California.

Surrounded by music all their lives, Trapp began playing the drums and piano at an early age and sang for the first time at the age of 23, while Atlas grew up playing the guitar.

The celestial sonic union between the two shortly transpired after Atlas moved to Los Angeles. The pair was introduced by a mutual friend and the rest as they say was history. 

I caught up with them over email to talk about their journey leading up to their Sunday performance at The Meadows Music & Arts Festival

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“It’s kind of like music chose us. It’s infected our brains from an early age and we’ve never been able to shake it,” said the duo.

The chemistry between the two is indisputable. From a creative standpoint to the production process, the band exudes an edge of confidence that reveals the magic behind their solid teamwork.

Coast Modern’s spontaneous approach to making music is perhaps what makes them so unique as they are not afraid to experiment.

Such is the case, that Coleman didn’t even sing ONCE before he was 23. One day he just had a little bit too much to drink and randomly came up with a melody.

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This unconventional style is what makes Coast Modern so refreshing.

“We write and produce everything together in Luke’s little home studio tree house. The most important thing is to not to think too much, just “attack” the song. Jump inside of it. Sometimes we’ll start throwing musical ideas on a beat, then we’ll sing random lyrics and pluck words out of the gibberish,” disclosed Trapp.

It took a while for Coast Modern to find the sound that they wanted, but eventually it developed for them organically.

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Inspired by the world and their experiences, the duo takes us on a mellifluous journey. Most of their music is composed from a specific moment in time which instills this genuine feel to their sound and identity.

The dynamic duo shared, “We like to think of the songs as a record of the precise moment in which we wrote them. It’s important to capture the initial burst of excitement on the track and not lose that vibe later on in the process. We keep things a little rough and “human” on purpose.”

Enamored with the idea of music, Coast Modern creates this familiar and nostalgic aura. Part of their sound is also generated from their memories as the band tends to embrace on the music that they loved when they were younger.

The mood of a room definitely affects us onstage. When people out there are freaking out and dancing we go crazier. It’s like a circle of energy.

Drawing influences from great artists such as The Beatles, David Bowie and Prince, it's no wonder that Coast Moderns’ music is nothing short of captivating.

At the core, Coast Modern is able to capture the world through their music. Enveloped in one passionate, all-consuming fire --- their spirits are moved by all of their surroundings. This reflects in songs like "Guru" which has a trippy and beachy Hawaiian vibe to it.

“When we’re writing we like to imagine a world to put the song in. Sometimes the world is lush and tropical, sometimes it’s dessert, sometimes suburban,” they explained.

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This state of mind is transported to the front of the stage when they locked eyes with their audience -- as they like to feel the mood of the crowd in their performances.

“The mood of a room definitely affects us onstage. When people out there are freaking out and dancing we go crazier. It’s like a circle of energy,” described the duo.

Currently, the band is thrilled to be playing this weekend at The Meadows Music & Arts Festival in Queens.

As they take part of an eclectic line-up of more than two dozen artists, they shared that they feel pretty fortunate to even be apart of the bill.

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This modest disposition and their hard work ethic is the driving forces to their success thus far and we couldn’t be more proud of them as they continue to set the stage.

“It’s definitely one of the hottest tickets of the year and we’re stoked to see Cage the Elephant, Chairlift, and our buddy BØRNS, again,” said the band.

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Besides making music, the band is as chill as their sonic and breezy west coast tunes.

In their spare time, they enjoy the great outdoors and exploring, such as hiking in the mountains, going to the beach, and just taking in the simplicity and beauty of nature. Coleman even shared that he knew a few amazing magic tricks.

When asked what other spellbinding music they had under their sleeves, they revealed, “We’re always working on new tunes. We have a bunch of gum balls in the hopper waiting to be let out.”

At the will of their dreams, Coast Modern would like to be remembered for being daring, experimental and not following trends. “We want to encourage people to find their personal paradigm shift. I hope we can inspire people to make art and get woke.”

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Make sure to follow Coast Modern on Instagram and Twitter, as they love to get to know their fans and readers! Make sure to get your tickets for this weekend! Sunday's single-day tickets are sold out, so you're just gonna have to go to the whole weekend. 

[Feature Image Courtesy AnnaLeeMedia] 

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