Exclusive Interview: KTJ & Carly Discuss Ego Death EP

KTJ & Carly are two of pop music’s brightest young stars. They’re best known for their timeless storytelling and hits including “Taboo,” “Pink Ferrari,” and “Daddy’s Little Lawyer.” This June, the pair has dropped their highly-anticipated sophomore EP, Ego Death. Pop Culturalist was lucky enough to speak with KTJ & Carly about the release.

PC: Tell us about the inspiration behind Ego Death.
Carly: When we first started writing it, it came super naturally. It wasn’t forced. We didn’t really come up with the idea before we started writing. As we were writing it, we realized that it was a combination of the five layers of the ego and how your ego really affects your role in society and what that means. That’s how we were inspired when we were writing it.

KTJ: I feel like our first EP Identity was about finding yourself. Then we started to realize that the new EP is about losing yourself.

Carly: It’s playing off that.

PC: It’s been a few years since you dropped Identity. How have you both grown as artists?
Carly: We’ve grown a lot. I feel like we grow every single day as artists because there are so many new things to learn, not just in the world of artistry but…

KTJ: In general.

Carly: With music production, instrumentation, and branding. Overall, I feel like there’s something new to learn and we’re like sponges. We try to soak up as much as we can.

KTJ: I feel like we’ve learned to become more vulnerable in our writing too.

Carly: I feel like we’ve grown in our songwriting. A lot of it is written from personal experiences. Not all of it, of course, but a lot of it is. We try to tap into that a lot. We’ve grown a lot since then.

PC: There are so many different layers and facets to your talent. Does one come more naturally to you? Is one more challenging?
Carly: It almost depends on the day. I enjoy songwriting. I always enjoy writing lyrics more than anything. I feel like that comes a bit more naturally to me than the music part. Some days it’s the opposite though.

KTJ: Usually for me, it’s melodies and chord progressions, but occasionally I will come up with a really good line and I’m like, “Okay, I can do both.” But I would say that my strength is melodies and Carly’s is lyrics.

PC: If you each had to select a song off of Ego Death that best encompasses who you are as an artist, which would it be and why?
Carly: That’s a good question.

KTJ: For me, I would say “Pink Ferrari.” It was a really fun process writing that. It’s kind of off-center production-wise. I feel like it’s very different as far as the instruments we use and all that. I feel like it has a good message about being proud of who you are, owning your flaws, and showing up authentically as yourself.

Carly: For me, I would say lyrically I really love “Signing Off.” It’s the last song on the EP. The first and last songs are my favorites at the moment, but it changes every day. I think it ties the whole EP together in a way. “Signing Off” is a metaphor for letting go—letting go of the ego, letting go of the online presence. It’s about unplugging. I find that I have a hard time doing that. Sometimes I’m like, “I should take my own advice.” The same with “Soliloquy.” It’s the intro, and it’s saying, “I have to figure out who I am in order to understand how to even unpack what’s happening in my head.”

But musically, I think my favorite one is “Heartless,” because there’s a really fun storyline in there. It’s really groovy, and the production was really fun to do. I feel like in any work field, there’s always this idea that you have to get to the top. You have to be the best. I feel a lot of people forget what really matters in life, which is your loved ones—your family and your friends. That’s really important to both of us. That one is also one of my favorites. I gave you three songs. [laughs]

KTJ: I’m going to add to mine. It switches between “Pink Ferrari,” “Heartless,” and “Daddy’s Little Lawyer.”

Carly: So the whole thing.

PC: Your songwriting has resonated with listeners around the world, and there’s a timeless and universal quality to your lyrics. What is each of your favorite lyrics that you’ve ever written?
Carly: Thank you. I really like the line in our song “Hidden.” That was released almost a year ago. There’s a line that says, “I’m summoning my ghost but scared to let it go.” It means that you have been invisible for so long that you’re trying to reconnect with your soul. It’s very emotional.

KTJ: I would say my favorite line in “Daddy’s Little Lawyer” is “You want to have your white picket fence, but I want every color. It felt like 20,000 hours trying to figure you out, just to find out that you’re definitely not cute enough to be this boring.”

PC: Something that I’ve appreciated about the two of you is that you’ve always taken the road less traveled. As the market in this industry has changed into a singles market, you two have continued to release larger bodies of work. Why has that always been important to the two of you?
Carly: When I listen to music, I listen to the album from top to end. It’s a really special experience doing that because you get to go through this journey. There’s always a reason why a song is put where it is. It’s almost like watching a movie.

KTJ: I was just going to say it’s like watching a TV series. I want to hear the whole story. Three minutes isn’t always enough. A whole body of work ties it all together. It also gives people options.

Carly: Exactly. For both of us, when we write music it’s to tell a story. When you listen to a full body of work, there’s a whole story across five to eleven songs.

PC: This is such an exciting time in your career. When you look back, what’s been the biggest surprise?
KTJ: I’m very self-critical. The amount of love and support that we’ve seen from everyone has been incredible. It’s amazing to see that people relate to our music, and I’m so grateful for that. It’s so beautiful to see the music we create make a difference in people’s lives.

Carly: I agree. That’s the greatest thing. There are always fun things happening from live shows to scoring and producing for other artists. But at the end of the day, the best thing is someone reaching out and saying, “I really love your music. It means a lot to me.” Some of the greatest things that happen are when someone DMs us and shares how our music has helped them get through a hard time. When I read that, I start to cry.

KTJ: That’s why we do it.

Carly: It really touches my heart. I’m like, “Oh my God. This is actually helping someone other than us. It’s not just our thing anymore. It’s everybody’s thing.”

PC: Outside of the EP, what can fans expect from you for the rest of 2022?
Carly: We’re going to be releasing some more music videos. They’re really cool, and they were also fun to make. After that, we’re going to be on tour. We’re going to do a West Coast tour in August, which is super exciting. We’re also going to be releasing more music.

To keep up with KTJ & Carly, follow them on Twitter and Instagram. Pick up or stream Ego Death today.