After forming last year, Young León – made up of vocalist Tanner Leon and beatmaker Charcuterie (Aaron) – have taken it upon themselves to get their name, and their music, out to as many people as possible and currently have half a dozen tracks available for fans to check out. Their latest single, “Coastal Café” is a highlight of their offerings and built on chill vibes but with plenty of warm tones and rhythms. PopWrapped caught up with Young León to find out more about the duo’s formation and the part they want to play in the music industry.
At what age did you both first realize you wanted to make music a career and prior to that, did you have any other ambitions? Do you have any regrets over the path you chose to take?
Young León (Tanner): Charcuterie and I had both grown up around music. When we were kids, I had been taking guitar lessons while Charcuterie had been learning drums. I eventually started getting into freestyle challenges with high school friends and practicing guitar with small bands here and there. Eventually, I bought my own studio equipment when I was 19, which is when I started working on singing/song-writing. During high school, Charcuterie had been traveling around the country with his punk rock band, which later fizzled out. Prior to our collaboration, Charcuterie and I had been working with a start-up idea focused around augmented reality. As things had begun slowing down with that, we decided to take on new ventures. Whether it music or our next tech start-up idea – we’ve been doing what we enjoy, no regrets yet!
How did the two of you first meet and what would you each say the other brings to the duo?
Charcuterie and I had met in middle school, around 8th grade, and had been roommates through the first couple of years of college. Being a drummer, Charcuterie’s got a great sense of timing and keeping me on track when it comes to recording. He’s also consistent with the production he sends over. Young León on the other hand is more up to date with music trends, and keeping lyrics fun and engaging. Having both members with backgrounds in punk/pop music and even beach rap is what makes us unique.
Where did the name Young León come from?
Young León comes from just my last name. And because I’m young; at heart at least.
Which artists and bands might you say your sound is most inspired or influenced by and how do those influences filter into the music you make?
A major part of our sound comes from the music we listen to every day. Most of my ideas originate from artists like Slightly Stoopid and Sublime. When newer artists like Shwayze and Aer came out, I was like if these young dudes are killing, I should really see what they’re doing and how they’re doing it. Those two bands are the ones who really inspired me to get into music. Now we’ve got artists like Dominic Fike who are having major success, that we listen to and really resonate with the sound. We enjoy the beach vibes and sunny music.
You only started working together last year but already have six tracks available for streaming and there are more to come; is making music something that really comes that easily to you or do you occasionally find there are challenges to overcome?
Music definitely has its challenges, especially being a new artist looking to get heard. We’re constantly coming up with different types of songs, just to see what works best with our audience. It depends how you look at it though – that’s the joy about being so new, we’ve got so much room to experiment with our sound.
Tell me about your new single “Coastal Cafe.” Is there a particular story or idea behind it, and what do you want those who hear the track to take from it?
As many of us have felt these unprecedented times of 2020, we wanted to share a memory of what it was like before all this: campfires, hiking, and swimming all week. This song describes a moment with a friend that you may have had a history with in the past. After a few ups and downs, you find yourself in the perfect place to reconnect. In that instant, everything feels great. But you’re unsure if things will end up the same way they did. You end up going for it anyway because the days are only so short. However things may end up, this song is meant to bring back the feeling of the right moment on a Summer evening.
Given that you’re a modern-day duo, to what extent might you say social media is helping/hindering your career, and do you think there are any downsides to the seeming reliance so many of us, both as individuals, artists, and organizations, etc, seem to have on it? Do you believe it would be possible for bands and artists to truly build a following without it in this day and age?
Social media is the bees knees for artist recognition. It’s a great way to connect with fans and understand your audience. It’s so important to make your brand unique and stand out among others online. If you can do that, you’re golden. I’d honestly recommend looking into how Lil Nas was able to gain so much traction on his music – a lot of respect to him understanding and providing insight on capturing peoples’ attention online these days. Especially during times like this, the amount of livestream shows I’ve watched have been unmeasurable. It’s a great way to be with fans, even if you can’t be in person.
How is the Corona Virus affecting your plans as artists and what have you been doing in the few months since the world all but ground to a halt? How is the rest of your year currently looking, or do you not actually know as yet?
As a lot of us had assumed, we thought Coronavirus was going to blow over in a few weeks. That just wasn’t the case. For us to continue releasing music during these uncertain times has been strange. It has also allowed us to really take time and understand what we’re doing this for. We want to provide music as a sort of mini-vacation away from what’s going on. Not to say what’s going on isn’t important, but it’s also necessary to take a step back and recharge. We’ve actually got over a dozen new songs we’re looking to release from now through the Winter. In fact, we’re releasing 4 new songs this month if you wanna keep an eye on that!
What’s the first thing you’re hoping to do when some sense of normality returns to us all?
Get a live show! Drinks on us.
The music industry has been hit hard, with venues in particular affected by having to close. With that in mind, as and when the live music starts up again, which venue in the world would you most like to play and why?
Drumroll, please! Gonna have to say, The Gorge Amphitheater. It’s a Pacific Northwest favorite and has been a place my friends and I have seen some of the best performances from live bands. The view is great. You can relax on the hillside, or trot down to the stage and get wild. With artists like John Mayer, Lana Del Rey, and Tame Impala, you’ve gotta go if you haven’t been!
Finally then; it’s safe to say that much of the world and the industries within it may never quite be the same after Corona, so with that in mind, where do you see the future of the music industry going and what shape do you think it will be in as and when it recovers if it indeed can and does at all? What part would you like to play in the re-emergence of an industry that brings so much pleasure to people?
To be honest, I’m not sure what to expect. As soon as things seem to calm down, something new comes around the corner. We’ve learned to take things one day at a time; if things change, we’ll evolve and make it work. When it comes to playing a part in the industry, we just want to provide entertainment. We’ll keep bringing new music, and if people like it – awesome.
Check out “Coastal Café” below and for more information on Young León, visit their website, give their page a like on Facebook or follow them on Twitter.
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