Bad Luck Brigade on Growth, Grit, and the Making of Their New Album ‘NOTHING’ [Interview]
Since forming in Salt Lake City in 2022, Bad Luck Brigade have carved out a distinctive lane at the intersection of jazz, hip-hop, and high-impact live performance. What began as a DJ/Emcee and production duo has evolved into a fully realized six-piece band built around live drums, bass, guitar, keys, and horns- bringing an improvisational, collaborative spirit to a genre often dominated by backing tracks. With their new album NOTHING, the group continues to refine a sound that is both musically intricate and emotionally direct, capturing the spontaneity and chemistry that define their shows. In this conversation, Bad Luck Brigade reflect on their origins, their Salt Lake City roots, and the creative drive behind their new album NOTHING.
How did Bad Luck Brigade first form as a band, and what early influences shaped the way you approach your sound today?
Bad Luck Brigade formed originally as a DJ/Emcee/Production duo by bassist Kaika and frontman Kilow. We loved the era between blog rap and when contemporary soul inspired rap came a little more mainstream. We were already instrumentalists so the time came when we got a drummer and it all just kind of went from there.
Salt Lake City has a unique and growing music scene. How has being based there influenced your sound and your development as a band?
We have such a tightly constricted scene, everything is kind of stylistically inbred a lot of times. The closest true major city is Denver, even then that's an 8 hour drive, so a lot of the scene is just super tightly knit playing between Boise and Provo. This makes for a scene that admittedly at times lacks a diverse sonic footprint but cream rises to the top at the same time. We feel like we're in a good spot here because of what influences we take heed from.
You’re a fully live six-piece band in a hip-hop space that’s often dominated by DJs and backing tracks. What first inspired you to bring a live-band approach to your sound?
We got some hate in the DJ/Emcee duo days for playing a music festival with backing tracks. We were playing with a bunch of stereotypical Utah indie bands but one act tried to get us dropped because we "didn't play our own stuff"... We made all the beats ourselves... Anyhow, we realized "hey, we actually play all this shit, we should just start a band" and there we were. Shut the haters up real goodly like.
Your music blends jazz, hip-hop, and soulful elements. How did that genre-bending identity come together naturally for you as a group?
We think a lot of it is just what you're exposed to as a kid and what your drive to create is. We talk a lot about how we always feel like we're obligated to make shit. If it wasn't rap or jazz music or something we'd probably all be anime artists or some stupid bullshit. Even though none of us are black, all of us were raised around black music and we all revere and respect the artistry in a way where we want to participate with it with integrity. Tupac, Prince, Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder, Nelly, all parts of the blueprint that we hope to trickle down from.
How do the different instruments- drums, bass, guitar, keys, and horns- shape the way your songs are written and performed?
We're laid out with the personnel of a jazz band, so we get to do jazzy shit. We have a lot of fun writing around motifs and bringing things in and out of the space that we make for each other. Ronan (horns) and Matu (guitar) are some of the most tasteful musicians around and they have a lot of chemistry together when it comes to making ear candy. It's always sweet to be writing together and someone's like "yeah I'll try that", then they try it and it's fucking dope, we all smile, we all go "let's keep that", then we beat it to death and at rehearsal 4 months later we just switch it up completely. That's what a lot of hip hop is missing is the capability to improv.
For people discovering Bad Luck Brigade for the first time, how would you describe the band and what you aim to bring to the stage?
Machine gun rap overtop some soulful low slung grooves. We just have fun, we yell, we get excited, we have a soft sensitive side... It's just expression. Expressing the manic, expressing the depressive, expressing the panic, all of it. We just want to express
Your new album NOTHING blends jazz and soulful soundscapes with raw, energetic rap. What themes or ideas guided the creation of this record?
This is like the follow up to a trilogy idea we had about what being dependent on something is like. Whether a substance, or a person, or the wageslave shit fest that is America rn, but our first three EP's were called "ANYTHING IN MODERATION", "EVERYTHING'S A FUCKING MESS", and "SOMETHING'S AT MY NECK" which are supposed to tell the tale of trying something, then hitting rock bottom. Now we're rock bottom thematically, hence "NOTHING". We can't think of another "-thing" development as of now so this probably puts the bow on that motif.
Which track was the most memorable to record on NOTHING and why?
"JACKPOT!" is the last 2 or so minutes of a 20 minute jam we had. We just cropped it and I spit a verse to it. It's cool when happy little accidents like that come to fruition, your kinda just fucking around one minute then all of the sudden we do something we like and want to keep.
What do you hope listeners take away from listening to the new album?
It should make you shake a little ass hopefully. Make you wanna come to a show. Make you wanna buy your mom a BLB tee shirt
What’s next for Bad Luck Brigade, whether that’s new music, live shows, or other projects?
We’re trying to go on tour. We got Treefort Fest in Boise coming up, and Kilby Block Party in SLC with a few fun and funky west coast dates in between. This is a pretty big step for us so if ur reading this on the west coast consider coming to a show and make a lot of noise and bring a couple friends so the promoters will have us back.
Listen to Bad Luck Brigade’s new album NOTHING here now:
