Interview: Breathe In. Breathe Out With Koyal
Interview by Lindsey V. Britt / Photos by Jeremiah Rafferty
Indie pop-rock band Koyal has announced their second album breathe in. breathe out releasing February 28th 2025. The band, formally from Atlanta, has made the move to L.A. to make a deeper commitment to their music. With this upcoming album, the band hopes to connect and have more fun with their audience.
Tell us about your recently announced album breathe In, breathe out?
breathe in. breathe out is a meditation on breaking free of any obstacles in the way of creating art. This album is a metamorphosis of sorts and was written during a time of great change for us in our personal lives.
What is the inspiration behind the lampshade cover art?
So much of this LP is about finding yourself and freeing yourself from familial, social, or capitalistic expectations. When we made the album we were in school and had no idea what was next for us, though we had lots of external pressures building up. breathe in. breathe out is a reminder to ourselves and others to keep following your path even when you can’t look beyond the lampshade, and that there are options and opportunities beyond the gridlock of societal expectations. That path brought us to LA to pursue music and we’re so grateful to be here.
What songwriting differences did you notice between this album and your debut LP?
Since writing our first project, we’ve gone on tour which tightened up our playing together through lots of shows. For this album, we were able to use that performance experience to write songs that will connect live better than anything we’ve written before, making our sets more fun for both us and the audiences! The writing process itself was a blast, and the demos were written in our home studio, which gave us a lot of freedom to play around. Then, we brought in Jeff Lucci to help produce the record, and just had a lot of fun imagining how we could add more dimensions to the songs.
I loved your latest single “bummer song.” What’s the story behind it?
Wallace: Glad you liked it!! It actually came to life after I failed an exam in school. At first, I poured a lot of sadness and frustration into the lyrics. But as I went on, I started to laugh at how minor the whole thing was in the big picture. It quickly turned into something more lighthearted and meaningful—a cozy, acoustic track about finding humor and leaning on friends when life throws you those little challenges. I wrote it with my bandmates in mind, celebrating the friendship and love that’s kept us close through everything, including a big move across the country.
What is the L.A. indie-pop/rock scene like compared to Atlanta’s?
It’s just as creative, but the LA scene is a bit wider in the sense that there are more venues to play and more people pursuing music as a profession. With the industry so steeped in the city, it seems like more artists are signed and also write in sessions. Atlanta felt more independent and self-managed in the indie-pop/ rock circles that we were in.
How did you end up relocating to L.A.?
A very long drive and camping at national parks. We did a cross-country road trip from Atlanta to LA! Atlanta was very good to us- we played our first festival, sold out shows, and embarked on our first tour from Atlanta as our home base. However, we realized that to become serious about music, we’d need to build out a team, and found the talent and experience in LA to be very exciting. That’s why we moved out here, to hopefully get some new eyes on us and meet people in the industry.
If your favorite band called and asked you to join their new world tour tomorrow, what is something you would pack that might surprise people?
Lemon Pepper, specifically from Dekalb Farmer’s Market in Atlanta. It’s so good on every dish. You know how the hobbits traveled with their salt? That’s us and lemon pepper.
Your music is on the radio, or it’s #1, who is the 1st person you call and why?
We’d call Kevin Parker and say “hey, we’ve got a top song, let’s make more together!” We’ve always been huge Tame Impala fans and to work on a record with him might be more exciting than a #1 hit.
Do you have any pre-show or after-show rituals?
Before our show, we do a hands-in and one of us hypes us up with a reminder of what drives us and all the practice that got us here. Then we get on stage and kick ass.
Where do you see the band in 5 years?
We’ve each made friends around the world - Thailand, to Guatemala, Argentina and South Africa. In 5 years, we'll be seeing those friends in audiences on our world tour :) Can’t wait.
Finally for each of you, do you each have a recommendation? This can be anything from a store to a movie to watch, another artist to check out, advice, anything you can imagine.
Recent artist: Mk.gee was a standout this year. With his new album, he totally broke through the wave of 80s-inspired pop with his own raw, celestial style. His nostalgic, oceanic sound paired with hypnotic visuals for Dream police left me totally in a trance—I can’t wait to see what he does next!!
Advice:
Wallace; Making that big change in your life you’re not sure about is probably the right thing to do. The scientists even proved it: https://academic.oup.com/restud/article-abstract/88/1/378/5834495?login=false. So sometimes the best advice is kinda overstated (Just do it!).
Pooja: Believe in yourself and others will come to believe in you. Cook for your friends more often!
Noah: If you want to get some insanely good and authentic burritos that won’t break the bank in LA, you must check out Los Amigos Taqueria y Restaurant in West Lake off of 3rd street. Stand outside the restaurant long enough and someone will likely tell you that you have to try their burritos.
