Getting Down and "Chitchatting" It Up

By: Hallie Horton

What is there to say besides “wow”? Honestly, just wow. Denver’s own Madisen Kwon (singer-songwriter) and Josh Kern (guitar player, singer-songwriter, producer, and everything in between) have come together to bless us with the wonder that is chitchat. I had the opportunity to witness chitchat in all their glory last night at Globe Hall in Denver. I was in for one beautiful surprise because truth be told, I’d only heard two of their songs before going to the show. I loved what I’d heard, I just wasn’t familiar enough to go into the show with expectations.

The dynamic duo has been killing the game since August of 2019. Their first release was a heartfelt cover of Lorde’s “Supercut.” The most recent release is titled “San Francisco,” and it’s been getting all the praise it deserves and more since its release on January 30th. They have more unreleased songs under their belt, but those are reserved at present as a special treat for concert attendees. While the most basic expression of their music qualifies as electropop, Kern says future pop and indie electronic aren’t far off descriptions either. When asked, Kern and Kwon both struggle to find words to explain chitchat’s genre because, well…music doesn’t need to be defined as exactly this or exactly that or exactly anything. It simply needs to be appreciated for what it is: a gift.

Kwon and Kern came from modest, albeit worlds apart, musical backgrounds. Kern wrote songs throughout high school and college, but it shocked me to hear that it wasn’t until he graduated college when he worked up the nerve to share his talents with others, so we’re beyond stoked he’s with us now. Prior to chitchat, Kern was in a band called Left Hand Shakes, a guitar-oriented indie rock band in which he was able to focus on refining his singing-songwriting skills. Somewhere in between Left Hand Shakes and chitchat, Kern took a deep dive into the ever-widening, ever-deepening world of electronic music. He now takes the greatest influence of Flume, experimental electronic royalty, and Mura Masa, who presents as mainly nu-disco and alternative R&B.

As for Kwon, she says she’s been singing loud and proud her entire life. Casually so, she says she took a few voice classes in college, and you’d never guess that’s the extent of her professional training because she has the smoothest and most refined powerhouse of a voice. Where Kern’s background is sprinkled with notes of indie, folk, and rock, Kwon says she loved making “sappy acoustic emo songs” in her past life and she now pulls influence from Death Cab for Cutie’s Ben Gibbard and his narrative writing style. Kern describes Kwon’s present writing style as traditionally folk, and says their distinct sound is a product of merging this with his nu-disco, electropop, indie electronic production methods. Kwon says she’s always used song as a way to express her emotions and to this day, Kwon continues alchemizing pure emotion into a sacred offering for others.

Chitchat’s purpose is to write genuinely about personal experiences such as falling in love, breaking up, breaking down, getting it together, and rising up, all through a lens of eternal optimism. Kwon explains that the name “chitchat” was born from their intent to bring lightheartedness to human interaction, something we can all agree Western culture needs desperately. Their influence will no doubt touch millions; it’s not if, but when.

I joked that I had my own personal Coachella visions for the duo but wondered what they saw for themselves. As luck would have it, Kern too sees himself hopping on the festival circuit and main staging it at the Coachella, while Kwon is steady looking forward to a U.S. tour. As for me, I just hope I get a seat on the bus.

While there is not an LP expected in the near future, chitchat plans to release more singles in 2020 and we are completely pumped about it. Their lyrics are next-level and their production quality is far beyond what you’d expect from a group still so new to the world, so we’re waiting at the edge of our seats. Kern says for now, he and Kwon are enjoying being able to write to their hearts’ desires. He sees a full album release happening when they’ve built an unshakable, indestructible confidence in their own niche sound.

In the meantime, chitchat wants us to know they are happy to be alive, everyday. Kern expresses his gratitude when he says, “If you listen to our stuff I really, really, really thank you from the bottom of my heart, and if you took the time to find us then you are truly amazing.” These two are the sunshine we didn’t know we needed. Locals love them. The world deserves them. We stan chitchat.