Start Listening To: Personal Trainer

Move away, the ‘POPSTARB!TCH’ is coming through.

The Nashville-based band, Personal Trainer have been working out hard since their 2021 EP ‘Tape 1.1’. Sweating away pandemic panic and past-present turmoils while looking up to 80s pop/rock icons like Blondie and The Go-Go’s, they’re found the fittest musical formula yet. Taking the fun-driven beats and self-deprecating thoughts, Personal Trainer created a bubblegum friendly monster and a deprived diva in one hit single, "POPSTARB!TCH”, a “diss track about myself,” as Kayla admits. It’s the first release of their upcoming EP ‘Reflex’ via Acrophase Records.

Today, we tried to convince Personal Trainer to teach us the quick reaction techniques.

Can you tell us who you are, where you’re from and about the music you make? 

We are Personal Trainer, an indie-pop band consisting of myself, Kayla, and my bandmate George. I’m from the Chicago area, and my bandmate is from Dallas. I now live in East Nashville, as does George, and have been here for about 6 years. We fall into the indie-pop genre which can be categorised in so many different ways. It's just what comes out of the work George and I do together. His production and composition combined with my songwriting create our signature sound. 

How did it all start? 

I met George and Dan in 2016 during my first month in college. They were starting a record label –– Acrophase Records –– and found me on the internet. They wanted to get me into Q-Hut studios on music row to record and talk about releasing a single with them, which 18 year old me thought was so cool. It turned into a great friendship and working relationship We worked on developing, what was then, just me and an acoustic guitar, into a larger, more complex artist; which is now Personal Trainer. Working on music with George during that time really helped me grow as a writer and helped us develop into this band. We’ve been releasing music under Personal Trainer for 3 years now. 

Can you tell us a bit about your new single ‘POPSTARB!TCH’? 

Our latest single POPSTARB!TCH is unlike any of our other releases, as it definitely leans more straight up pop. I like the idea of releasing music that isn’t confined to a certain box; some of my favorite current artists are doing that right now like Del Water Gap, Dominic Fike, Girl in Red, etc. We wanted to make something fun, and not so lyrically emotional like our other tracks. We started with a bassline and wrote over that, and then made the track with our friend and co-producer, Jason Bennett. I said I didn’t want to make it emotional, though ironically, it low-key is –– as it’s a diss-track about myself. Though, it can be explored lyrically through the lens of anyone who is, or knows someone, experiencing imposter syndrome in the modern age. 

You’ve got an EP coming out soon. Can you walk us through it? 

I’ve never been more proud and excited about anything I’ve had the part in making before than our upcoming EP Reflex. The whole EP was written over the span of a couple months in 2021 during the pandemic. I wanted to call it Reflex because it is a collection of songs that are a response to a situation, given the definition of reflex being: an action that is performed as a response to a stimulus and without conscious thought. A lot of these songs too, feature stream-of-consciousness lyricism. I’ve found that I can’t write personal songs about something while in a situation, it always has to be when I’m out of that situation, and it is my unique way of processing. So these songs are a response to toxic relationships, depression, anxiety, and self-awareness found through self-reflection. 

If you were to describe your sound to someone who’d never heard you before, what would you say? 

I’d say that each of our songs creates a sonic movie led by poignant lyricism and sound-scaping instrumentals. We combine a lot of synths and heavily effected guitars with drum and bass that are not quite pop but also not quite alternative. We want to make you get in your car and take a drive or get up and dance to the driving bass and drums. Equal parts Doja Cat and Beach House. 

What inspires your music? 

Art inspires art, or at least for me. So, films, TV shows, books, other musicians are what inspire me. Everything is inspiration: the songwriter’s job is to study other people and the world. So the way the sunlight peaks through the blinds creates a shadow on the wall when you can’t get out of bed, friends’ one liners, text messages from a romantic interest… all of that. 

What advice would you give for anyone trying to achieve a similar sound to your band?

I heard something recently, I can’t remember where. But it was something along the lines of, if you can’t find a space for yourself, make it. Maybe it’s a good thing that space doesn’t exist, perhaps it means you’re doing something different. Don’t give up in creating that space and what you wish to fill it with. 

If your music were a film or TV show which would it be? 

I really want to say Twin Peaks. David Lynch created a show that could just have its strict plot-line, but it’s much more complex and interesting than a murder mystery. It’s eerie and weird. It makes you want to think and dance strangely in a room with black and white zig-zag flooring surrounded by a wall of red curtains. 

Name an album you’re still listening to from when you were younger and why it's important to you?

Kayla - Elliott Smith’s Either/Or. It came out the year I was born. It’s pure poetry, emotion and self-awareness. 

George - I keep coming back to the first Passion Pit EP ‘Chunk of Change’. I listened to that a ton in my formative years and I think the production is amazing. Anything Chill Wave era (Toro y Moi, Neon Indian, Washed Out) 

What do you hate right now? 

The socially constructed Friday-Sunday weekend. 

What do you love right now? 

Making homemade pizza. 

What comes next in the Personal Trainer’s story? 

Reflex comes out in April 2022 and we want to play it LIVE for everyone who wants to hear it :)

What upcoming 2022 music releases are you most excited about? 

Dominic Fike and SZA.

Is there anything else you would like to share with our readers? 

Let’s not effortlessly consume. The consumption of art has been so instant and fleeting. This is something I have to remind myself of constantly, recently. Watch a film and make that your sole responsibility for that 1-2 hours. Listen to a record front to back and try not to scroll your feed while doing so. Take notes, get inspired.