Interview and Photography by Adrianne Armida.

FMM: Congrats on Winning Triple J Unearthed! That must have been such a surreal moment for you!

STK: Yeah it was, it was - thank you so much. It was pretty cool you know - funny enough, Listen Out was the first festival that I went to back in 2017 or 18.

FMM: Full circle moment!

STK: Yeah it was and you know, seeing like ASAP and Skepta on the main stage, it was at that point I was starting my music journey too, and I was like “oh, it’d be nice to one day aspire to be on that stage” and.. I don’t know, a few years later it’s come full circle. So pretty surreal! I’m still on cloud nine about that whole experience, just ‘cause the day as a whole was amazing, but it was pretty cool to touch that stage y’know? Sharing it with Ice Spice!

FMM: That is insane! How does it feel to be performing at SXSW and NYE on the Hill?

STK: South by Southwest is really cool! It's a bit different - it's not like your traditional festival, where there's like one stage, one day, but it's so cool. It's like a networking hub for a lot of artists and a lot of industry people, so we're like third day in and the amount of people that we’re reconnecting with and also meeting… it's just nice to be around a bunch of Musos to be honest. What we do, not many people understand, so it's cool to just chat and see how they go day-to-day and what challenges they face, and sort of help each other out. So it's cool to connect with people on that level and it's nice because we talk to our friends about all these things, but they can't really comprehend what's really going on because they're not in our shoes, but it’s nice and really fun.

FMM: When did you first realise you wanted to make music?

STK: Definitely during high school. Well actually, even like dating back to when I was a kid. I don't know, being Filipino having the karaoke mike your hand and pretending like you're in front of a crowd - it's just fun. You watch all these famous people on TV and you’re like “oh, I wanna be like that one day” and it's just cool. just making the art itself is really fun. It's very special going to the studio with no intent of … you don't really know what's gonna happen what's going to come of it and then when you leave it's like “Wow, we created something special” and then when the world gets to receive it. For them to react the way they react - good or bad as well - it's really nice.

FMM: That is the perfect segway! How would you describe your creative process?

STK: I think in terms of creative process, I really like to write to a beat, just because I feel like the beat speaks a thousand words, and I want to sort of get the pocket right. I don't want to overpower it in any way. I want it work together. There's a certain vibe when you hear certain sounds, and that's what I wanna amplify in that sense, so that's what it is definitely beat first and then lyrics second, try and get the melodies right. 

FMM:  Late Night Antics showcases not only your unique sound, but ability as a storyteller. Can you tell us about the inspiration behind Late Night Antics? 

STK: There's a bit of a surprise in there. It’ alright, we'll give it away - it's essentially a two-part song meshed into one, and that already in itself is you know, very different. So in terms of inspiration, it was just like explaining how a night can abruptly change and the two different worlds that you may come across within a weekend. You know, staying at home comparing it to going out and the challenges and funny things that you may come across in those two different nights, so yeah - essentially it’s just colliding two worlds together. 

FMM: Do you have a favourite lyric?

STK: it's definitely in the first verse that was a bit more lyrical. Probably about like… I don't know… all the guys always give it to me about the amount of times I mention food, so it's probably like the chocolate pillows because it’s my favourite cereal. And my stomach rumbling. Yeah, something like that! It's just quirky! I have to mention food in some way. 

FMM: Here’s some fan questions now for you. If you could collab with anyone, who would it be? 

STK: Definitely Anderson .Paak! Yeah for sure, that’s my.. He’s the reason why i’m doing this. Mad inspiration! I take a lot of things from him - I steal his playbook *laughs* Definitely him. For sure. 

FMM: What does your family think of your success?

STK: You know what’s crazy? Because I'm from a Filipino background and i’m first generation here, my dad's more vocal than my mum. He's like a bit more supportive - not to say that my mom isn't, she just doesn't know what's going on. She thinks I'm here on a holiday with the guys *laughs* no, honestly! 

FMM: That’s so sweet!

STK: Yeah, that's my mum! My mum is so oblivious and I love her for that you know it's crazy. I did Listen Out and stuff like that and the next day she told me to mow the lawns. She just doesn’t know. I show her videos and stuff and she’s like “you swear too much!” So I’m like it’s alright, fair enough. She keeps me humble, but it's cool though, it’s good. So I don't think I’m ever gonna impress my mum in that sense but my dad's very proud. He came to his first show a few months ago which wa since to see him in the crowd. Will I ever get my mum there? We will see. That will be a vlog in itself. I reckon I’ll have like a ‘Mum Cam’ at the show. She’ll probably have dead face, though. 

FMM: That would be iconic!

STK: It would be! We will see. 

FMM: She’s so cute! What non-musical influences helped shape your music?

STK: It’s definitely gotta be something in the fashion world. In terms of aesthetic and stuff like that, that plays a factor. Like Golf le Fleur, the stuff that Tyler (the Creator) has made in terms of the fashion world. He’s built his aesthetic and it’s just amplified his career too. When you think of Tyler you think of Golf, good merch… and that’s what i’m doing now with Kozy. Even though I love artist merch, I wasn’t really a big fan of it in terms of what I wanted to do for myself. I saw what Tyler did with Golf and I sort of wanted to do my thing in that world too and create a brand around myself. To create a clothing brand, like a standalone brand just ‘cause putting my name or logo on a t-shirt just didn’t do it for me. To see people wear Kozy merch around is so cool, especially people I don’t know. I work at a shopping center and sometimes people wear the socks and the hat and I'm like ‘What the?!” And they come into work and i’m like "Hey how you doin’?” and they don’t even know that it’s me which is really cool! So in terms of inspiration outside of music, definitely the fashion world!

FMM: What sort of crack did you put in first glance? It’s so good!

STK: I don’t know. Shout out Dann Dib man, he’s on that track so he definitely helped! He definitely put something in there as well, but I think it’s just a mixture of both of us. Both our personalities coming together. We made a few tracks together and it’s always fun. He’s definitely my favourite collaborator artist-wise. That’s probably what it is, just the mixture and us having fun. That’s probably the ‘crack’ that we put in. 

FMM: Where does the name Squid the Kid Come from?

STK: Obviously being Asian, Filipino ethnicity, I've got straight hair so it just falls down and it's not like you know, I've got curly hair nice nice and luscious. I wish I had something like that! Even waves, gimme waves - my mum has wavy hair, but I didn't even get that, so it’s just boring you know. Growing up in high school I had a few different haircuts. I literally had I don't know… I had a like a lot of different haircuts. Then there was one time I don't even know what I got, I didn't even know what it looked like… but apparently I looked like Squidward from Spongebob. So I was walking to school from the bus stop, and then I mate of mine, Joel - shout out to Joel - he was like “Squidward! You look like Squidward.” And I was like, “Oh yeah, thanks man, thanks for that.” And then you know, when I wanted to come up with an artist name, a rap name, obviously my real name is Matt but I didn't really see myself selling records like that, it just didn’t really roll off the tongue. And I don’t know, Squid.. when Squid popped into my mind I was like  “That's cool”. It's funny, it's not too serious - which I don't want to be taken, you know.I like being funny and relatable but I'll let the music speak for itself in that sense, so I wanted a name to represent that also. Squid's a nice and cool name but it’s not too serious. Then ‘The Kid’, that part of it you know I love and I’m a big fan of Tyler the Creator, Chance the Rapper… so I wanted that extra bit at the end and there you go. 

FMM: And finally, what’s on the horizon for Squid the Kid?

STK: Definitely new music. Currently working on an EP which is exciting - exclusive! And just New Years Eve on the Hill, which is another festival I’m very excited for. You know, doing Listen Out and getting to experience that festival layout was amazing so it's gonna be good for me and the guys to get back on a stage like that.