Acid Jazz Group Arkose is Setting their Stars on The Top of Music's Mountain.
Alternative R&B group Arkose is part of Atlanta's burgeoning indie music scene.
Sedimentary rock combines various materials and elements, creating a soft but crystallised rock. In today’s musical era, which is growing and morphing more out of its boxes, influences from different genres are becoming the norm as the lines get increasingly blurred. For Atlanta band Arkose, whose viral song “Pretty Girls” has been taking the world by storm, pushing the boundaries and removing the labels is how they became the most important star in the solar system.
Origins
“We were friends of friends. We met in high school through marching band and jazz band. We got close his senior year and my junior year.”
The two musicians were high school classmates who performed together over the years in the band at their local high school in Powder Springs, GA. Tad, a trumpet player at the time, transitioned to guitar during a particular band season when the brass section was at its largest, unknowingly setting the stage for their future success.
Noah’s dad planted the seed of their union after hearing one of his guitar performances, telling him that if he ever started a band he should recruit Tad. Despite that, both men went on to different colleges and pursued degrees in non-music-related fields, attempting to forge a path of success in the modern world.
The music bug was still in Noah’s heart though. After finishing his degree at Georgia State, he decided to experiment with production and songwriting, and in 2018 enlisted the help of Tad for guitar on four songs he produced.
“That first project became For the Love EP. It was a loosely put-together project I was just putting out to let my folks know I made music. It was a decent response from close friends. Then I asked him if he wanted to do it full time.”
Arkose
Inspired by a street sign that Noah constantly saw while in school, Arkose became the name for their duo, which married multiple instruments and sounds together with various genres including rap, rock, and jazz. Exposed to hip-hop producers like Pete Rock and Kanye West, and rock groups like AC DC, their musical mix came to be known as acid jazz.
“Acid Jazz is a combination of jazz, soul, R&B, disco and house. It was invented in the late 80s and carried on. Jamiroquai’s first single was acid jazz. I fell in love with it after hearing their first album.”
Despite the neat label people assign to it, Noah is adamant in his views that they make genre-less music. “If you want to call it climbing up the tree music and it works for you, that’s fine, says Noah when asked about the titles assigned to them. Labels aside, the music and hustle they’ve put towards it over the last four years is why their star has become as promising as it is.
2020 was the tipping point for Arkose who found themselves at a crossroads. Their 2020 project, Say Their Name, reflected a more intentional effort towards success, but faced with the daunting realities of life after college they had to get on the same page about what success meant to them.
Everything changed when the two met for coffee one night in Kennesaw, Georgia to discuss music and their future.
“I’m not in the mindset of giving this music thing a shot, I am in the mindset of this is going to happen. Worst case scenario, we are young and we have a degree to fall back on.”
What followed was a four-year journey of experimentation, joy, and hard work, all culminating in their recent release, Ecliptic.
Success
Crafting a brand brick by brick, the two spent 2021-2023 experimenting with various looks and sounds before finally betting on themselves in 2023. Through a mix of advertising and acumen, they were able to build their online following on sites like TikTok, Instagram, and Spotify, where they currently have over 45,000 followers.
Integral fixtures on Atlanta’s growing independent scene, Arkose regularly performs around the city at spots like Atlanta’s Smith’s Olde Bar and the city’s 404 Day event and works in tandem with many of the city’s growing stars like Kennedy Ryon, Jasmine Janai, and Lunar Vacation.
“The scene is so good and overlooked in a lot of ways. You may assume it’s only rap and hip-hop and there’s truth to it, but we produce with so many great artists so we know them.”
Buoyed to the top by the success of their single, “Pretty Girl”, the song is becoming one of the industry’s most-played songs. Thankful and aware of the momentum they are generating, they hope that their music and sound will help add more substance to the music scene and that Ecliptic will provide people with the motivation and therapy they need to continue thriving.
“It is a total of sixteen tracks, seven of which are out. We’ve worked on it for more than four years. The songs will do well for people’s souls and resonate with some of their life.”