Together members Gregory Cole, Olive Kimoto and Jess Krichelle make up the dreamy and melodic Los Angeles trio Crescendo. While their second album Unless recently came out in February, its winter release betrays just how bright the collection of songs sound. Charged guitar chords and mesmerizing keys make their songs glow with an ever-present sheen. Couple that with the interaction of their airy and distance vocals, and Crescendo’s music is definitely a fit for the always sunny skies of Southern California. Crescendo have indie charm and pop sensibility on lock, tailor made and ready to soundtrack a breezy ride down the coast on Highway 101.

Hometown/Homebase: Los Angeles, CA

How did you first come together as friends? At what point did it involve into a musical collaboration?

Olive: The power of the Internet and social media! Which is quite fitting as this is for Myspace, right? For me, Gregory just told me he had something important to tell me, called me, and asked if I wanted to go to San Francisco to play in his band the next week. I sort of just jumped into it, and it was an incredible experience. After playing all these shows with him, he asked me to collab with him on the next album. 

Does song-writing help make sense of your life?

Jess: Song writing is the only way to make sense of my life along with creating visual art.

Olive: Definitely. Music is amongst one of the main cathartic experiences that I have the privilege of being able to express and find myself through, either through consumption or creation. When writing, I’m trying to channel things I am not fully cognizant of, but there is also a sense of resolve because I was able to create something beautiful to share in the process.

What are the most creatively inspiring places in LA?

Olive: The lonely coasts of my hometown, San Pedro. It’s like a forgotten side of Los Angeles, almost desolate in a way, which also homes the infamous, post-apocalyptic-like landscape of Sunken City. Another favorite is the Museum of Jurassic Technology. It’s a very surreal and otherworldly experience. 

Jess: Anywhere can become inspiring to me. sometimes I visit places that I used to visit when I felt like life was at a standstill just to remind myself that it is possible to move forward from anything.

Growing up, what were bands that you listened to? How did you discover music?

Jess: Oh I have a strange musical background. I was raised on the ‘80s, country music and Michael Jackson, but eventually was slightly sheltered and shifted to christian music. With the Internet barely afloat, I took what I could during that time to search out a lot of j-pop and fell in love with the band The Kooks. I was also really into Final Fantasy and Shadow of the Colossus, so Koh Ohtani and Nobuo Uematsu have been huge musical shape shifters for me. Once I moved from idaho to los angeles for school, I was given a cd from my neighbor's friend. I would then be exposed to less popular tracks from The Beatles, MGMT, The Strokes, The Cure, Cocteau Twins, OMD, and so many more artists that have shaped me as a musician and as a person. I will admit that I found some of my favorite artists from the book The Perks of Being a Wallflower - David Bowie and The Smiths were, and still are, heavy influences.

Olive: When I was just a kid, I was mostly influenced by my brother’s taste in music. He got me into The Cure, Radiohead, and various 80s pop and post-punk bands, even some industrial goth music. When I was 14-15, I got really into ambient, drone, and idm music, which is funny, considering people usually get into that stuff when they’re in their early 30s, and here I was, half their age, getting into this weird, abstract instrumental music. I was really into artists like Boards of Canada, Grouper, Aphex Twin, and Stars of the Lid. I also grew this large obsession with Iceland and their music scene that spanned into my adulthood, so I was really into Sigur Ros, Olafur Arnulds, and Mum. Around 16-19 I fully dove into the world of shoegaze and dream pop music, and some my favorites were My Bloody Valentine, Tears Run Rings, Slowdive, Mean Red Spiders, The Radio Dept, and Wild Nothing. I was able to find some great, life-changing music via the internet at a young age, and I’m extremely thankful I was born into the generation that I was in order to do so. I’d say a large majority of that discovery process was actually Myspace, and Last.fm! 

Gregory: My brother Daniel introduced me to The Smiths in 3rd grade. My brother Chatwin introduced me to Dr Dre. Snoop Dogg, and Tupac in 1st grade.

What would you say is the perfect setting to listen to your album?

Olive: In space, not knowing where you’re going, with someone you love, or have loved.

Jess: Any setting is a perfect setting. Personally I enjoy listening to records in a room with some nice lighting and a lover to hang with and talk to.

What are your goals for the year ahead?

Olive: Tour the world for the album, fully find my voice as a musician, meet some enchanting people, evolve into a better, kinder person, to fall in love.

Jess: My career goals are to allow myself to experiment more with being a musician. I've always been one, but I've never allowed myself to have the title. I'd also like to push more of my visual art career, too. For my spiritual and mental goals, I think I need to focus on being a better friend and staying in better touch with the family I have back in idaho. I've been into meditation in the past, too, but need to get back into it after over a year of neglect. just practicing to stay happy and positive.

Gregory: We co-founded a music festival and community in Los Angeles called the DreamGaze Music & Arts Festival It bridges between Los Angeles & San Francisco. It's grown substantially since our first events in 2015, and now its blown up to over 25 bands performing on each bill. We'd very much like to get some grass & mega stages this year. I'd also like to find a way to grow infinitely in general and pay it forward.