Music
Pesky Kid Serves Up His Yummy “Sweet N Low” Single Premiere
Pesky Kid, the alias of Saginaw, Michigan’s Benjamin Champagne, is debuting the brand-new single “Sweet N Low” today, an appropriate title for such a pretty little ditty.
For singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Pesky Kid, it’s not about how he gets there; it’s about where he ends up. The alias of Saginaw, Michigan’s Benjamin Champagne, the Kid is debuting his brand new single “Sweet N Low” today, an appropriate title for such a pretty little ditty.
Less concerned about genre and more focused on the end result, this is a slow jam and very much on the confessional side. The song has a classic ’90s R&B feel with a modern pop sensibility. Musically diverse as well, the song might surprise you, like with the smooth and rich trumpet solo that helps close it out.
Discussing its inspirations and development, Champagne tells us:
“‘Sweet N’ Low’ is a tender lil bop. I was dating this girl from out of town that liked me, but we just weren’t able to make it work. Sometimes she seemed to create problems with the relationship that weren’t there just to almost make an excuse to end it. Very up-and-down type thing.
“As for the music. We were obsessively listening to ‘Absolutely’ by Dijon. But we knew this track couldn’t quite be that or copy that, so we listened to Justin Bieber a lot that week. The arpeggios are inverted chords. We brought in a trumpet player, Jacob Wisenbach, to lay that melody down. The chorus came out so naturally. We knew it was a little corny, ‘Sweet N’ Low.’ A cliché ya know? But sometimes, you just double down on something like that. It’s earned its place as a cliché.
“And the rest of the song is extremely vulnerable, sincere and musically exploring. The chorus and title seemed to anchor it just right. We felt proud when we finished the first demo. The final fucking rips.”
“Sweet N Low” is included on Pesky Kid’s brand new EP, Benny, with a release date soon in June. It will consist of seven new tracks that show his versatility as a songwriter and why he has been acknowledged as one of the brightest lights in the local Michigan music scene. The inspiration for Benny came fast and furiously, with the whole thing essentially started and completed between last Thanksgiving and this year’s Valentine’s Day.
Pesky Kid is a solo project, but Champagne does work closely with producer and sometimes co-writer Brandon Shew and drummer Jack Horrigan, who also provides songwriting and creative direction. When you think of musicians like Beck, you can’t really categorize them, and that’s one of Champagne’s primary aims with Pesky Kid. All that matters is whether the results are coherent and positive, which there is no doubt about with the talented and capable Champagne at the reins.
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