Interview: That Kid Talks TK Ultra – A Cathartic Club Cacophony

Experimental pop artist That Kid unveils his new, rave-inspired mixtape TK Ultra. The all-new, 11-track delivery features verses from Chase Icon, 6arelyhuman, Ayesha Erotica, RYL0, Harmony (aka Harmony Tividad of Girlpool), and more.

With writer and producer credits from Joe Santana, David Singer-Vine, manekin05, and Jack Laboz, TK Ultra embodies an eclectic blend of warehouse beats and a futuristic presentation to create a luminary underground club experience.

In an exclusive interview, That Kid talks about his relationship to music and how that translates into the underground scene of queer dance music.

Your first song to go viral, which is sitting at 10 million streams on Spotify, was Dial Tone in 2018. And you’re sitting at now 108,000 monthly listeners on Spotify. How does that feel?

When I was a kid, I had this thing where I was like, “I need to do something creative.” I was in a lot of turmoil for a very long time as a child. But to see that I’ve gotten even this far makes me so happy. The fact that I can do it for a living and pay my bills with what I’m doing, it means a lot to me.

Talk to me about TK Ultra.

Basically, it was 2023, I would say. I was going through this weird musical crisis where I was making these really boring songs, and I took them all down because they sucked, honestly. They weren’t exciting. They also didn’t match up with the life I was living in 2023. I was always at parties, or I was at a rave, or I was constantly just out and about.

It ended up being a rave-inspired project because I was constantly like, “Oh yeah, let’s go to this party. Let’s go to this rave. Let’s go to a club.” I was at the afters until 12 p.m. the next day, hanging out with people I didn’t even know. So, it came from this weird party era I was having last year.

But it’s really cool. I’m really excited about it. There’s a ton of great features on it, and I think it’s probably maybe the most reflective of my real life because I am a party monster. All of my friends know that. The lyrics are very extreme, but people don’t realize when I go out, it’s an extreme experience. Going out with me, it’s crazy.

What would you describe as some of your inspirations in club music, going to raves, partying?

I just like being out and doing things. For me, the biggest thing is, I’m never gonna be this young again. And not that you have to stop partying at a certain age. I don’t believe that at all. But I’m never gonna be this young again. So I might as well do everything I want to do.

In terms of music, I would say I was listening to a lot of deadmau5 while making the project. Throwing it back to middle school a little bit with that. Obviously Princess Superstars had a huge revival since Saltburn. Obviously, Uffy. You can never go wrong with some Uffy. The classics on Ed Banger, Mr. Oizo, and Justice.

Also a lot of SoundCloud producers. I found this label out in the U.K. called Child’s Play, and they had a lot of really sick producers on that label. One of them was Mannequin05, who produced “Tequila Tequila” and “Just Another Day Redux.”

So obviously, within the scene that you’re operating in, there is a very large presence of the LGBTQ community. Has that left any lasting impressions on how you create? How does it help you to get out of bed in the morning?

I think, especially with the queer community, specifically, I credit a lot of my success to Ayesha Erotica, who is a very visible trans woman. A lot of the producers I’ve worked with have been trans women. There are so many that I’ve just worked with that I really appreciate.

I work with a lot of queer people. I don’t know what it is about the scene that draws in queer people specifically. But I think it’s really beautiful. And I think maybe it’s because dance music has always been a form of escapism, almost.

But, I’ve worked with so many people in the community that I don’t even think about it. Especially just being from the community. It’s just “Oh, this just is what it is. This is who I make music with.”

I really appreciate the fact that it’s so visible, especially when it comes to Top 40 radio, we don’t see so much of that. I just feel like the queer community is doing it a little bit better. A lot of the queer people I know in all of these cities, not just Denver, but LA, New York, Montreal, all these places that I’ve been that I really love being, they’re so in tune with what’s going on in the underground scene and going to these really crazy raves and parties with these DJs you might not have never heard of. And for me, it’s one of those things where it just shows there’s an actual community there.

You’re going on tour soon. How are you prepping for that? What’s keeping you going? Where are you going? Are you going to see any shows or going to any parties while you’re out there?

Oh, my gosh, tour! I’m so nervous. I have been in the gym every day for the last two months. I’m spending an hour on the treadmill, 20 minutes on the Stairmaster, to really just have the stamina to perform every night because it’s intense on the body.

And I will not be partying on tour. I actually decided I won’t be drinking at all. No little party favors, just stone-cold sober the entire time, except for my vape. I’m severely addicted to nicotine. So that’s not going anywhere.

I’m eating really healthy right now. Lots of fruit, lots of veggies. That’s just kind of how I’ve been preparing for it because I want to be in the best shape possible for the tour.

I will say I’m partying pre-tour. And I’ll be partying a lot after the tour. But on tour, I’m going to be very strict with myself. I’m going all over North America, 25 cities. So I’m a little freaked out by that. But I’m excited.

TK Ultra is out now. Listen below. That Kid will set out for tour on September 17 in Nashville in collaboration with 6arelyhuman.

Photos courtesy of That Kid