Rococode is Andrew Braun and Laura Smith. Andrew calls, the project “a marriage of our contrasting personalities.” Their forthcoming release, The Young Ones EP will BE released on June 16 via Marquis Artists.

​The Young Ones EP’s six tracks were composed largely during a collaborative songwriting retreat in Los Angeles. “We wrote songs in kind of a hip-hop way, using samples as opposed to a chord progression or a riff. We were writing around a vibe or a hook or a sound,” says Smith. Co-producers Caleb Shreve (Phantogram, Bear Hands, Tegan and Sara) and Jon Siebels (Eve 6, Switchfoot, Dreamers) helped to nurture the band’s catchiest inclinations. The band says, “In the end it’s about trying to be a good person in a tough time.”

Following the L.A. session, the duo fleshed out the arrangements during a residency at the National Music Centre (NMC) in Calgary. They were given access to the NMC’s extensive collection of vintage synths, which Braun excitedly describes as “the most ridiculous collection of instruments ever assembled.” Back in Vancouver, they polished off Young Ones at Monarch Studios.

Standout single “Is It Real” sets acoustic strums against euphoric, pitch-bent synths, while swaggering title cut “Young Ones” centers on an unforgettable wordless chorus. The fuzzy low end of “A Love That You Will Never Know” is dark and menacing, but the cloudburst chorus is pure sunshine.

“Young Ones is about trying to maintain a youthful feeling throughout your adult life,” Smith says. “It’s about trying to keep things light in the midst of so much heaviness.” Whether on album or during ecstatic live performances, this is Rococode’s ultimate goal: to find escape in music and make their way out of the darkness.​

Young Ones EP
Track List

1 – Young Ones
2 – Why Do I
3 – Is It Real
4 – Brutal
5 – A Love That You Will Never Know
6 – Can’t Get Enough