By Deaglan Howlett | Posted Monday, August 12, 2019
Citrus is a dream pop group based out of Asbury Park, NJ. Since releasing their debut single in March, “Baby’s All Right”, Citrus have been playing shows around the tri-state area and working on new music. I absolutely love their sound and “Baby’s All Right” is a great pop song. The reverb soaked track provides the perfect bed for Jordi’s airy vocals and Justin’s guitar. The synthesizers are well balanced and seem to float from speaker to speaker. I recently reached out to Citrus and they were kind enough to answer some questions for Jersey Indie. Thanks again!
When did Citrus first form?
We're Jordanna and Justin. We play in a band called Citrus based in Asbury Park, NJ. We both started making music together earlier this year. That's when we first came up with the concept of Citrus and then found Nicky and Dave (our bassist and drummer).
Have you released music before Citrus?
Jordanna: Nothing officially, I have always loved making electronic music and songs in my bedroom and would post them on Soundcloud.
Justin: I've been releasing music in different bands and by myself since High School.
When did you first start writing songs?
Around a year ago, we began making all different types of music just for fun. Back in December, Justin got offered to play a show for a band that actually didn't exist, and that was when we decided to start a band. At that point we really needed to get stylistic ideas more developed and that's how all of Citrus' first music got started.
Who are/were your influences when forming Citrus?
Our main influence with Citrus was just to create happy and magical music. We wanted to make people feel really good. We love all sorts of music! We love psychedelia, 80's music and Japanese city pop/jazz fusion, modern and creative stuff such as Weyes Blood and Ariel Pink. We are also loving the Montreal pop scene right now with groups such as Anemone and Men I Trust. Our influences are endless, honestly.
Photo from Citrus’ Instagram
What is your songwriting process like?
Usually one of us will come up with a chord progression or a concept and we'll finish the main idea together on Ableton. Most of the time we also write the lyrics together. Then we show the rest of the band and they come up with their own solid parts.
Where do you record? What impact does this have on the music you record?
We record at our houses. Our first song released was made in our bedroom on Ableton before we had our band together. Nicky, our bassist, is a recording engineer and is very talented. He has a studio in his basement so he'll be taking over the recording process. Everything from now on will be recorded with much better gear and knowledge.
Who are the members of Citrus and what do they play?
Justin: lead guitar and vocals
Jordanna: keyboard and vocals
Nicky: bass
Dave: drums
Upcoming shows/releases?
We're playing 9/14 at The Clubhouse in Toms River, and 9/30 at a house show in New Brunswick.
We're currently recording our next single to pair with a music video!!
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Make sure you catch Citrus at one of their upcoming shows and listen to “Baby’s All Right” here!