PESKY KID
PRESS
friem tv – Pesky Kid, Jared Bond y Тарас Мирний: sonidos que buscan sentido en su propio caos
“In "Terrific Boomerang", he mixes acoustic guitars with a crescendo that evokes Beck and This Is Lorelei, achieving a balance between maturity and play. His music sounds like an emotional collage - a reflection on identity and constant reinvention.” – Freim TV
Glide Magazine – Pesky Kid Break Emotional Cycle With Jangly Alt-pop Melodies On “Terrific Boomerang”
““Terrific Boomerang” marks the return of Pesky Kid and a new era for the Champagne-led project. The new single is a relaxed indie pop anthem that calms the nervous system just as much as it fills your heart with hope. Over a subdued yet colorful arrangement driven by jangly melodies, Champagne croons out infectious melodies that, while maintaining a nonchalant appearance, warn the listener of the pitfalls of a vicious cycle. “Terrific Boomerang” details the wear and tear a person endures when falling back on old habits, and how acknowledging these cycles is only the start of breaking them. The heaviness of the lyrics is cushioned by the psychedelic undertones of this performance, forcing Pesky Kid’s new single to land somewhere between uplifting and downtrodden, and allowing the listener to color in the lines.” – Glide Magazine
ZoneNights (Argentina) – Pesky Kid – Generic Pop Song (i don’t wanna think about it) [Video]
"The artist is rapidly rising in his career and presents his new single, a piece that blends pop sounds with well-crafted synthesizer passages. You already know him; we wrote about his music in Zone Nights. It has a good rhythm, movement, and will also add sparkle and color to your routine. It's the kind of song that, once you press play, stays in your head for hours. Not a bad way to kick-start Tuesday with the great sound it offers." – ZoneNights
Indie Italia (Italy) – Pesky Kid x Quells "Real Love" - Sognante e coinvolgente
“Quells is known for his melancholic and introspective style, with a distinctive indie guitar, while Pesky Kid adds a lighter and danceable touch with his indie dance style. Their combination is reminiscent of collaborations between artists such as Toro y Moi and Unknown Mortal Orchestra or Tame Impala and Gorillaz, and Real Love stands out for its catchy riffs, verses that stay on the head and choruses that inspire repeated listening. The song, with its dreamy and engaging atmospheres, is a perfect example of how indie music can go beyond the boundaries of genres, creating something unique and modern.” – Indie Italia
We All Want Someone to Shout For – Pesky Kid x Quells – “Real Love”
“The groovy track is about the “healing & the hurting involved with real love” and blends dance rock, pop, and r & b with a smooth summer romantic feeling in the air that calls to mind some of the early days of Chromeo. This is the sort of track that delivers a blend of melancholy that feels like the sort of summer nights we held onto desperately enjoying them as much as we are afraid that they would slip away.” – We All Want Someone To Shout For
ZoneNights (Argentina) – Pesky Kid ft. Quells – Real Love [Video]
“Pesky Kid and Quells come together to give life to Real Love, a track that combines funky disco with the alternative in a brutal way. It is catchy, it will not take long to get your attention, if you are making the player, do not lose sight of it. We think it can work well to lift the spirits, give movement to your day or simply enjoy its sound. When you least expect it, you'll be humming his melody.” – ZoneNights
ExtravaFrench (France) “Real Love” : Une Alchimie Musicale Par Pesky Kid Et Quells
“In the contemporary music scene, the fusion of genres often creates works that exceed expectations, and "Real Love" by Pesky Kid (Benjamin Champagne) and Quells (Adam Fitzgerald) is a brilliant example. This single, resulting from their collaboration under the aegis of Underflow Records, skillfully mixes indie R&B, dance rock and chillwave to offer a refreshing interpretation of love in all its complexity. Originally from Detroit, Quells, and Saginaw, Pesky Kid, these two Michigan talents bring their creativity and expertise to a song that could well become a modern classic. Their various influences, reminiscent of striking collaborations such as those between Toro y Moi and Unknown Mortal Orchestra or Tame Impala and Gorillaz, shine through in "Real Love". The result is a dynamic piece that combines introspective lyrics with catchy melodies. The video for "Real Love", shot in the iconic Eastern Market in Detroit by Shane Hillier, highlights not only the musical performances of Fitzgerald and Champagne, but also the choreography of two dancers, Ernesto and Cindy. This visual staging perfectly captures the vibrant energy and palpable emotion of the piece. With "Real Love", Pesky Kid and Quells not only navigate through genres; they redefine them, creating a space where indie pop meets the dance floor, while exploring the depths of real love. This piece is both a celebration of love and a meditation on its complexity, offering listeners an experience that is both dancing and deeply thoughtful.” – ExtravaFrench
ZoneNights (Argentina) – La nueva canción de Pesky Kid: ‘Is YoU are yOu DoWn’ que encenderá tu playlist
“The musician, Pesky Kid, arrives with all his energy and good groove to take care of lifting your Wednesday routine. It's good news for those music lovers, who always need to be up to date with their player. To turn on the playlist, he suggests listening to Is YoU are yOu DoWn. It is a track that combines well with a sound of electronics and pinches of classic ghetto hip hop from the nineties, which gives us good feelings. It will help you keep moving. It's ideal to let it sound in the background, as you do your routine things. I turned up the volume, that's how it sounds, Is YoU are yOu DoWn.” – ZoneNights
When does a child become an adult? For some, we remain kids, channeling the ether, or perhaps carrying the torch of the Lost Boys into everything we do. Pesky Kid is a multimedia artist and band who have been steadily stacking releases across all genres through Underflow Records. Neither R&B nor proper pop, Champagne and company offer an off-kilter amalgam of sounds and styles through their own meta-madness lens that defies genre in favor of examining the often-overlooked beauty in everyday simplicity. There’s no right or wrong answer or path on the way to aging gracefully, but luckily there are artists like Pesky Kid who are able to bring fantasies into reality.
“Benny” is the proper debut project for Benjamin Champagne as Pesky Kid. Beyond his beautiful beat tapes (2NE1, Maargaariitaaviillee) and snappy singles (Rowdy One, Sweet N Low, Is YoU are yOu DoWn?) lies another dimension of Pierre St. Jupiter. Much like where the sea meets the mountains, “Benny” offers an off-beat and heart-on-the-sleeve perspective to life as a creative in the 21st century where the kitsch meets the legit. Just like a proper party defies cliques or ideologies or identities, the music of Pesky Kid offers a melting pot of sounds and ideas through “Benny” in which we can hear nostalgic tinges of the past blended with unheard echoes of a future yet to come. Venture into the vibes of a sincere prankster opening his heart for the love, the jokes, and the hurt to pull you into the shenanigans for a dance.
MORE PRESS:
“Pesky Kid Serves Up His Yummy “Sweet N’ Low” Single Premiere”
V13 Media
”PESKY KID • The Genre-Bending Post-Modern Electro Pop of Benjamin Champagne”
Review Magazine
”The Test Drive: Pesky Kid - Benny”
Jammerzine
Pesky Kid is a multi-media artist who has dabbled in a bit of everything, currently hoping to unleash “beats for self-actualization.”
A product of the DIY world, Benjamin Champagne ran a small club for over 5 years and helped produce hundreds of shows. In that space he cultivated art shows, workshops, resistance lectures, law briefings, parties, yoga, sound baths, drum circles, you name it. During those years Champagne also worked for Fusion Shows, The Crofoot and Audiotree producing larger professional concerts for many years, also touring the country as a sound engineer. A pedigreed producer, he currently manages a large theatre and works for the Saginaw Art Museum.
pesky kid = Benjamin champagne
Michigan-based producer, artist, poet, multi-instrumentalist, event organizer & trickster
The music of Pesky Kid is a product and reflection of all culture. He utilizes organic and inorganic sounds, samples, acoustic instruments, electric whatsadoodles, or anything that produces fun sounds. Playing a little bit of every instrument, Champagne says future releases will contain different musicians and more vocals. In complimentary fashion, Pesky Kid produces zines, poetry, collages and dupes: images from the internet that are cut up to resemble the real thing but are far from it. Releasing his debut “2NE1” in 2020, Monsieur Champagne followed with “Maargaariitaaviillee” in early 2021. His first single with vocals “Rowdy One” dropped on November 19th, 2021 - marking the beginnings of a new era in Pesky evolution.
Pesky Kid = Benjamin Champagne & whatever other people & projects he’s working on at the time.
“The Pesky Kid aesthetic is cut, copy and play. This is all to get at the heart of what it is to be human in modernity.” Champagne says.
“But at the end of the day it’s all sexy and fun. What’s the point of cutting everything up and examining it if we aren’t having fun?”
A man of many monikers: Pesky Kid, Pierre Saint-Jupiter, Lava Lamp Devotional Choir, Slow Learner, Holy Goof, Benjamin Champagne.
Pesky Kid is a “joking way” to think of himself much like Socrates called himself the Gadfly. The term "gadfly" (Greek: μύωψ[1], mýops[2]) was used by Plato in the Apology[3] to describe Socrates' acting as an uncomfortable goad to the Athenian political scene, like a spur or biting fly arousing a sluggish horse.
During his defense when on trial for his life, Socrates, according to Plato's writings, pointed out that dissent, like the gadfly, was easy to swat, but the cost to society of silencing individuals who were irritating could be very high: "If you kill a man like me, you will injure yourselves more than you will injure me" because his role was that of a gadfly, "to sting people and whip them into a fury, all in the service of truth." This may have been one of the earliest descriptions of gadfly ethics.
Pesky Kid = Pierre Saint-Jupiter, Lava Lamp Devotional Choir, Slow Learner, Holy Goof = Benjamin Champagne.
