Houston Duo, KAIRO Speak On the Debut of ‘Are We There Yet?’

On November 13th, 2024, KAIRO released their debut album, ARE WE THERE YET?. At thirteen songs and a little over half an hour, it’s a great project that keeps you on your feet and dancing. Right before the release of the album, Coog Radio, along with a few other outlets, had the opportunity to chat with KAIRO about their journey creating new music and their process.

KAIRO is a musical duo consisting of brothers AK and EJ Odjighoro. Growing up performing in their father’s church, they’ve been into music since a young age, allowing them to form the unique sound they have today.

One of the first things the artists touched on the feeling of releasing their debut album. Describing the album as their life’s work, they explained it felt amazing to be releasing it. With only having one debut album once in your lifetime, they were hyped to be putting theirs out now. They also talked about the rollout of their album. Instead of the typical one or two single releases before the album release, KAIRO decided to put out seven. They explained that it was because they wanted to keep fans in anticipation for the larger project, while still holding on to their attention. Touching on the amazing visuals and artwork for the album, inspiration was taken from everywhere. They knew the album sounded colorful, and that was just what they had to depict. They wanted something that popped, taking inspiration from other rollouts such as Charli xcx’s Brat.

After being asked about the process of creating the album, KAIRO dove deep into how ARE WE THERE YET? was formed. The sound of their album was very inspired by their love of hyper-pop and alternative music, allowing their album to reflect what they like. KAIRO has proven that they aren’t afraid to step outside of the box and push genre-bending boundaries. All of their hard work and creativity has shined through their music, most definitely creating a great album.

With KAIRO being from Houston, I had to ask how growing up here helped shape them. With the great creative scene in the city, it made them hungry to discover and be something more. Moving to Los Angeles as Houstonians allowed them to be more aware of the culture shift between cities, giving them new life experiences and new things to make music about. They explained how proud they are to be from Houston, and it’s something they champion.

With new music, comes new listeners. KAIRO explained that for all the new fans, they hope that people can see that they are bringing real music back. The energy, the talent and their story is something they hope the world will see.

ARE WE THERE YET? is definitely one of my favorite debut albums of the year and I cannot wait to see what KAIRO has next. Keep up with the duo on their Instagram @iloveyoukairo.