Kotchy

Kotchy is an electro-pop singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer, and remixer from Brooklyn who generated buzz on the Internet prior to making his album debut in 2009. Born Chad Curlow and originally from Indianapolis, he launched his musical career in Brooklyn, where at first he performed as the drummer of the Epochs, a local band. On his own, he billed himself as Kotchy (a name given to him by his grandmother) and released a series of EPs and free downloads in association with the labels Civil Music in London and Seclusiasis in Philadelphia. The early EPs include She Made It Easy (2008), Sing What You Want (2008), I'd Have to Be High (2009), and Le Passion, Yo! (2009), the latter a collaboration with rapper Shunda K of the group Yo Majesty. These early EPs, along with a bounty of freely downloadable MP3s that circulated in the music blogosphere, generated ever-increasing buzz about Kotchy. Comparisons were drawn between Kotchy and contemporary pop stars such as Justin Timberlake, Pharrell Williams, and Beck, among others, and writers went to great lengths to categorize his genre-bending musical style, which draws from glitchy electronica and hip-hop in terms of production as well as pop, R&B, and rap in terms of songwriting. A high-profile remix of the Tricky single "Council Estate" (2008) also generated buzz about Kotchy. He made his full-length debut in 2009 with 89, a wide-ranging album that features most of his previously released singles.