The KickDrums

Indie rock singer/songwriter Alex Fitts started off as a Cleveland-based producer, whose work with local hip-hop acts caught the ears of big-name rappers looking for production that blended hip-hop and indie rock styles. He and his production partner Matt Penttila found work with artists like 50 Cent, John Legend, and Kid Cudi, and did remixing for Kanye West, Adele, Ben Harper, and Peter Bjorn and John. At the same time, the duo began working on its own hybrid of indie rock and hip-hop, releasing an EP (Just a Game) in 2009, then a full-length (Meet Your Ghost) in 2011. Penttila left the band after this release and Fitts struck out on his own, turning the Kickdrums into a one-man band and trading in any vestiges of hip-hop for electronic-tinged singer/songwriter-influenced indie rock. After signing with Hopeless Records, the Still Logic EP was released in July of 2013, followed by the Thinking Out Loud album in October of that year.