We’re big fans of Key Wilde and Mr. Clarke around here — I gave an enthusiastic thumbs up to their debut full-length, Rise and Shine, which has been in heavy rotation in our car for the last year and a half.

Key and Clarke are back with a new six-song EP, Hey Pepito!, which was all the excuse I needed to get Key on the phone for a conversation about their uniquely exuberant brand of children’s music. Read on — and then sample Pepito! via the widget at the bottom of the post.

First of all, I have to tell you that because of my son and his intense love of your music, I’ve had to hear “Rattling Can” at least once a week for over a year.

[Laughs] So you have just a little bit of resentment.

Not as much as I would if it happened with just about any other song.

Yeah! It could be worse. I’ve had parents tell me “Thank goodness I actually like this stuff, because otherwise, it would drive me crazy.”

One of the things I really love about your music is its vibrant, honest energy. Plenty of kids’ music is uptempo, but it often feels forced, or just hyper.

You know, I started in this field for two main reasons: One, I had a new daughter, and I wasn’t staying out until 2 AM anymore, and two, I just wanted to hear some cool kids’ music. People had already told us at different points in the past that we’d be good at making family music, and we realized that all we really had to do was take out the swear words and we were ready to go. Continue reading →