Keni Titus spent her teenage years disappearing into Tumblr rabbit holes. Offline, she was captivated by the San Fernando Valley’s hypnotic sunrises. Now, that collision of Internet romanticism and Californian suburbia runs through the singer-songwriter’s punchy, vulnerable pop, often written from the confines of her Los Angeles bedroom. Following the February release of her debut album, AngelPink, Titus is set to join Role Model on his European tour early next year. Before then, she steps away from her summer schedule to tell us about her current obsessions, her perfect day, and her earliest music memories.
Age: 24
Occupation: Singer-songwriter.
Sum up AngelPink in 3 words.
Cherry cola summer.
Your tour essential?
My Dyson airwrap.
Best place in LA?
The valley.
Worst place in LA?
The 110 freeway.
Earliest music memory?
I can remember tie-dyeing a shirt for the Spring Sing in the 1st grade because I had a big solo. Big moment for me.
Favorite lyric you’ve written?
I feel like “I’m not a patriot but I’d fight a war for you” is pretty good.
Where do your best ideas find you?
When I’m bored and lonely.
What’s your writing process like?
Very solitary. Usually in my bedroom when I can sit on my bed and play my guitar or piano. Though it’s weird, the actual process of words coming out is different every time.
What’s your most Virgo trait?
I would KMS without routines and schedules. I also can be a bitch when things are not the way I like them.
What’s the best thing you’ve ever seen on Tumblr?
Probably just anything my friend Victoria posts.
Your perfect day?
I wake up on a farm with horses. It’s, like, 75 degrees. I have dogs that don’t need leashes and just follow me around. There’s a shady trail to ride the horses in because I’m very pale. Maybe it’s my birthday, so there’s cake and my friends are there. We also get to swim because there’s a lake with no leeches and a tire swing.
Current obsession?
My Stanley water bottle.
What was your coming-of-age album?
Melodrama by Lorde.
Sunrise or sunset?
Sunrise…the day ending gives me anxiety.
What are the last three things you Googled?
Tom Collins ingredients, Chet Baker young, flights to Florida.
Your favorite thing you own?
My sunflower hair clip or my bumble bee Dooney & Bourke bag.
Something nobody knows about you?
Every time I have an intrusive thought, which is often, I have to knock on my head the same amount of times as my age. Right now it’s 24 times, but obviously it goes up every year.