Artist is musician and actor
Kent Navarrette poses for the lens. Photo by Paul Gabriel
By Tom Victoria
Kent Navarrette enchants people with song.
The Los Angeles musician described his style.
"I would describe my style sonically as constantly paying reverence to — or at least this is my attempt to pay reverence to — the masters of music past," he said. "I love a retro sound, something that almost sounds like it could be timeless. However, everything I write is very intrinsically pop. That's how I go about songwriting. I've experimented with more experimental song structures, but it's always the most fun to write a pop song. Something that gets in your head, that gets you moving, something catchy. All my language within my music is very romantic, methodical. The best way to write is to write what you know and write what you're feeling as you experience it. That can lead to some of the biggest truths in my music by trying to connect the mundane with maybe a larger concept or something more universal like love or something like that."
Kent, 28, released his latest tune, You Can Get It (Anytime), on June 30.
"I sat on it for a while," he said. "But I kept coming back to it because I thought it was catchy, thought it was fun and romantic, dreamy and all the things that I am looking for in a lead single. The song is about when you've met somebody and it sparks that thrill of joy regardless, whether or not it's a long-term thing or just a short fling and going about your day and holding that joy within the present moment. The first lyric actually is: 'I don't really know how, but it seems I caught you in my eye.' The original lyric was harkening back to writing in the present moment. I was in the park with friends after having met this person and I was full of joy being in the present moment. I was in Echo Park seeing kids play with kites running back and forth. The original first line was: 'I was there in the park as the neighborhood kids ran with kites in the sky.' And then I developed that into something a little more melodic or singer-songwritery. Although I do feel like that is where music's leaning more, so stream of consciousness and stuff like that. And just that feeling of joy where it's like, oh, I don't know where this connection's gonna go. I don't know if that was the full extent to what this connection was supposed to be. But I'm just happy in the moment that it happened and I'm open to the possibilities of this going somewhere. But in the meanwhile, I'm just happy in this moment right now."
Kent is wrapping up new music.
"I'm working on an EP," he said. "I've been debating whether or not to just do droplet singles, but I feel there's definitely songs in there that don't really function as a single for me. I'm working with my friend Connor, Quiet Son is his artist name, and we're working on four songs. I including the song that I worked with Antoine Breton. He's based in Quebec. But this song is comprised of different demos I had written over the years. Everything I do is dreamy, romantic, but also retro. When I say romantic, I don't mean so much so about with one person, more so romantic in the classical sense romantic and the way you romance life and the hurdles and battles that come with that as well."
Kent described some of the songs from the EP.
"There's Twin Flame, which is the one I'm really trying to crack right now, figure out the production for that," he said. "I have a song called Fascination. The production of it is giving more so 2013 indie rock pop band. I have a song called Damaged Boy, which is more so introspective talking about wanting to not live life from the perspective of your damaged inner child and wanting to be the person or become the person that doesn't have that damaged boy listening in or whispering in your ear. The fifth one, it's one of my first songs that I ever wrote, it's called Free My Mind, which actually I wrote in 2020 when I was first learning music production and songwriting. It's a breakup song. I was dating this wonderful person, but Covid happened. I had to move back home for the time being, and I wasn't out to my mom. I knew that I was holding this person back and probably causing them pain because I wasn't yet comfortable with myself. But the song really talks about I want to free my mind, but to some, the price is too high 'but I'm ready and still learning that what I feel is all right.' That's basically the chorus. And that again is about introspection, appreciate this for what it served in my life. There's a journey ahead of me that I have to walk on my own. Sonically, there's a lot of cool flutes happening in that song, specifically flutes, saxophone. The sound for this project ranges from jazz inspiration. Also, there's electronic elements influenced with R&B. Definitely '90s soft rock bands. Cocteau Twins are a huge inspiration."
Kent is still working on release dates.
"The next song should be Free My Mind," he said. "That or Fascination is the most finished. We're just doing final touches. I have to go in the studio because Free My Mind was the first song that ever wrote. I was so green. I wrote it in a higher register in a key that was just scraping the top of my range. Now that I'm a little more versed, I've realized that's gonna be a little strenuous when I do perform that live. So I'm gonna take it a half step down. I have to re-record it. But I was like, okay, good, I realize that now instead of when I'm on stage and I'm having a hard time after four songs."
Photo by Paul Gabriel
Kent prefers making romantic music as opposed to somber melodies.
"Musically, I went on a whole journey to where some of the stuff I wrote four years ago, I don't even resonate with anymore," he said. "One of my biggest musical influences is Lana Del Rey. The way she writes her music is so beautiful and timeless. And when Born to Die came out, I related so deeply with those somber moods. I think about some of my biggest influences, like Amy Winehouse. I remember there's this one quote where she would say how difficult it was to pour your heart out into a song and write about all the things that are hurting you in that moment and then have to get on stage and sing about that night in, night out. I truly believe that songs are affirmations, spells if you will. If you are constantly speaking over sadness, sadness over yourself, then that sadness can never vacate your life. It's an upward battle. But I'm always trying to spin things to where my songs won't all be about heartbreak. There won't always be a theme of fatality in my music. Because I want to put out in the world something that makes people feel good, maybe changes their perspective, leads them to more of a hopeful feeling. Maybe down the line, something somber will inspire a song. And if that is what that song needs to be, then I'll write it. But when I'm just sitting down and being like, okay, what kind of song do I want to write today? I try to avoid leaning into more sadder themes. If I can guide the ship where it's going, I rather guide it somewhere uplifting and positive."
Kent typically starts the music writing process with lyrics.
"A lot of my songs are born out of me needing to say something," he said. "Usually, I find the words before I find the melody. And that's when I've been able to go into a DAW system, plunk down some chords and then let the chords guide the melody with the words in tandem."
Anyone dating Kent could end up being the subject of a song.
"Absolutely, depending on how they treat me," he said. "That could go either great or poorly. Love is the easiest thing to write about, whether it's heartbroken over love or whether it's because things are going so good in love. Preferably the latter. That's just intrinsic to dating an artist. Although I do feel like there is a responsibility to the artist to not censor themselves, but have in mind who your subject is. Personally, I wouldn't air out their dirty laundry unless they really did me dirty. But even, then I would say it more in an indirect way."
Kent enjoys being an independent artist.
"In the past, in order to be an artist, you had to be with a label," he said. "But thanks to the expansion of social media as well as avenues like TikTok, Instagram, Reels, YouTube, it really broke that up and put the power into the hand of the artist. However, it makes a lot more work for the artist to do. That's when it's up to you to learn to use the tools that you have. Use Google. Look into TikToks from music industry professionals that will give you guidance into how to take your music to the next step in order to be heard. I'm still figuring that out myself. I'm an independent artist. I only have three songs out right now, but I'm working on a EP full project to where I can maybe then start building that leverage in order to then flirt with the idea of getting on an independent label or getting a manager, all that sort of thing."
Kent is open to arrangements with other musicians and companies to license his music.
"As an independent artist, I need to make this money and music made somehow," he said. "Even with the song that I put out right now, I am going to shop it around to sync licensing and stuff like that, because I feel it would do very well in a Perks of Being a Wallflower type movie, coming of age type story, ideally. But if Dunkin Donuts wants to use my song and say you can get it at any time and the context of coffee? Sure, why not?"
Kent said listeners can have their own interpretations of his songs.
"I've had that experience myself with music," he said. "They say music is subjective and dependent even if the meaning is objective to the artist who wrote it. I've had experiences with music where lyrics hit differently because of something I've experienced personally. Even though it's a song that I've listened to over and over again, all of a sudden I'm in the new context and see this song from a different perspective, which I think is what makes a great song, too. It can speak to many different people's lives while they're going through very different things."
Kent doesn't just have contemporary musical influences.
"The crooner scene style influenced the way I've sung a lot," he said. "I remember even being in middle school listening to Nat King Cole. Chet Baker isn't really a crooner, I would say, but more so Nat King Cole and trying to mimic that warmth he had in his voice. And even today when I'm in this studio, I try to do more takes in that chest register. It feels like it sings from the heart."
Kent recalled the first singer to make an impact on him as a child.
"Going way back, Britney Spears," he said. "My mother said I would be in the grocery cart in the grocery store and I would break out into song just singing: 'oh, baby, baby, oops, I did it again.' And my mom said after going through the whole song, I would have people surrounding me because I was that adorable. But later on, what really influenced me and inspired my more niche music interests, I was an Internet kid. Didn't have any protections on what I could access on the Internet early 2000s, so I would be in these forums where people would talk about music. They'd post what they're listening to. I remember the first indie act I ever listened to was this singer Gregory and the Hawk. They had all these different songs that were very songwriteresque and bare bones, not highly produced. They have a song about a song called Kill the Turkey, which is about consuming meat. I wonder if the writer was a vegetarian or something like that. I remember these were artists that were in their prime, were on MySpace. Porcelain Black had this group called Porcelain and the Tramps. She was one of Courtney Love's backup singers and she had her own industrial rock meets pop sort of sound that was very influential to me. And then later, Florence the Machine and Lana Del Rey and Jack White were hugely impactful to how I wrote music, listened to it and informed how I wanted to experience music going forward."
Kent started singing in church.
"My mother was a pastor and we'd throw these little Christmas pageants," he said. "Once I aged out of playing baby Jesus, I was then put into a pair of angel wings and a halo and started to sing over baby Jesus. That was really the start of that. It was around Christmas time where I would choose a Christmas song and I'd get in front of the congregation and I would sing. I would be 10 or something doing that."
Kent moved onto bigger stages.
"When I was in college, I did a lot of musical theater," he said. "That's where I really felt like I earned my chops, because I've always been a singer. I did musical theater in high school, but I learned more of the technical elements of performance when studying at Santa Monica College. They have a fabulous theater program. In one show, I'd be acting as we did a more classical interpretation of A Christmas Carol. I was young man Scrooge. I was on top of that several other characters. I was also a dancer, and I was also part of the choir. I had 16 costume changes in the whole show. The most out of anybody because they could plug me into anything. I started singing on stage my freshman year of high school. We did Fame the Musical, and that's when I really got the bug for stage performance. Since graduating, I more so wanted to write my own music. It's great conveying a character in the guidelines of a story that's been predetermined for you but in order to fully express yourself, it's a different sort of feeling to be able to perform your own music. I've yet to create a full set, so eventually that will come with time."
Kent savors performing in front of a live audience.
"There's no other feeling like it," he said. "There's no safety net. It's all about learning how to adapt. And sometimes you'll get on stage and you'll make choices that you didn't know were there to discover until you're in front of an audience."
Kent's artistry includes acting on screen.
"I've done background work for The Bold and the Beautiful," he said. "I was in Euphoria, Hacks, but these are more so background works. I've also done commercials and stuff like that."
When working as an extra, Kent opts for more natural simulated discussion that the audience doesn't hear.
"They usually say: peas and carrots, peas and carrots, peas and carrots," he said. "But sometimes that gets boring. Usually, I don't know the person sat next to me when I'm working background. But if I quickly gain a rapport with the people I'm clustered with, I'll start cracking jokes to where it's natural. It feels more natural that way. On the set of Euphoria, it was a 16-hour shoot. I clocked out at 14 hours, but a lot of people clocked out at 16. But in the wee hours, we're trying to act like we're at a party and in order to keep the momentum going, I have to crack jokes or nudge or say little things to keep people upbeat. Because when you're in a situation like that, if someone's energy is lagging, that's gonna lag everybody else's energy. So it's a good back and forth to have. But of course, not too distracting, not distracting at all from the camera."
Kent is prepared to deal with the drawbacks of fame if his career would skyrocket.
"If it were just me, I feel like I could take a lot of attention," he said. "I know that would come with a lot of new stressors that the average person will never understand. I could handle that. However, I think about Chappell Roan. What really caused her to really be divided amongst fame was fans showing up at her sister's work. My family means a lot to me, and so that's where I have had to think about how far would I take this. But to an extent, I understand that that's not really in my hands. That's not what my goal is. People get into music, get into acting for many different reasons. My reason is more so I just have a true need to express. If that expression were to reach globally, I trust my own resilience, and I try to put the protections in place to where the people I care about most are protected."
Kent would be satisfied not attaining international fame.
"Global recognition is a dream, but it could also be a nightmare," he said. "I'm open to it. But I would also love to be like an actor that's known but can still walk amongst the masses. There's different avenues of fame. I've always said that I'm ready, I'd be ready for it, but you never know until you know. I was talking about this with my boyfriend because there's this bar, I call it my Cheers bar. It's Akbar here in Silver Lake and the bartenders know me. I see my friends and we are able to kick back and joke and not be bothered. The other day, people were posting that Troye Sivan had went to Akbar. That is disturbing to me because in a world where I reach the sort of fame that someone like Troye Sivan would have, I'd be devastated if I couldn't go into Akbar, my local Cheers bar, without it being a moment where people are treating me different or taking out their phones to take pictures of me. That would be sad."
Kent appreciates the usefulness of social media to promote his music.
"I'm getting more comfortable with that," he said. "Ultimately, my goal is to create, but it's also good to have people listening. So I am bridging the gap between me and social media to where I can figure out what interacting with social media more so looks like for me. Whether or not that means making YouTube videos where I'm plugging my music, talking about other things like my friend and I were talking about: if you want to be tongue-in-cheek about it. I can be like, hi, welcome to my channel. This is day one of me pretending to be an influencer because that's the only way people listen to music these days. This is the concealer I use. My song Da Da Da Da was written about and then go on to something like that. I'm figuring it out. Eventually I'll do that, but right now I feel like I need to just send it."
Kent takes care of his voice.
"I sing all the time," he said. "I'm constantly in the car trying to healthily stretch my vocal capacity. Of course, it's tea, all that, but also eating hydrating foods in order for your body to be internally moisturized. In order to be able to deliver a healthy note, you should eat your water as they say. Cucumber things that have vitamins in it. Sweet potato is apparently really good for your voice or for your body. Therefore, it is good for your voice. Of course, vocal exercises. My favorite thing to do is the Arabic scales. In order to warm up my voice, I'll go through the Arabic scales. That gives you the most vocal flexibility, too. Because Arabic singers, they do crazy things with their voices. My in-studio thing that I would do, I'd usually have turmeric tea and I'd fill my thermos with hot water and several packets of turmeric tea or mint tea."
Kent stressed the importance of being open about his identity.
"The first media where I remember seeing gay people on my screen really was Glee," he said. "People have their own perceptions of that show. Not everything aged well. Love that show, though. I remember there truly feeling like an era where the amount of visibility that show gave to not only gay people, but lesbian people, transgender people, that helped me a lot in middle school. I already know there are plenty of people that keep their sexuality hidden from the public, which it's up to everybody. You don't owe anybody your personal information, your personal life. However, as an artist, it is so inherent into everything I do, it would be an obstacle to get to dance around it. I've been who I am my entire life, and I tried to dance around it. In my younger years, I tried to not exist in my completion, in my full realization. And it was painful. It was not only painful to me and my mental health, but it was painful to my expression and how I was able to embody myself. I don't give myself the option to dance around. If there's moments where I am hesitant, I then have to recalibrate what about this situation is making me feel unsafe to express myself and its full spectrum."
Kent said there's a reason there's so many creative people in the LGBTQ+ community.
"I truly believe everything you experience, everything you allow yourself to express is in direct correlation to the concept of self you have internally and the love you allow yourself to experience," he said. "Hiding who you are is the biggest affront to your identity and who you are because it puts a cap on how you're able to just be comfortable in your body. In my mind, that's trapped energy being dormant. Once you're able to pop that lid off and fully expand your expression, then that's when the best work is able to come."
Kent doesn't pigeonhole his art.
"It's easier to call myself an artist because I do a little bit of everything," he said. "I'm limiting myself just by calling myself only one thing. If someone wants to inquire about it, I'll be like, listen, I sing, I act, I songwrite, I produce, I can dance. I do a little of everything. So I'm like, if you're interested, I'll explain to you all in which ways that I'm an artist."
Kent stays motivated to make music by being around other artists.
"I'm very lucky to have friends who are also artists," he said. "We keep each other accountable and because we also believe in each other. I have a good friend, Jamie Love, and a really good friend, Planet. They're both great artists. Planet's a rapper, singer, songwriter, and Jamie is a performer, personality, singer, songwriter. I just got in this relationship a few months ago, and I've really been enjoying being in love and all that. And Jamie, she'll make sure to be like, I need to see you in the studio. I want you to focus on what you know, has been your guiding light all this time. I want you to experience life, have the greatest experiences, but remember what you know you are here to do. When I'm not feeling motivated, I also turn inward. Meditation is huge for me. I was lucky enough to be able to study under the David Lynch Institute of Transcendental Meditation. I have always been very hungry as far as spirituality, learning aspects of dissolving the ego, what it is to quiet your mind and be present."
Kent discovered that avenue via theater.
"I had a teacher in high school who was very impactful to me," he said. "He was also my musical theater director, Mr. Little. He showed me Ram Dass, delineations of Buddhism, mindfulness, all that sort of stuff. And during a very hard part of my life, too. I've turned to that in so many ways, especially when creative blockages, when I'm feeling self-doubt, to quiet the mind and allow inspiration to flow. But if it comes to that deadline, that's when I have to get a little formulaic. I'm very intuitively driven with the art I create. But then times I have been stumped, that's when it's like, okay, I'm setting an alarm, I have to write, I have to choose one topic. I'm writing about this. Once that timer is up, don't have to think about it. Maybe that's a new project or something I've been working on. I hit a wall with the project I'm working on right now. There's one song that I started writing when my music was more so inspired by hyper pop, dance pop. It's changed a lot what kind of artist I want to be. And so working with the producer that's been helping me build this project, we've been throwing ideas to the wall and seeing what sticks. It's been a harder case to crack with this song also because the original production was very experimental. It was very heavy, electronic and trying to bridge that. It's been frustrating to where I'm not getting it right away. I just want to stop. I just want to quit. But that's when I have to take a step back, be open to the idea. Maybe it doesn't have to fit in this box or maybe I don't have to bend it to my will so much and let it be what it is naturally. Letting go a little bit helps a lot."
Kent dispensed advice for aspiring musicians.
"What I would say is make the more technical way in order to present to the public," he said. "Start thinking about. I hate this sounds so corporate. But brand identity and what that means to you, take your biggest influences, pick and choose how they're perceived by their audience and what story you want to tell and how you can pull inspiration from those people. Think about the mood that you want to achieve."
Kent employs the moniker BAMBIBOY as a musician.
"I liked the name Bambi since I was a kid and my grandfather Francis would show me the cartoon," he said. "Later, I found that in queer ball scenes, Bambi was in reference to an effeminate tender-hearted gay boy. There are variances of what it could mean to different people, but that's what I identified it with myself."
Kent said creating that identity was crucial.
"That's why I created BAMBIBOY, because it's not my name, it's something separate from me," he said. "That way, I have more abstraction to what I can create, the world I can build. Think about where this artist you're presenting yourself as exists. Think about colors that you want to attribute to your artist, what shapes. When you are in a slump, when you're trying to make music, you can lean on those motifs that define your artist persona. That way, you have a clear narrative when you are expressing it to the public. It's something easier for them to catch on to. Because I see artists, they have great voices, they have great music, but they don't really have an identity as far as their out facing persona. You're in a cute outfit, your hair looks cute, your makeup's good, but there isn't an aesthetic, which I hate. You'd like to think that people listen with their ears and not their eyes. But it is in tandem. The music will speak for itself always. However, when you're thinking of a marketing perspective, you want people to actually digest your creation. That's when you have to get a little savvy of how is this being packaged and presented. What visual experience will allow the listener to immerse themselves in the world that I'm building?"
Kent's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/k.e.nt/
Kent's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@bambiboymusic