Photographed by Cian Moore
First emerging on TikTok with their single “Mariposa” in 2019, Peach Tree Rascals follow that and a string of singles with their debut EP titled _Camp Nowhere_. Out today, the EP, written in seclusion near Yosemite, makes the mark for the band. Made up of mostly second-generation Americans, the band has gained notoriety through their ability to bend genres creating their own unique sound. Working together since high school, the band is made up of Dominic “Dom” Pizano (producer/mixer), Issac Pech (rapper/singer), Tarrek Abdel Khaliq (rapper/singer), Joseph Barros (rapper/singer), and Jorge Olazaba (creative director).
_Flaunt_ sat down with Peach Tree Rascals to discuss their new EP, their influences, and their unique sound.
**How did y’all meet?**
**I**ssac: We all met in high school, just through classes and mutual friends and hanging out and playing different sports. I was the last to join in. When I moved over, then we became a whole friend group. I’ve been making music since I was like four or five, and the first time I ever recorded a song I was six. My older brother was also into music which inspired me.
Tarrek: He really influenced us, me Joseph and Dom, just to see it was possible to make your own music. Isaac was passing out CDs at school and dropping music on Soundcloud and YouTube. Slowly I would start joining him at his house and recording some songs off YouTube beats. Then Joseph started to dabble. Then Dom started producing and that gave us a whole new mentality.
Joseph: I was honestly always into music, playing instruments growing up. My dad bought me a lot of instruments, but I was really shy. I remember I was drunk at our friend’s party and Dom was like ‘you could be one of the fucking greatest in the world.’ And something clicked for me. I though ‘If Dom is that confident in me and Isaac is always wanting me to play him stuff then I should do it. Then I was locked in. Soon after we became a real band or collective and had Jorge come in and handle visuals.
**How would you describe your sound?**
Tarrek: Timeless? We don’t describe our sound really, other people do describe it though. It’s whatever people want to say it is. It’s a very free thing.
**What is your favorite song of the singles you’ve released over the past year?**
Isaac: I think the consensus is “Leave Me.” It just feels right at every turn in the song.
Dom: I think, for me, it’s special because before when we used to make music out of an old shed in the backyard, we didn’t have all the tools to get the music where we wanted it to be in our head. Now that we have more resources the production is where we want it to be. I think that’s why it’s a little more special.
**I know that this album was written over quarantine. Were you always planning on writing your first album this way or did the pandemic force your hand?**
Tarrek: The way we did it was always planned. We always wanted to take a trip somewhere that would let us get away from the day-to-day shit and just go out into nature and spend some time together. And to just from start to finish try to come up with something. But it wasn't a part of the plan to do it right now. We were supposed to be on tour, our first tour ever, at this time. But the pandemic postponed that and gave us that time to just go and make this first EP. _Camp Nowhere_ is one of the only positives of COVID.
**What was it like writing an album in a place like Yosemite?**
Isaac: Almost everything was recorded in Yosemite or about 45 minutes away. I won’t disclose the location because I don’t know… I don’t want to be kidnapped, haha. Being there was amazing. We just lived there with other living things, among the trees and the wilderness.
Tarrek: The feeling of the album was centered around us not really having a sound. I like to give it that kind of free-flowing feeling. We want the album to sound completely free, just like the place we made it in.
**Can you tell me any funny stories from spending time in the mountains?**
Isaac: One of my favorites is our co-writer and friend Jasper tripping LSD and dancing. We were at these falls. Beautiful. And it was misty all around us as the water was falling so in the background was kind of like a rainbow. He was tripping and dancing to whatever music he had in his earphone. He kept saying he felt like he was in a rainbow. Like inside a rainbow.
**What were your influences on the album, if any?**
Joseph: We all have different music tastes. We could name like 30 artists probably, but I’ll say John Mayer and The Beatles
Isaac: Kendrick and Frank for me.
Tarrek: Post Malone and Tierra Whack.
Dom: I’m gonna say Stevie Wonder and Nirvana.
**What are you looking forward to most about releasing your first EP?**
Tarrek: Just how it affects people. I think it's gonna help a lot of people in many different ways. But I just want to, I just want to see the reaction.
Joseph: Also showing the fans how much we've grown is like artists.
**Why the name _Camp Nowhere?_**
Isaac: Initially, it was called _Camp \_\_\_\_\__ (the city that we stayed next to Yosemite). Then we decided we are not gonna give up the location. So, we had actually already made this random mixtape, a six-song mixtape where we forced ourselves to make each song in thirty minutes max. We called that mixtape _Camp Nowhere_, and then that eventually ended up being the title of the _actual_ EP which is fucking sick!
Tarrek: It’s _Camp Nowhere_ because we literally went to the middle of nowhere to make it. To get away from all the noise and distractions that keep you down and keep you stressed.
