Little Champion is the Asheville, NC-based music project of Dustin Goldklang. Drawing influence from anti-folk, underground indie pop/rock, DIY punk, as well as mainstream pop, Goldklang has developed a style of songwriting that is bursting with dichotomy: fluid yet structured, thoughtful yet goofy, sad yet funny.
After having spent his late teens and early 20s touring the diy folk-punk house-show circuit under his previous moniker (Dustin and the Furniture), Goldklang took a step back from music for awhile. But in 2021, he was reminded of the importance of making songs, and, with plenty of time at home to pick up guitars again, Little Champion was formed.
On Little Champion’s debut album, “Curiosity”, Goldklang showcases his DIY-ethic, as he recorded, produced, and mixed the album himself in a makeshift home studio above his garage. The bedroom-pop vibe adds to the record’s charm. While the tracks on “Curiosity” range in genre from acoustic folk to indie rock to pop-punk, there is a cohesive throughline of exploration and… curiosity. As Goldklang points out, “There is at least one explicit question in every song.”