Introducing The Radiant Emerging Songstress… KYE

KYE is an emerging talent that not only delivers vocals but heartfelt material that effortlessly showcases her talent. Her longstanding relationship with music first started in her childhood. From singing along to gospel songs to participating in talent shows there was no musical stone unturned. Over the years, KYE’s confidence and talent grew – leading up to her first release ‘Good Company’ in 2019.

After a year break, the rising artist made her grand return in 2021 with three singles including her latest track ‘Tuesday’ with Jerome Farah. Backed by silky smooth production and soulful vocals, the track is an incredible example of the singer-songwriter’s undeniable talent. With her debut EP on the horizon, KYE is showing no signs of slowing down. We were able to chat with her about her single ‘Tuesday‘, musical influences and so much more. Read the full interview below.

Heya KYE! How are you doing?

Hi! I’m really well thanks! It’s finally approaching summer over here so with the sun shining all day I’ve been really good. 

Can you believe that we’re in the final months of 2021! Do you have any favourite memories from this year so far?

2021 has gone way too quickly! My favourite moments so far have been getting to release music but aside from music, this year’s summer was pretty epic. I went out dancing a lot and went away and swam with seals!

Let’s dive into the music, specifically your single ‘Gold’. The lyrics and production radiate such a carefree vibe! What was your creative direction for the song?

Carefree is definitely how I was feeling when I wrote it. I was lounging in the sun, listening to some beats 18YOMAN had sent over and as soon as I heard the one that’s now ‘Gold’, the words just came tumbling out. In every stage of finishing the song we aimed to capture that initial carefree feeling we had in the demo. 

You partnered up with the talented Sampa the Great and 18YOMAN on the record! How did you three end up linking up?

I met 18YOMAN in a session prior to him sending that beat and we’d worked on a song together called ‘Tuesday’, which is my latest single. We work so well together and it came so naturally between us that we continued to collaborate. Sampa is a really good friend of mine, we’d been travelling the world together on her tour for over a year and we’d floated wanting to collaborate on something and as soon as I heard the beat for ‘Gold’ I knew it was the one. 

What type of feeling or meaning do you want fans to take away after listening?

I really wanted to capture that feeling when you’re overflowing with love. I want listeners to feel how I did when I wrote it, basking in sunlight, surrounded by love and full of gratitude for it. 

We need to shout out your incredible songwriting talent! Each track that you’ve released has painted such a vivid and relatable story –especially your single ‘Sometimes’. How would you personally describe your songwriting process?

Thank you so much, that’s very kind! My writing process really changes every time. I wrote ‘Sometimes’ in my car by tapping the beat out on the steering wheel. I love turning on the voice recorder on my phone, especially when I’m driving, and just seeing what comes out. Even though I write most of my songs pretty differently, the one underlying thing is that the quicker I write it, the better it is. Unfiltered and honest thoughts have always made up my best songs. 

You’ve just released ‘Tuesday’ with Jerome Farah. Tell us a little bit more about the single and the inspiration behind the music video?

‘Tuesday’ is about longing for reconciliation with someone and being willing to wait however long it takes for them to come around and be ready to love you. The flowers in the video represent all the flowers he never gave me – the romance I didn’t get, the dates we didn’t go on. They also represent the abundance of love and patience I have for that person and as the video goes on we see the amount of flowers start to dwindle and we’re left with one. 

I want to bring it back to your musical beginning. When did you first fall in love with R&B?

I’d always grown up around R&B, Whitney Houston and Michael Jackson were the first artists I heard as a child. My parents would play everything – Chaka Khan, Destiny’s Child. But I really fell in love with R&B pretty late into my musical journey. I’ve always heavily been a Pop girl and that’s still really evident in my songwriting. It wasn’t until late into high school when I started hanging out with friends who really loved neo-soul and R&B and they’d show me who they’d been listening to. The more I fell in love with the genre, the more my own sound evolved to lean closer to it. 

Was there an album or specific artist that inspired you to pursue a music career of your own?

It’d be a tie between ‘Dangerous’ – Michael Jackson, ‘Whitney’ – Whitney Houston and Kylie Minogue’s compilation album, ‘Ultimate Kylie’. I was always coming up with dance routines and performances in my room to these albums. 

With everything you’ve accomplished so far, what kind of advice would you give your younger self?

I wish I could tell my younger self, specifically myself from four or five years ago, that I wasn’t always going to feel stuck and to try not to stress so much about feeling stagnant. I was playing hundreds of tiny gigs and just felt at a few points like I wasn’t going to get anywhere, I wish I’d saved myself the anxiety! Everything eventually falls into place if you just keep pushing. 

Bringing it back, what can fans expect from KYE in the coming months? Maybe an EP or album release?

There’s an EP out next month but beyond that, after a very slow couple of years of releasing in this pandemic, I want to just release as much music as possible in the next year. I’ve been writing so much and I’m ready for people to hear it! 

Check out KYE’s new single ‘Tuesday’ here and watch the video for the track below.