Kenya Grace ing 'Strangers', Projects, lan Dream Collaborations ing Interview Eksklusif karo Brooke Reese

Ing 6 Desember Kenya Grace, dinamis Inggris artis ing ngendi sensasi viral “Strangers,” gabung karo Brooke Reese kanggo wawancara eksklusif minangka bagian saka seri Apple Music: Emerging Artists. Ngeleng ing Apple Soho ing New York, acara iki nawakake para penggemar kesempatan unik kanggo nyambung karo Kenya, kang gabungan saka dance-pop wis captivated audiences donya. Diketahui kanggo pendekatan inovatif kanggo musik lan storytelling, Kenyakaro Brooke Reese nyedhiyakake wawasan ing proses artistik lan aspirasi masa depan.

Jika sampeyan ketemu, ora khawatir, kita duwe highlights kanggo sampeyan.

Brooke: Sangat gadhah yen sampeyan ngerti iki. Nama sampeyan wis ana, lagu sampeyan wis ana ing ngendi. Aku pikir bakal fun kanggo miwiti percakapan kita karo lagu "Strangers". Saiki sampeyan nggawe, ndeleng spesial? Apa ana apa-apa babagan iku? amarga wong mung gravitated kanggo iku langsung.

Kenya: Waktos, ora. Aku ora ngandika iki super kasempetan lan ora ngandhut apa-apa saka iku nalika aku ngirim, nanging aku seneng banget sing wong nyambung karo iku akeh. iku gila.

Brooke: Gaya sampeyan unik, lan sampeyan urip ing donya dance-pop. Apa proses kreatif sampeyan nalika nyusun musik?

Kenya: When I write, I always start with making the beat. I usually start with chords or something that inspires me in that realm, then I probably do drums, and finally would be the vocals: start with the melody and then lyrics. It always is the hardest part for me. When writing the lyrics, I always want to tell a story, so I spend the longest on that.

Brooke: Aku suka sing kanggo sampeyan, beat lan melody ngarepake sampeyan, lan iku storytelling ing ngendi sampeyan njaluk wektu.

Kenya: Itu uga butuh wektu kanggo ngandika kabeh cerita.

Brooke: Aku uga intrigued ngobrol karo artis sing wis duwe momen gedhe ing platform media sosial kayata TikTok lan Instagram, ngembangake komunitas karo penggemar lan mung kolektif nonton hal-hal berkembang akeh ing taun pungkasan. Apa iku? Angka iku siji, nanging ngerti yen ana wong nyata ing ngisor iki, dadi penggemar Kenya Grace. Bisa sampeyan nglarisake sedikit?

Kenya: Itu pasti mental. Aku ora ngarepake apa-apa saka iki bakal mbukak, lan iku begitu gila, nanging iku begitu apik kanggo nggunakake wong ing urip nyata. Kadang-kadang ing media sosial, sampeyan ngandika DM lan ora ngerti ana nyata wong cool ing ngisor loro, jadi cool.

Brooke: Aku ora ngerti yen iku terlalu TMI, nanging apa TikTok sampeyan ndadekake? Sampeyan ing tikTok feed saya akeh sawisé FYP lan algoritma, nanging apa sampeyan ndadekake ana? Aku ndadekake minangka ana akeh komunitas beda, kang iku mengapa wong gravitasi menyang iku, kanggo njaluk musik anyar, kanggo njaluk artis anyar.

Kenya: Aku benar-benar ing musik. Aku suka akeh DJ, produser. Aku pikir iku utamane apa sing aku njaluk, lan uga minangka acara acak, karo 20 bagian, kaya lucu.

Brooke: <pfseg id="0“say yes to a dress”ngandika ya kanggo gaun".

Kenya: Ya.

Brooke: Ada lima bagian, lan banjur aku ndeleng lan nonton kabeh amarga aku kudu ngerti apa ana ing iki. Pernah nggunakake apa-apa kaya, ing ngendi iku njupuk sampeyan menyang acara, lan sampeyan ndeleng, “well, now I have to watch it”?

Kenya: <pfseg id="0">Ya, literally begitu akeh. Aku ndeleng akeh film apik ing TikTok.

Brooke: I love that so much. I was reading how you were born in South Africa but grew up in the UK. I would love to know if any of that has influenced your music and also growing up, the music you listened to.

Kenya: I think I’ve been influenced the most by the UK scene. I lived in South Africa for 8 months. I was a tiny baby, so I don’t really have too much inspiration from there, but I’m very into the UK music scene. There are so many different artists, especially in dance... so many different mini sub-genres. It's very cool.

Brooke: Sampun kaya, siapa sampeyan ndeleng? Apa sing nginspirasi? Apa sing muter liwat speaker ing rumah sampeyan nalika sampeyan cilik?

Kenya: When I was really young, my mom always used to play Neo Soul, and I really liked Neo Soul in general. It was amazing. I just loved the chord progressions, and the melodies are stunning. And then when I went to college, I got really into dance music.

Brooke: Apa sing spesifik babagan tarian sing ngetokake sampeyan ing cara iki? Ngandhutake sampeyan duwe hubungan banget apik karo cara sampeyan ngetokake babagan genre ing umum.

Kenya: <pfseg id="0">Aku wis suka iku wiwit sadurunge, kanggo jujur. aku pikir iku drum sing aku suka begitu, kang ndadekake aku ndeleng... Aku ingat nalika aku banget muda, mungkin 7, aku ana ing YouTube lan aku nemokake dubstep, lan aku mung ndadekake ana ing kamarku karo headphones ndeleng dubstep, ora menari utawa apa-apa.

Brooke: And also being on your music journey and releasing songs this year, everything grows so quickly with you, by the way. How do you decide what you want to release for the next song as you are trying to build your journey as an artist?

Kenya: Honestly, I just play it by ear. I write a lot of songs all the time. And I love posting them, and then I’ll just make a little beat video, and I randomly decide. There is no plan at all.

Brooke: Tetapi iku ora dihitung? Sawetara wong iki ing T, lan aku jinis kaya sampeyan mung iku karo cara sampeyan ndadekake. Ngandhakake sampeyan ngendi sampeyan nglawan lagu ing media sosial lan wong dadi begitu intense lan begitu invested nalika padha bakal kaya "drop lagu! Mana sisa saka iku?"

Kenya: [laughing]

Brooke: Apa sampeyan ngira iku salah siji saka lagu ing ngendi sampeyan nyenengake lan wong-wong kaya “we need the full version now”?

Kenya: “Strangers” 100%. And then “Out of My Mind”, I teased a part and then released “Strangers” and I think some people were upset that I didn’t release that one. But they both are out now.

Brooke: Are you currently working on a project? How do you see yourself as an artist going forward because we are at the end of 2023, which is so wild to even say, and you’ve already grown and done so much. Where do you see yourself moving forward with your music?

Kenya: I’ve been working on a project, which I’ll drop next year, which is exciting! I’m so excited to release the project instead of just singles. It's gonna be really cool.

Brooke: Ketika sampeyan nggunakake apa-apa kaya iki, ngendi sampeyan ngerti yen sampeyan ngembangake proyek? Ngendi sampeyan dadi, ok, aku bakal nggunakake LP utawa album, utawa sampeyan miwiti nyusun lagu lan banjur kolektif ndadekake minangka tematis lan sonically padha nggunakake?

Kenya: I feel like I've been accidentally, subconsciously doing that for the whole year, and I've got so many things that I've posted but haven’t released, which I think actually work very well together, so I’m going to make something big next year.

Brooke: Itu begitu emosional! Aku ingin ngobrol babagan iki, amarga aku nggoleki riset, minangka siji nggunakake kanggo kerja, lan aku bakal suka ngerti apa iku minangka nggunakake sajarah minangka satu-satunya artis feminin kalebu Kate Bush kanggo dadi No.1 minangka penulis tunggal, produser, lan performa ing charts pop Inggris?

Kenya: Itu gila. Kate Bush iku kaya sakit. Dheweke minangka inspirasi, dheweke mbukak. Aku mung ngira kudu luwih wong kanggo nggunakake iku.

Brooke: But maybe you are holding a door for other women to do that, and you don’t even know yet.

Kenya: I hope so. I feel like it's our moment now. It's coming.

Brooke: It is our moment.

Kenya: There are so many sick girls and women that are smashing it in writing and production. It's the moment.

Brooke: I feel like also in the dance genre, not only as performers but as DJs, women have also grown exponentially, which is very exciting.

Kenya: 100%.

Brooke: You did decide to release the sad acoustic version of “Strangers”. We love an emo moment. How did you decide that you wanted to come up with the acoustic version of it, and where do you begin, or did it start that way?

Kenya: I thought it would sound good, honestly. I tried adding strings and then worked on adding cute harmonies. I don’t really release stuff like that, straight up and chill, so I wanted to give it a go, I guess.

Brooke: <pfseg id="0">Aku pikir bakal interessant kanggo ngobrol luwih babagan dunia tarian ing ngendi sampeyan urip akeh. Sampeyan wis ngobrol akeh babagan dadi ing UK lan panggonan tarian sing begitu gedhe, nanging duwe bidang tarian liyane ngarti sampeyan uga?

Kenya: Aku ndeleng minangka pengaruh utamané paling gedhe ing wektu iku Flume saka Australia. Dheweke minangka pengaruh gedhe saka aku. lan kabeh liyane mungkin ing UK lan vibes rumah.

Brooke: Aku suka musik tari, lan aku rasa aku ora ngerti cukup nganti taun iki, benar-benar nyedhiyakake ing. Tapi iku luar biasa. Aku ndeleng minangka iku berkembang akeh minangka genre, lan sampeyan minangka seniman uga nggunakake, ing ngendi sampeyan mbantu tari kanggo ngluwihi global. Nalika sampeyan ndeleng hal-hal kaya iku lan wong miwiti nyedhiyakake ing genre amarga sampeyan, apa rasa?

Kenya: Crazy. I'm happy that people hear drum and bass, to be fair. I didn’t expect you guys to like that.

Brooke: Oh, ya, iku kali pertama sampeyan ngunjungi kita ing Amerika Serikat. Sampeyan mung duwe pameran pisanan ing New York. Apa iku? Energi? Vibrasi?

Kenya: Vibes banget banget! Aku nggunakake siji ing malam kemarin, lan siji ing malam sadurunge ing “Elsewhere” ing Brooklyn. iku banget cool, kabeh banget banget lan vibes banget.

Brooke: Cara sampeyan miwiti persiapan kanggo pertunjukan? iku siji hal kanggo dadi seniman lan nggawe musik ing studio utawa ing ruang aman, nanging iku liyane kanggo njupuk musik sing lan mbukak lan tampil ing hadapan wong. Bagaimana sampeyan njaluk saka A menyang B?

Kenya: I’ve struggled, actually, over the past couple of months getting over stage fright, honestly. Because it's scary going from being in your room and posting online, where you kind of remove yourself from being in front of everyone, but it's so fun. It's a completely different process from writing. But I still do a lot of writing. When I make my set, I love adding transitions between songs. I love doing that.

Brooke: Ada uga akeh kanggo mbukak. taun iki mung tingkat permukaan saka apa sing kita wis nonton iki saka Kenya Grace. Aku ndadekake 2024 bakal mbukak lan mbukak. Ana lagu sing sampeyan nggunakake, "Paris", sing mung muncul ora sawisé. Aku ingin ngobrol sedikit babagan iki, lirik, lan cara sampeyan ngluwihi ngirim siji iki.

Kenya: <pfseg id="0">Aku ngandika iku taun-tahun sadurunge, lan aku benar-benar suka konsep iki. Iku utamané babagan cara media sosial minangka palsu lan, luwih spesifik, apa sing aku ketahui babagan hubungan ing media sosial. Mereka bisa ndeleng banget, nanging sebenarnya palsu, lan iku kanggo hubungan minangka ing pasangan lan persahabatan uga, aku pikir. Aku wis ndeleng. Aku senang iku.

Brooke: So it's coming soon?

Kenya: Soon-ish.

Brooke: Aku uga begitu intrigued karo wong sing artistik anyar lan emerging, duwe akeh sukses kanthi cepet. It's just fun to know where your head is with all of this, and where you want to go. You're building out your brand and your artisticry as Kenya Grace, lan iku uga fun kanggo ndeleng ngendi sampeyan mau nggawé barang-barang amarga sampeyan bisa nggawé manawa karo proyek-proyek sampeyan.

Kenya: I’m trying to take it day by day. I'm trying not to think about the big picture too much because it's stressing me out. You can just overthink it.

Brooke: Aku ngerti kita ngetokake ing wektu Liburan lan pengin, sampeyan bakal njaluk wektu. Apa sampeyan biasane nindakake kanggo Liburan?

Kenya: Sampun chill karo kulawarga, supaya adil. Kita ora duwe Natal massive. Iki mung aku lan kakakku, lan mama lan papa. Iki cukup sehat lan chill.

Brooke: It's nice to go back and just be with your family, just do you and be you.

Kenya: I think that's the thing I like about Christmas because it's the time with your family.

Brooke: There is still so much to do, so much to accomplish for you as an artist. What are your goals for 2024? Obviously, we talked about the upcoming project, but I would like to know what else, and that could be anything.

Kenya: I’m really excited to play at festivals, different shows, releasing new music, and maybe a collab.

Brooke: Who is a dream collaborator for you, if you could work with anybody?

Kenya: Aku duwe akeh. Nurutake kabeh? Definitively Flume, iku bakal impian aku. Aku suka banget. Mungkin Chase & Status, nanging kolab impian pungkasanku bakal Lana Del Rey, but it’s so far away…

Brooke: I love Lana.

Kenya: She is so amazing.

Brooke: Apa ana sawijining artis, musik sing sampeyan ngerti liwat lan liwat kaya, ing ngendi, "Aku duwe momen. aku bakal nggunakake musik sing nggawe aku ndeleng luwih"?

Kenya: Probably her [Lana Del Rey]. I love her. She is so soothing, her voice... everything. I love it.

Brooke: What do you want the world to know about who you are?

Kenya: It's so hard. I don’t know if people can tell, but I’m quite an introverted person. But maybe it's pretty obvious [laughing], but I’m quiet and reserved, and I love music, and I feel like I’m an emo at heart. Basically, music is my only hobby, apart from it, I love tattoos and all alternative things.

Brooke: What advice would you give your younger self and anybody who starts to make music?

Kenya: <pfseg id="0">Aku uga ngandika, nyoba ngajarake dhewe cara kanggo ngproduksi. Aku pikir iku hal sing banget empowering kanggo nggunakake. iku banget kanggo bisa nggunakake nalika sampeyan mau, tanpa nggunakake wektu ing studio karo wong liyane.

Brooke: What virtually inspires you?

Kenya: I love watching TV shows. I think it's so artsy, and people sometimes look down on watching TV, but there are things that are really cool, like “American Horror Story”. Things like that are so inspiring. It's so cool.

Brooke: What was your favorite song to record?

Kenya: Salah siji saka lagu favoritku kanggo nglakoni iku “Meteor”. Aku mung suka nyanyi, lan aku pikir “Strangers” wis cukup fun kanggo ngrekam.</pfseg>

Brooke: And it must be special in a way, to know now how many people connect to it on a deep level. What is your favorite part of the writing/creating process?

Kenya: I love all of it, to be honest. I love making the beat first, and then you feel the vibe of it, and then you get this moment where you like, “oh, I really like that”, where you know that’s working. That is my favorite.

Brooke: What inspires you, and whom do you look up to?

Kenya: So many people. Chase & Status, and so many singers. When I was younger, Adele - amazing songwriting, and Fred Again, I saw him recently, the energy at his concerts is insane.

Brooke: Bisa sampeyan njaluk kanggo mbantu dhewe karo manajemen lan label nalika sukses sampeyan berkembang?

Kenya: I really love my team. They really get the whole thing, and they are very supportive, and I feel like they back my ideas 100%.

Brooke: Congratulations on everything. Thank you so much for taking the time to sit here with us today and getting to know you better.