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It was quite an amazing effort.New Zealand pop artist Kimbra has shared her first new song since the release of her sophomore album The Golden Echo in 2013. “I was really impressed with the services had available for the people who were quarantining, they had mental health professionals and others who were looking after the people who were isolating.
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It was something necessary I was doing to protect my country. That was hard, but it was a sacrifice I was making. I spent, all up, a month in hotel quarantine. “I was asked to work as a mentor on the Popstars show, which got me twice back into New Zealand. Unlike many New Zealanders living overseas, Kimbra ended up avoiding being exiled for much of the pandemic, as her home country closed its borders to the outside world in a bid to keep the virus out. The other is a singer from Dublin, RuthAnne. I really like how he is pushing the boundaries of rap, which is still the defining music genre of our time. Baltimore rapper and producer JPEGMafia (known to his mother as Barrington DeVaughn Hendricks) “is one of two artists I’m really into at the moment”, she says. "Yeah, there's a couple." Can you name names? “Oh, gosh, no! I'm very, very secretive about this!”īut Kimbra is not quite so secretive when asked about who is currently bending her ear and influencing her musical direction. Will there be any further collaborations on the new album? Numerous other accomplishments followed, such as singing the New Zealand national anthem prior to an All Blacks match against Ireland in Hamilton, before her star truly began rising with the release of her critically acclaimed debut album Vows in 2011, a body of work that was followed by The Golden Echo (2014) and Primal Heart (2018).Īs well as her own groundbreaking work, Kimbra has established a reputation for some remarkable collaborations – not least her contribution to Australian artist Gotye’s chart-topping, Grammy-earning Somebody That I Used to Know, in 2011 and most recently BRUX’s recent single Take. Kimbra Johnson’s ascension to stardom began in 2000, when as a 10-year-old she wowed guests with her singing at a Waikato Times Gold Cup racing event, before placing second in the 2004 Smokefreerockquest competition (behind a band called Incursa from St Peter’s College in Auckland) while attending Hillcrest High School. When that anger is channelled healthily it can be a real powerful force for positive change.” “I've been exploring anger.” What kind of anger? “Personal anger, anger that's directed at the world at large. And soul is something that's really needed right now.īut there are other emotions at play in the new recordings, she says.
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It's a time that requires music that has a deep soul. She recently gave listeners a taste of her new direction with a demo version of a song called Different Story, which she says is “about meeting my boyfriend and learning his story. no one throwing anything else in to muddy the waters.” but it's been a pretty interesting experience with just myself and a co-producer in the studio. “I'm pretty strong-willed and if there's something I think needs to be in the recording I'll stand up for it. It is now a different creative environment for Kimbra, who is now working as an independent artist, after having spent the best part of a decade signed to the Warner Bros record label. And soul is something that's really needed right now.”