Get to know the talented and promising singer, and Radio Airplay's most recently featured artist Jenna Kyle.
Jenna Kyle exemplifies a new strand of ethereal R&B blended with indie electronica to create thoughtful, emotive art pop. With sultry, laid-back vocals Kyle brings her poetic and visually compelling lyrics to soulful depths, while keeping the downtempo beats fresh with plenty of ear candy for the headphone listener.
“…Kyle's eclectic taste grounds her sound in a rich space of musical crossover.” – The Line of Best Fit reviews 'Lovelorn'
"The lyrics ("You make me feel like a star / And I'm lost in your endless night"), combined with a surreal mixture of synth beats and her melodic voice, convey a sense of living inside a reverie." - Interview Magazine reviews 'Dust'
Jenna has come out swinging in 2017, having reached over 100,000 streams on Spotify with her debut single “Dust” in just a month’s time. The track which premiered on Interview Mag in January, reached #25 on the US Viral 50 Chart, and landed in several high-level playlists including Fresh Finds, Weekly Buzz, and Indie Pop Chillout. The New Yorker continues to impress with her somber and emotional new single “Lovelorn.”
Produced by Brooklyn based BAILE, with whom Kyle has worked with as a featured vocalist on his last two EP’s, ‘Lovelorn’ showcases Kyle’s versatile vocals, which resonate almost like a textural instrument as the beat builds to a slow burn.
"’Lovelorn' is the beautiful collision of falling in love,” Kyle explains. “A fantasy about getting lost together on some gorgeous deserted island. We try to let ourselves fall, let the world disappear and just be. This is texturally juxtaposed with the dissonance we feel as we teeter on codependence."
Get to know Jenna, what inspires her, and what she's got planned for her musical future:
Describe your sound in one ramble-on sentence
Ethereal R&B blended with indie electronica glitch-pop.... maybe Lana del Rey meets Bonobo on a deserted island
What's your earliest music-related memory growing up?
Singing on the back of my Dad's flatbed truck, probably around 2.5 years old.
If you were to cover another band/artist's album, which would you pick and why?
I'm currently doing a cover of Chet Faker (now Nick Murphy)'s 'Release Your Problems'. I love listening to this song while I'm running around doing errands, on the train, or in situations where there are lots of people. Great message, chill vibes. I also love playing Joni Mitchell's 'Case of You'. She is the master.
Do you write/compose your own songs? Briefly describe your songwriting process.
Yes, I write and compose my own songs, but I do work with producers, and I love collaborating as well.
I wrote the initial verse and chorus of ‘Dust' in one sitting at 5am when I woke up with the melody and lyrics running through my head. I had to get up and record it on my voice memos on my phone. Then I worked out the chords and additional verses the next day. I performed it throughout my travels for a few months, and developed it out a bit more, and had a lot of fun singing it, so I decided I’d like to produce it. With that in mind, I played it for GC [Giancarlo Castillo aka Space 9, guitar player, DJ / producer] and he liked it, so we kept building out the song from there.
For 'Lovelorn' the actual word ‘Lovelorn’ was the initial inspiration. And the beat came next, and then the lyrics flowed from there. I worked with BAILE to create the rest of the music.
What was your highlight of 2016, either for you personally or for you music career? What was the low point?
One Highlight which kicked off 2016 was working with a performance art installation that I am a part of, we were granted a residency at Robert Wilson’s Water Mill Center in the Hamptons in Jan 2016. Surrounded by the legacy of Wilson’s seminal work in durational performance art, and during this meditative time, I was able to re-focus on art and music, and consider the spatial elements that I want to create for an audience. It was just the four of us out in the Hamptons for a week in the middle of a raging snow storm. We had full reign of the enormous space: the extensive library divided by a walking bridge, an underground museum full of ancient artifacts, african sculptures, human skulls, you wouldn’t believe your eyes. The gallery spaces - artwork, iconic photographs — It really got the wheels turning. Images of Marina Abramović and Lady Gaga’s collaborations at watermill. It was like a vacuum of time and space and I just created sounds and soaked up the creativity surrounding me, trying to become a little conduit.
Low point, was probably when Trump won.
Can you give give us a little hint on what's to come in 2017?
I just released my first two singles - 'Dust' and 'Lovelorn' and I'm working on visual content now, as well as a bunch of new music, and some exciting new vocal collaborations with other electronic DJ's and producers. I am also working on an interactive element for my live show, which I can't really talk about yet.
What do you like more: Performing live or recording in the studio?
Live! Although I love recording too.
Any embarrassing on stage moments you'd like to share? C’mon, don’t be shy.
OMG so many... here's one for you... I recently walked up before the second opener's set without realizing it wasn't my turn yet and had to walk back off, pretending I was just grabbing something. Also wardrobe malfunctions... I'll just leave it at that.
What's one thing people should know about you?
I am a vedic meditator, and love hosting musical meditations.
What do you enjoy doing outside of music? Does your hobby rejuvenate your creativity?
I guess this goes hand-in-hand with the last question. I meditate, I like to jog, practice yoga, swim, be in nature, and I love art - galleries, interactive art, going to shows, and going out to eat! This all rejuvenates my creativity and helps keep me well-rounded and inspired.
What do you like the most about Radio Airplay?
Radio Airplay is a great platform that lets artists get their sounds out, and interact with fans directly.
Read Line of Best Fit's interview with Jenna Kyle about her newest single, 'Lovelorn': https://www.thelineofbestfit.
Interview Magazine talks to Jenna Kyle for the premiere of her debut single. 'Dust': http://www.interviewmagazine.c