KYE releases shimmering EP Good Company

November 19 2021

LISTEN TO LATEST SINGLE ‘FINEST COMPANY’ PRODUCED BY TOUCH SENSITIVE

Photo by Hana Schlesinger
PRAISE FOR KYE

“I’m excited to see what develops for KYE, she’s just got a great voice” 
Richard Kingsmill, triple j

“A special talent”
Pilerats

“Heart-rendering”
Sniffers

“It’s a wildly jagging yet effortlessly coherent introduction”
NME Magazine

“Timeless”
POCCMAG

“​​Full-bodied sound”
Bridget Hustwaite, triple j

“We cannot get enough”
Purple Sneakers

“One of the most exciting new pop names in Australia right now”
The Interns

Zimbabwe-born, London-raised, Naarm/Melbourne-based vocalist KYE today shares her anticipated debut EP Good Company,featuring her latest single ‘Finest Quality’, produced by Eora/Sydney-based artist Touch Sensitive.LISTEN TO GOOD COMPANY HERE

Since releasing her debut single ‘Sometimes‘, KYE set the scene with a magnetic display of her earnest and introspective songwriting, which was then followed up with ‘Gold‘, a collaboration with Sampa The Great and producer 18YOMAN (Kid CudiLil Nas XCordae). Continuing to work with the country’s most exceptional talents, KYE‘s next single ‘Tuesday‘ featured Jerome Farah in a featherweight duet that also earned widespread acclaim.

From there, Good Company is a sonically cohesive body of work for KYE, weaving together honeyed melodies with shining rhythmic deliveries to suffuse songwriting with telling stories and experiences of navigating the reality of love and relationship breakdowns. Throughout the EP, KYE proves herself as an undeniable talent, with a voice destined to take on the globe alongside like-minded artists including Jorja SmithMahaliaKehlani and more. 

In her words, KYE says “I wrote this EP at such a pivotal and transitional point in my life. It’s been a journey of growth and self-exploration, first loves and heartbreaks. “Good Company” (The EP) is a story about my first experiences of falling in and out of love – romantically, platonically and internally. It is vulnerable and honest. It is heartbreaking and joyful. It is a representation of the woman I feel I am becoming and an insight to how I feel as I navigate this space in my life”. Addressing KYE‘s journey of first loves, heartbreaks and the inevitable growth that follows, Good Company invites listeners into KYE‘s life in an immersive fashion, where she explains that “The concept of ‘Good Company’ is that you are the amalgamation of those you surround yourself with and this EP is such a true reflection of that.”

The EP is spearheaded by ‘Finest Quality’ a collaboration with keyboardist and synth-wizard TouchSensitive that is another masterclass in sun-dappled instrumentation, infectious vocals and spine-tingling production. Speaking to the collaboration, Michael di Francesco (Touch Sensitive) says “When I first heard Kyes’ background vocals on the Genesis Owusu record I remember asking his management who it was cause she sounded like a superstar, then when I got asked to help out on a track I was stoked, I said yes before I even heard it”. 

A song that is defiant as it is danceable, ‘Finest Quality’ represents KYE‘s path to unapologetic self-love and stepping into womanhood, both as an artist and a person.“Finest Quality is about feeling yourself even when no one else is. It’s about being your most confident, unapologetic self even when there may be those around you who want to dim that light. I wrote this song as I wanted something to represent the way I felt stepping into womanhood and fully embrace who I am as an artist and a person,” she says. “It’s been such a long journey to self-love and this song is a reminder to keep being my most authentic self and to be proud of that, no matter what obstacles I’m faced with”.

It’s barely been 12 months since KYE formally introduced herself to the world, but she’s already won over audiences with her celebratory, sun-soaked sound that effortlessly bridges pop and R&B. Since her emergence, KYE has amassed over 1 million Spotify streams and garnered playlist support from triple jFBi RadioMTV and more, earning praise for her “warm, inviting vocals all giving an Erykah Badu meets Andre 3000 vibe” by The Guardian“a wildly jagging yet effortlessly coherent introduction” by NME Australia, hailed as “enchanting” by The Interns“heart-rendering” by Sniffers, “a special talent” by Pilerats and “innovative” by Purple Sneakers amongst others. KYE will close a whirlwind year with her festival appearances at Ability Fest and Beyond The City in Melbourne, plus supporting YoungFranco on his national tour, bringing her unbridled soul and passion to more stages well into 2022 and beyond.

Good Company EP by KYE is out now, buy/stream here.

TRACKLIST
Sometimes
Gold (feat. Sampa The Great & 180YOMAN)
Tuesday (feat. Jerome Farah)
Finest Quality (feat. Touch Sensitive)
Good Company

KYE TOUR DATES
Sat 27 Nov – Ability Fest, Melbourne 
Sun 5 Dec – Chapel Fringe Sessions, Melbourne
Sat 11 Dec – UoW Unibar, Wollongong (Young Franco support)
Fri 31 Dec – Beyond The City, Melbourne
Sat 8 Jan – Enmore Theatre, Sydney (Young Franco support)
Fri 14 Jan – The Forum, Melbourne (Young Franco support)
Sat 15 Jan – Loch Hart Music Festival, Princetown
Fri 21 Jan – The Tivoli, Brisbane (Young Franco support)

Stay connected with KYE:
Website | Facebook | Instagram | TikTok | YouTube

ABOUT KYE

Born Kylie Tadiwa Chirunga, KYE’s relationship with music blossomed as a young child growing up in the UK. Singing was the constant thread throughout her childhood, running through gospel songs, talent shows, girl bands, and more, her voice flourishing more and more with each deep embrace of her identity. Deeply informed by her experience as a young Black woman looking at a life determined through a predominantly white societal lens, KYE today finds herself confident, resolute yet humble, ready to share her mantra of embracing openness and finding joy in that liberation with the wider world.