Introducing… KYRI

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After the release of his brilliant singles Red River and Sanctuary found themselves on numerous publications earlier this year, London-based artist KYRI recently returned with his brilliant new EP Waves.

With a rich and diverse sound that saw him build an emotive soundscapes over a bed of humble piano playing, Waves delivers some of the most sweeping and captivating offerings we have heard all year. Filled with soaring production and his own haunted vocal performance, his newest collection is both spellbinding and euphoric in equal measure.

So with the new EP available now, we talked to KYRI about the new release as well as his plans and expectations for the future.

Hi KYRI, how are you today?

I’m great thanks. Feeling all the posi vibes. Hope you guys are too!

For those that haven’t heard of you yet, how would you best describe your sound and who have been your biggest influences so far?

I’d say my sound falls in the realms of atmospheric, electronic Alt Pop/R&B. It’s quite emotional and perhaps a little haunting at times, with organic piano threaded in throughout. My biggest influences so far have been The Weeknd (his early material), Gallant, George Michael and Joni Mitchell.

You have just released your new EP ‘Waves’. Can you tell us how that release came about?

Well, I’d been writing at the piano since forever, when I met producer Martin Hollis (Adele/Tom Walker/Wiley) through a friend. We began breathing life into my songs electronically. I had the amazing opportunity to record at London’s legendary British Grove Studios, which was just a dream come true. A couple collaborations later, with Fedrico Bigonzetti (Rumours) and Gabriel Gifford (Harvey Causon/Maya Law), and my debut EP was ready to be released into the world.

And was there a particular style you were looking for when you made it?

Yes and no. I knew what kinds of sounds I wanted and that my voice, backing vocals and piano needed to be the centrepieces. With each song, I had a bunch of really specific sonic references but ultimately I wanted them to ‘find themselves’. We recorded my vocals and piano first and fleshed them out from there. I knew I wanted the EP to be an eclectic but cohesive body of work.

Were any of the tracks on there inspired by real events?

Oh, all of them, even if I didn’t realise it at the time of writing. The lyrics are somewhat abstract or subliminal at times, but it’s all informed by real life events, feelings, thoughts and emotions. Often, the meaning of my songs becomes clear to me much later. I’m like ‘Ah, that’s what that was about’. The creative brain works in weird and mysterious ways!

And do you have a favourite song on the EP?

I can’t say I do. They’re my babies and I love them all individually for very different reasons. Each one expresses a different part of me, a different feeling, emotion or story I wanted to tell.

The coronavirus outbreak has obviously affected everyone’s plans, but what have you got in store for the rest of the year?

Creating. I want to develop new material and It’s really important to me that I evolve as an artist, sonically but also in terms of the visuals. So I’ll be keeping my ear to the ground for new and interesting collaborators across the arts.

And finally, what do you hoped you would have achieved in the next five years?

I mainly hope I can have my music reach as many new people as possible that connect with it. I just want to keep learning, building, growing and evolving, putting art out into the world that I’m truly proud of. I’ve received so many amazing, kind messages from strangers all over the world about my songs and I’m only on my debut EP. I’d love to give them a full album at some point, perhaps even a visual one.


KYRI’s new EP Waves is available to stream and download now. Have a listen to the lead single ‘Internet’ below.

Listen on Apple Music

Chris Bound

chris bound

Chris bound is a freelance music journalist for Indie Is Not A Genre and editor at Mystic Sons PR, a Music Promotions company based in London.



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