In today’s hedonistic world of social media, we are force fed Instagram
feeds and twitter spats; where mystique is solely absent. But within this cloud
of knowing, we are drawn to searching for that new, rare spark. Okay Kaya is this refreshing project.
Without knowing too much about her, she brings an aura of intrigue and subtle
darkness. The Norwegian born, but New York based, artist has stepped onto the
scene with her ethereal and somewhat dejected music.
After support act James
Canty throws us a mixture of acoustic, electric and acapella; Kaya Wilkins
steps into the room, taking in the glowing atmosphere that has built up in the
small and bare church. St Pancras Old Church stood tall, organ et al, only lit
by candles and the odd stage lamp. Being located only 5 minutes away from King’s
Cross St Pancras station, the venue seems out of place in a big city, but did
not seem out of place to host the spidery love songs of Okay Kaya.
Having concentrated on recording vocals and guitar for the
soundtrack of the Manchester ballet ‘Tree
of Codes’ (composed by Jamie XX), the 23-year-old hasn’t the biggest back
catalogue to choose from. Instead she opts to play a short and sweet set
(approx. 30 minutes) in virtuous fashion.
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| Instagram - @richmaver |
The fragility of the first song renders the audience silent, as
she echoes words of hurt and dismay. The subterranean nature of the songs
nestles well into the dark and cold church, where only the odd whisper would
break the peace. Going straight into personal favourite ‘Clenched Teeth’, she
sticks to the same spot and performs with no backing band or accoutrements to
speak of – just her and her guitar. The downbeat, bedroom pop (or incorrectly
described ‘adult jazz’) makes a fine parallel to the likes of Tobias Jesso Jr. with
similar tones and unobtrusive murmurs. The minimalistic and nervous approach
works wonders, as she draws the crowd slowly into her world. Through the wispy and
tense song, she seamlessly moves into Norwegian-vocal ditty 'Durer',
Using the church echo, she steps away from the mic and carefully
alternates vocals to suit her pitch. Being fairly new to the scene, and still
young, Kaya exudes a naïve and nervous body language; where she is barely able
to open her eyes or look up from the ground – “If I look up, I might freak out”.
The innocence of her performance, is only helped by her brief thankyous and introduction
to ‘I Die Slow’ – “this song is about how I feel right now”. Continuing her subtle
yet trapped wit, she brings with her a stunning and heart-breaking cover (a
regular theme of her live shows) – ‘You Make Me Feel Like Dancing’ is nothing
like the Leo Sayer original. It’s chilled, unpretentious and would serve anyone
well on a long night bus home. New single ‘I’m Stupid (But I Love You)’ is the
softest track, where the omittance of the piano-lead core does not impair the overall
outcome. It’s only until now that she really grows in confidence and her insecurities
evaporate away. The devastating song details a love unrequited over a sparse
beat. Every word strikes the core. Making a mockery of bottling-up any emotion.
After taking some time to find the tempo. Okay Kaya’s set closer ‘Damn,
Gravity’ is tender, and just all round beautiful. The dark, slow requiem floats
away in reverb until it is met by the chimes of 10pm from the church spire. Not
letting this overpower her final song, she uses the rather loud chimes in
tandem with her sequential chords to close on a powerful and peaceful instance.
Sharing a bench outside after, she is comforted in the knowledge
that her show was a success. By trying to hide my inner-fanboy, I was able to
be in discussion with Jamie XX and label-pal King Krule, while Kaya admits that
she might “find it hard to write a happy song”.
I, for one, do not mind if she never writes a happy song. Why
change something that works.
Written by – Richard Maver (@richmaver)
LISTEN // [SOUNDCLOUD]
FOLLOW // [INSTAGRAM]
Written by – Richard Maver (@richmaver)
LISTEN // [SOUNDCLOUD]
FOLLOW // [INSTAGRAM]