Electro-pop sensation Kiesza chats new album Dancing And Crying: Vol 1
Kiesza is back with her first album release in four years and talks to us all about its release.
The wait is finally over… Kiesza is back with her first album release in three years! Combining several genres of music including dance, house, electro-pop this album is perfect for everyone.
Kiesza first shot to fame with the smash hit ‘Hideaway’ in 2014 which shot to the number one spot in the UK and has 335 million streams on Spotify.
Dancing and Crying: Vol 1 was released in May and its focus track is ‘Strangers’. The track delves into how Kiesza’s creative process was impacted by a car accident in 2017 where she suffered a traumatic brain injury.
Kiesza talked all things new regarding her album and single with me, and also remincised on her breakthrough single ‘Hideaway’.
Hi, Kiesza! First off, I love your new album! It’s your first album release in a couple of years. How does it feel to finally have it out there?
Thank you so much! Yes, it’s my third album. I took my time on this one. I feel that time is something missing from a lot of music these days. Sugar Jesus and my close friend K Sotomayor worked together on the album over the course of two years, experimenting and really honing the creativity and message coming through the music. Following my recovery and the pandemic, I took a lot of time to reflect internally and realized that it was time to push the boundaries a bit more, and also open up sides of myself to my audience that they may not have known were there.
Are you pleased with how it’s been received by listeners?
Absolutely. It’s been received above and beyond my expectations.
Do you have a particular favourite track from the album and if so, why is that one your favourite?
The whole ethos of Dancing and Crying Vol. 1 was that I want every song to be my favorite song. And honestly that really is the case. Depending on my mood I gravitate to different tracks on the project. I will say however, there is something really special about the feeling I get when I sing Strangers. It’s such a deeply emotional song and perming it always brings my back to that place I was in when I first wrote it on a 4am sleepless night.
The focus track of the album is a song called ‘Strangers’ which is fantastic. How did you decide on this being the lead single?
It is such a beautiful representation of a whole expression of me as an artist, combining storytelling, deep emotion and dance all in one place, as well as incorporating my love of playing with incredible musicians.
What was your inspiration behind the ‘Strangers’ track?
It was inspired by the feeling of being temporarily spared from a feeling of hopelessness, something I’ve felt a great deal of in the course of my recovery. Sometimes when I’m not ready to tell my own story, I come up with a new one around the same emotional feeling. It’s like writing a movie that in so many ways parallels the writer’s own life. ‘Strangers’ is one of these songs. I placed myself inside the story of a fictional character that embodies what I was feeling in the precise moment I wrote the song.
Your song ‘Hideaway’ is absolutely huge, even 10 years on from its original release. I remember it being massive at the time back in 2014! How does it feel to know that the song is just as popular a decade later?
It’s such a beautiful feeling. I’m truly grateful for Hideaway and I still have a very deep connection with the song. Believe it or not I’m still not tired of singing it and I’m deeply grateful it’s carried on in the hearts of so many, so many years later!
You’ve also collaborated with some major artists through your career such as Diplo, Skrillex and Duran Duran. Who would be your dream ever collab and why?
I would love to collaborate with so many artists. Though I do think myself and Bruno Mars would be an especially good live performance!
Is there anything else your fans look forward to over the next year?
There’s a lot of music coming and they can expect a lot of exploration in the music to come as well as more touring, which I know a lot of my fans have been eager for over my long hiatus.
It’s so exciting to hear that Kiesza might be touring soon! Who’s excited?
Listen to ‘Dancing And Crying: Vol 1’ now.