SPOT Festival is THE festival Good because Danish is looking forward to the most each year and 2018 is no different. Because where else to go if we want to find out what’s new and hot in Danish music, than to Aarhus in May? The answer is simple: there is no other place to be! The line-up of this year’s SPOT Festival is shaping up pretty awesome and we started digging into it to see what are our top #mustsee acts. Check out the blog the next weeks to read which SPOT Festival concert we will attend for sure.
KIHLA
KIHLA is a talented 20-year-old cool woman from Aalborg who produces her music all by herself. Her sound is a mixture of pop and R’n’B beats as well as jazz influences which come with emotional lyrics and beautiful soft melodies. Not only did she convince us with her colourful sound but also did she won the Spinnup Scholarship End of 2017 which is given to new Danish talents which include not only industry support, a price money but also a performance at SPOT Festival 2018. We are blown away by her talent and deep tracks and look forward to seeing her perform at this year’s festival. And it gets even better: we had the chance to talk to her about her journey and music.
Good because Danish: do you remember your first session? What has happened since then, how would you describe your journey until today?
KIHLA: I was used to recording songs on my iPad in my bedroom and I remember my first actual studio session as being nerve-racking. The producer was extremely professional and made the session very fun and I remember leaving thinking it was so much fun. I feel like my view on going to a session has changed a lot since then (the first time). Today I find it exciting cause you can walk into a session with one idea, play it for another producer and they put in small details that make a huge difference. And it’s always something that I take with me when I go back home and produce.
Why does music matter to you?
I guess many people can identify with listening to music when you’re sad or when you’re happy. When you mourn and when you celebrate and that’s why music plays a huge part in my life. It’s always there. I also feel like music is the soundtrack to your life cause I personally associate specific songs with certain moments or phases of my life. And lastly – because I could go on – music touches my soul in a way that nothing else can. When I hear violins play a beautiful set of chords that makes my heart slowly sink or when the beat and bass go so well together you can’t stop yourself from getting up and dancing. It brings people together and it helps put yourself back together.
You got a lot of recognition and 2017 has been a great year for you, congratulations you deserve it all. Does it put pressure on you?
Thank you. The pressure is only from me rather than from the outside. I always want to be better than the last time and also do well at uni at the same time and that’s why I love the people that I hold close to me because they always remind me to go easier on myself. I would like to emphasize that I’m mostly happy and delighted with these new opportunities.
“Only you” We love the beat combined with your awesome voice. It is a song about keeping old memories alive, kind of not letting go. How do you relate to that?
Thank you! Yes “Only You” is about keeping old memories alive and about a friendship that I had for almost 11 years. She was practically family to me, but the friendship fell apart when I moved away from the small town that we grew up in. In the song, I sing: “I love the memories, I keep them close to me, let go to set me free”. I have memories of that friendship that I’ll always hold dear but at the same time, I have to let go in order to move on.
We are excited to see you at SPOT 2018 this year, what can we expect?
It’s going to super fun but also chilled. The rest will be revealed at the show!
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SPOT Festival 2018
09-13.05.2018 – Aarhus (DK): different locations – Event on Facebook