Sharing her inner thoughts from her native Chicago is a singer-songwriter, r&b recording artist, and aspiring plus model Kay Soul with her smooth-sailing new EP, Connections.
The Chicago-based, award-winning recording artist amassed over 15k streams within the first 3 months of the release of her album In My Mind. Having won awards like the 2020 W.A.M Best R&B Album and performing at high-profile events like Full Figured Fashion Week in New York City, there's no end in sight for the dedicated recording artist.
More recently, Kay Soul released her passionate and chilling new 6-track EP, Connections, a companion project to In My Mind that brings five new stories that examine connections with ourselves and others.
The new EP begins with the short and sweet introductory track, title track, and interlude "Connections (Intro)." Kay Soul sets the tone with warm piano melodies and her breathy, angelic vocals that remind us how life is all about the connections we make. It's a gentle and harmonious intro track that softly lingers into the album's second tune.
As our ears greet track number two, "Bad Connection," the same instrumental as the intro track drifts through while Kay Soul delivers her powerful and vibrant vocals. She emotionally discusses the fragile state of a relationship and the love that once was, signifying the "Bad Connection" that's keeping them apart. This is an incredibly personal and passionate track that examines the bittersweet connections we make and how they impact our journey to healing.
Onto a different kind of connection, the third track, "Disconnection," pours through our speakers with heavy, sultry, and robust r&b production that borders on ethereal electronic music. Kay Soul takes her time in this song while discussing how everything wrong comes to light and how disconnected we are from each other. It's a deeply reflective and introspective tune that calmly dances through the speakers with Kay Soul's poetic lyrics and tender production.
Reaching the EP's second half with track number four, "Lost Connection," Kay Soul blesses us with a melodic and percussion-heavy r&b beat that borders modern hip-hop with tight synths and rumbling snares. Kay Soul uses this song to examine how it's okay to lose connections, as the people we meet and the connections we make on our journey aren't always meant to last for life. Kay Soul's passion, power, and pent-up emotions in this song are palpable, and it's perhaps our favorite song on the project.
Diving headfirst into the strength and love of the EP's fifth track, "Reconnection," we're greeted with soul-soothing r&b production alongside Kay Soul's harmonious vocals that rain down from above. Listening to her tender lyrics, Soul dives headfirst into her passionate thoughts that remind us how some people are worth reconnecting with. And it's those reconnections that help us relearn how to love ourselves and grow.
Landing on the sixth and final track of the project, "Strong Connection," this dizzying and downtempo r&b tune kicks off with tightly-knit drum arrangements and ethereal background sonics that represent a sea of boundless love. Kay Soul's lyrics ooze with all the love and passion we could ask for, confessing her love for someone special and how their "Strong Connection" will stand the test of time. It's an incredible way to close the project, sending listeners off with endless emotion, love, and bliss.
When you need a passionate r&b project you can connect with, look no further than Kay Soul's new 6-track EP, Connections, now available on all digital streaming platforms.
Welcome to BuzzMusic, Kay Soul. Congratulations on releasing your conceptual and passionate new EP, Connections. What inspired you to create a project around the theme of life connections?
I am a healing artist and a cause warrior for mental health awareness. I felt it was important to discuss the connections we have with ourselves and others and how those connections impact our mental and emotional well-being.
Which song from Connections is the most personal to you? What makes you so drawn to this particular song?
All the songs are personal to me. Each song represents a story of emotions and thoughts that I have experienced in my own life on my personal healing journey. If I had to pick one song, it would be Reconnection because I feel like when I reconnected to who I truly was inside, I began to have a better understanding of my purpose and the calling in my life.
How is Connections the companion project of In My Mind? How do these two projects relate to each other?
In My Mind was all about shared thoughts and emotions coming from a place of immense pain yet hope, knowing that there is beauty in your broken spaces. Connections are the next step in the reflective healing journey because of the part that connections play in our lives. The Connections EP takes the broken pieces that were expressed in "In My Mind" and shows the power that can be gained from using your pain to fuel your purpose. I'm singing from the other side in a more healed place of understanding in myself and my purpose in life and music.
What was your favorite part about creating the entire EP, Connections? What did you take away from the experience?
I always enjoy the process of writing and recording new music. I enjoyed the intentionality of it and challenging myself to stick to one cohesive theme. I wanted to push myself lyrically and sonically and show more of my versatility as an artist. I learned more about my own abilities and how I want to continue to build a meaningful artist catalog that will be an inspiration for years to come.
What was your goal in terms of the listener's experience when hearing Connections? What did you want them to feel and think?
I wanted to get right to the heart of the matter and pierce the soul. I'm hoping that listeners will be inspired to examine, grow, build, and heal the connections in their lives, whether it be to people, places, habits, or routines. I want them to think about their own happiness and be encouraged to take the steps necessary to go from Bad Connection to a Strong Connection.
