UK based musician Kindness has just released a new single entitled “Raise Up,” which will be released off of their upcoming album, Something Like A War, out September 6 on Female Energy. This track features numerous backing vocalists including Vuyo Sotashe, Amanda Khiri and Bryndon Cook and as recorded in New York City.
This new electro-pop track features a stunning uptempo dance beat that compliments the track’s piano and vocal parts, which borrow are heavily borrowed from gospel influences. The end of the track includes’s the famous hi-hat rhythms typically found in a lot of classic house music and disco tracks, that also typically blend classic soul and gospel tracks.
Born from a British father and Indian mother, Kindness, who identifies as non-binary using they/them pronouns, is known for blending music from various types of influences. This included a variety of different culture influences, many of which stem heavily from black American and black British cultures and musical scenes, where they developed a huge following from.
“I think this is a complex one for me because my work, like the work of many South Asian artistes in the diaspora, is hugely indebted to black American and black British music,” Kindness explained in an interview in 2018. ” It wouldn’t exist without it. At the same time, other successful desis are saying the most insane stuff about black culture and society as though it’s not straightforward racism and anti-blackness that they’re espousing. I’m thinking of MIA and her continued trolling of black British culture.”
Earlier this year the artist released “Lost Without” a track co-written by American R&B artist Kelela, and featuring Seinabo Sey. This track notably blended various disco, R&B and jazz influences as well.