Bristol-based sound explorer Kayla Painter has exclusively gifted us the premiere for her fascinating behind the scenes mini video for her recent ‘Cannibals at Sea’ EP. The short ‘Cannibals At Sea: Exposed’ video explores Kayla’s thoughts behind the EP and its creation using stunning backdrops that compliment the contrasting aesthetic ideas of the EP. ‘Cannibals at Sea’ saw success with radio plays and premier placement on sites across Europe (The Quietus, Boiler Room’s 4:3, Bandcamp etc).
‘Cannibals at Sea’ directed by Lucy Werett is a video exploration of Kayla Painter’s creative process. Werett says “We wanted to capture the bleak British landscapes which Kayla draws inspiration from as well as the kinetic nature of her music. The film was created to explore more about her identity as an artist and her process of writing the EP Cannibals at Sea.”
There’s a world of depth to Kayla Painter’s new EP. The Bristol-based musician has always made tracks which are thick with texture, and Cannibals at Sea takes that approach to greater heights than before. ‘Sentimental Swagger, ’ swells with a gathering tension, laced with vocal snippets and percussion, ‘Sacrificial Magic’, uses more traditional vocals to create an atmosphere, the engrossing details are what connect the EP’s different parts together. ‘Greeting Your Enemies’ has a loose, swung rhythm, filtered through the glitchy sound palette that Kayla has quickly carved out for herself. ‘Eating Your Enemies, ’ on the other hand, starts out loose and unspooled, taking shape slowly into a dark, percussive groove. And ‘Kenopsia,’ the warmest track on the EP, a pensive meditation, coloured by the piano chords which punctuate it. It explores her mixed heritage, between Fijian and British, and what it’s like to grow up in a household where two different cultures are present. She probes traditional Pacific islander beliefs, comparing those superstitions with traditional British working class values. In particular, the idea of cannibalism in Fiji, and how that might be a way of looking at her identity between Britain and the South Pacific island.
Cannibals at Sea is available to buy here.
Catch Kayla live at:
4th April – Band on the Wall, Manchester Kelly Moran + Kayla Painter
29th May – Five Miles, London, Szun Waves + Kayla Painter
18th – 21st July Blue Dot Festival
15th – 19th August We Out Here Festival
