KESH Returns with “Dual Existence” + “Hearts Desire”
KESH is back—two fresh, eclectic singles released a week apart, each one a new transmission from her immersive art-music world. In “Dual Existence”, she bends heavy, cinematic club energy into an ethereal self-produced banger, while “Hearts Desire” glides into glitched-out alternative R&B, written to celebrate and manifest real union.
FEATURE INTERVIEW:
What inspired the transition from KESH’s earlier hi-tech, architectural sound to the “warped club music” feel on these new singles?
For me I’m on this ever evolving path that unfolds as I experience and live. I go through these stages of self discovery that mold and shape my expressions and sometimes I can only really understand them once they’ve come to life or even passed. What I note in the difference between my earlier releases and these new pieces of work is that I began by cocooning myself in multi-layered sonic structures that provided a safety to start sharing my voice and feelings which isn’t the easiest thing for a Scorpio to do.
With my new song “Hearts Desire” I can see a clear departure from that time and I can feel it too. I’m in a place where i’m more okay with sharing my heart, my thoughts, my mood and though you can see it blossoming on my last tracks like “Cried For You” and “If I Beg“, I think “Hearts Desire” is the confirmation that I’ve arrived into a comfort of sharing my vulnerabilities. It took a second but we made it.
And in terms of vulnerabilities “Dual Existence” is the first release that is produced entirely by me. Of all the songs that I’ve released I’ve always produced the base idea and direction but then partner with different amazing producers that I admire to evolve the tracks out and make those pieces of work that I’ll forever cherish.
And as much as I love that I’ve also been sitting on so many pieces of work that were just pure self expressions of my own and pieces that mean a lot to me. “Dual Existence” again is a symbol of my new era of comfort in sharing vulnerability. Producing my own work and having direction of my sound is such an important part of who I am as an artist and though i’ll always collaborate – it feels important to share tracks like these as they feel like pure offerings from my soul.
How do “Dual Existence” and “Hearts Desire” reflect two sides of the same artistic world, and what does their one-week gap in release mean?
It’s beautiful that you notice how they’re reflecting two sides of the same artistic world because that’s truly how I feel. Though they’re 2 very different moods and genres to me they’re so clearly related and represent the versatility of self. Lately with everything becoming so commercialized and packaged it seems it’s expected of artists to have to fit into definitive genres and sounds for the purpose of presentation and marketability.
Though it makes sense and holds its purpose it’s something I don’t full subscribe to because I don’t believe it to be akin to the natural way of life. If you think about yourself as a person you’re so many different versions of yourself in just one day. You can go through several moods, dozens of experiences and hundreds of reflections. “Dual Existence” and “Hearts Desire” represent different feelings and focuses that can exist in the same day or even the same hour. The one week gap represents the movement and motion of where I’m at right now as an artist. I’m in it. I’m ready.
How did creating the cover art and immersive visual spaces shape the final sound and mood of each single?
The cover art and the songs are always informing each other and communicating to the point of completion. Both begin as seeds and sprout, grow and intertwine to form this undeniable union where one can’t exist without the other. Beginning my career in a more visual based journey I’ve always utilized and connected sound to my work – so having the opportunity to create my own music and fully form both together feels deeply rewarding.
For “Hearts Desire” I wanted to continue on my path of storytelling and the visual journey that we’ve been progressing through from my very first cover. Each cover is connected and for those that have been doing the deeper dives into the work the clues are all there. It’s fun to hear from people when they spot how each one connects. In “Hearts Desire” I’m very present in the piece and I think that it encapsulates my presence in the song with the vocals and subject matter so it only felt right to bring that into image.
Here you can see me expand the world that I see in my mind and to do so I played the song over and over to kind of inject that energy into the cover. It inspired and influenced the completion of it. It really flowed. With “Dual Existence” I utilized “The Eye”, which is also another representation of me in some sense but ultimately I feel It represents something bigger.
Something larger, something more important than me. Something less attached to ego of the self and leaning more towards a oneness maybe. I’m still trying to understand and figure it out. But for that cover I chose to use the “Dual Existence Eye” which is a creative study on my original symbol. It dives more into the concepts around togetherness internally and externally. I could go on about it for days haha there’s many layers to it.
“Hearts Desire” is described as glitched-out alternative R&B written to “celebrate and manifest real union”—what does “real union” mean to KESH, and how did she translate that feeling into the production and lyrics?
I’m not sure if real is actually the right word for it to be honest and I think maybe I’ll have that changed. Because honestly who’s to say what’s real and what’s not. Not me – I don’t decide. I think what I was trying to say in that moment was that “Hearts Desire” is more of a celebration of an authentic and enriching love. A love where both participants have the ability to honor each other, grow together and truly love it.
My last song I released “If I Beg” was my first “love song” that I released but if you listen to it it’s really heavy. It’s about loving and letting go. It’s about parting ways because of the toxicity that can arrive in the throes of love and it was like this raging release where I really needed to get some shit off my chest. With “Hearts Desire” it feels so opposite it’s almost like an apology to love because I don’t want to focus only on the negative, I wanted to bring forth a recognition of how beautiful it can be.
I’ve noticed so many people are giving up on love. So many people are scared to share their hearts because of all the toxicity out there and I’m seeing so many people feel like there’s no hope. So I wrote this song as an ode to love and to recognize that I have seen and experienced love in it’s healthiest and happiest forms and it’s a kind of manifestation tool for others to call in that kind of love for themselves too.
TEAM CREDITS:
Editor-in-Chief: Prince Chenoa
Feature Editor: Taylor Winter Wilson (@taylorwinter)
Photography Assistants – Joey LaBeija (@soft_threat) & Antwan Duncan (@itys)
