Kimberly Anne is a singer-songwriter from London. Her distinctive clipped vocals and charismatic live shows have helped her to build quite a name for herself on the independent scene over the past year. Having featured on Lewis Watson’s EP Some Songs With Some Friends, been on tour with Hudson Taylor and now putting the finishing touches to her debut album due out next year, the South-East Londoner is easily climbing the rungs to well-deserved recognition. The Student had a chat with her about her latest EP, intriguing music videos and left-handedness.
Could you tell us a bit about your new EP Liar? What is the meaning behind the title? Do you feel like you’re breaking new ground on it?
I wanted to push things a bit further production-wise on this EP so it’s a bit of a reflection of an exploration period. In the past, I’ve kept [sic] to keeping things quite stripped back so I wanted to have a bit of experimentation to help inform the sound of the album next year.
The title track ‘Liar’ is all about lying to ourselves to protect ourselves.
What song do you think is your biggest achievement and why?
I wrote and demoed a track called ‘Almost On My Feet’ from my new EP after setting myself a four hour challenge to write and record a new song. I promised myself I wouldn’t change anything afterwards and I haven’t to this day.
Can you describe what you look for in your sound in three words?
Must be good.
Has being left-handed ever affected you in your career so far? Has it been an impediment in any way?
No, not really. It actually helps me out a lot because I get out of being asked to spontaneously play tunes when I’m at my friends parties because I can’t play right hand guitars!
You seem to be quite a fan of close-up music videos. Is that a conscious decision at all? How do you get inspiration for your music videos?
I’m quite conscious that image is really important in the music industry which is why I’ve enjoyed messing with that by focusing on distorting my face in different ways. I never want to be an artist that’s too concerned with having a perfect appearance so I have purposefully made myself a bit rank, I guess! I’m massively inspired by videos from Radiohead.
You’ve collaborated with artists like Lewis Watson on his latest EP. Who would your dream collaboration be with?
Imogen Heap.
Congratulations on supporting Ella Eyre! How does that feel?
The Ella Eyre tour is amazing, The crowds are so up for a laugh and sing along. It’s really nice to have such welcoming crowds when people don’t really know who you are. Ella is a great performer too, I’m so impressed with her energy. Just watching her makes me need a little sit down!
Will you be heading up to Edinburgh any time soon?
I would really love to come and play Edinburgh, it’s actually one of my favourite places to play. If I’m lucky and work hard enough hopefully I’ll get to do a headline tour next year. I really hope people come!
Kimberly Anne’s latest EP Liar is out now.