concept & styling YOICE HOXHA @verayoice
concept & photography KATRINA SINGLETON @_katsing
assistant RAFAEL JONES @sleeptilldusk
model/artist KYA KYANI @kyakyani
producer CLIFF GONCALO @cliff.goncalo

interview ANDREA DAVIS KRONLUND @krullmag

KRULL met Surinamese Dutch artist Kya Kyani the way we meet everyone these days. Online. Kya Kyani lives and creates in Berlin. She makes music that, to those of us who’ve been around the block, has a warm new old-school familiarity. Her sound has a sweet, mellow, and sensual 90s vibe with ethereal tones and a contemporary production. Perfect to envelope you in the doldrums of February.

Don’t miss her new EP, “The Dao,” which drops on February 5th.

How did you get to where you are today? And I don’t only mean your CV. What doors were opened, closed, had to be negotiated, kicked in/broken down?

Wow, it was a long road. I had to prove myself as most artists have to, but the fact that I’m queer and black is something that I struggled with to find my way into the industry. Coming from a city like Amsterdam, there was not much acceptance around my identity. I couldn’t really be open about it towards people in the industry because of the fear of not being accepted or being taken advantage of, which has happened several times in the past. Indeed, queerness and blackness, if accepted, are both often tokenized, used as marketing tools to feed the white male gaze. But meeting like-minded people along the way, who cares about the vision, and want to explore with me, gave me strength and new opportunities. It got me closer to where I wanted to be. I ended up moving to Berlin and connecting with creatives in the big city. It encouraged me to open up even more.

Talk to me a little about your concept. So, what were your influences/inspiration in making your music? How did you start to visualize the song?

Going through changes and discovering my sexuality are the things I suppressed for the larger part of my life. Realizing this made me want to talk about my thoughts, which can get extremely dark, but then again, I gained so much strength from my dark side. My shifting thoughts also played a significant role in visualizing the songs, and my own experiences influenced me a lot.

How did this photoshoot reflect your personal style and the concepts in your forthcoming EP?

First, I’m very thankful to everyone for making this happen. It’s like a dream made into reality. Apart from music, I’m very invested in fashion and art. Indeed, the brand Kyakyani blends these two elements together with music. This photoshoot reflects my personal style by including bold looks, dark and mysterious aesthetics combined with ethereal and mystical vibes. These patterns also appear in my forthcoming EP, along with futuristic and surrealistic influences.

Did you learn something making this EP that you didn’t know before?

I learned to trust myself more in terms of the lyrics and the narrative I’m telling. Being in the studio for days and only relying on yourself makes you grow differently. You develop trust in the process and the creativity. In the past, I worked with people who influenced me by saying, “this is not right” or “don’t talk about that.” That only added to my insecurities because I would think that I’m not good enough. Now, I can finally say that I’m happy with the outcome of my EP “The Dao” because the lyrics reflect my own thoughts and come from my own initiative.

How have you evolved as a creator?

I’m still evolving, still learning. I feel like I’m less insecure about what is good or bad. Who’s to say? It’s what’s inside that I’m paying more attention to right now.

How did you manage 2020? And what are your plans for 2021?

Honestly, I’m scared to make plans with all the craziness going on with the pandemic right now. Many creatives are dealing with the same uncertainties, making it difficult to speak about the future. Taking 2020 day by day is pretty much how I managed it. This past year turned out
unexpectedly good for me because I had the time to work on a lot, artistically and personally. As I’m still building my brand, I hope 2021 will guide my team and me to expand, grow, and continue beautiful collaborations.

Where does your personal drive come from?

For the most part, I think the will to inspire, as I’m inspired by the people surrounding me.

And on a lighter note…Tell us something that should never go out of fashion or a trend you would resurrect.

For real, I would say baggy jeans should come back instead of mom jeans.

BRANDS: PERLENSAU @perlensau, Monta Petersone @mopetersone, tHERAPY Recycle and Exorcise @therapy_berlin, UY Studio @uy.studio, Aleksandru Plesco @aleksndru, Michael Kors @michaelkors, IKONIC studio @ikonic.studio, Fuenf @fuenf_by_musina