01/25/23 12:00 PM Filed in:
Production
With every song Kira releases, there is a tedious, creative, and magical process behind it. From concept to release, the experience of creating a song is unique and specific to what that song calls for. In light of Kira’s most recent release, ‘
The Heart of Us’, she decided to share a bit about her process for this song…
When thinking about concepts for a song, one would assume a love song is the easiest to write - and while that may be true for some, I always find myself gravitating to write more existential, and serious lyrics. After giving it some thought, I think I know why; an authentic love song is one of the most personal, real, and honest forms of showing affection - in a love song, the artist is straight up allowing someone to exist in their precious form of expression. For me, writing music is sacred, and as time passes I’m learning more and more about what I want to write about, and how that affects my artistry. In my now over one year long relationship, I have learned more than I can explain about holding space, patience, and understanding. I recognize this human has been so kind, loving, and supportive to me, and I came to realize I genuinely do trust them to treat my art the same. So, the writing process began.
Visuals, colors, feelings, tastes, and sounds bounced around in my head, forming lyrics that I felt best capture the beauty of my partner, and the love we share. The writing process took about 3 months - I wanted to be sure everything was just right, and felt authentic. When the writing was completed, I worked with my producer, Kevin McNoldy, to create the beautiful sound that is ‘The Heart of Us’. We worked through the smallest of details, recorded SO many vocal tracks, and listened to what the song was calling for. Working with Kevin feels like a growing light being bounced back and forth, with many “what if we tried...” and “would it be possible to…”. This creates the atmosphere of a creative playground, and it is one of my favorite places to play. For the cover art, I knew I wanted a picture relating to nature - my partner reminds me of the grounding, soothing energy of trees and fresh air, so I selected an image I took in Yosemite National Park in 2019. I loved this picture the second I took it, and knew I wanted to use it for a special project like ‘The Heart of Us’.
On Christmas, I wrapped my Airpods, and gave them to my partner - I had him put them in his ears, and I played the song. I was nervous to see his reaction, however, it was better than I could have hoped. He was moved to tears, and was left speechless for a few minutes after the song was finished. Seeing how moved he was felt like a gift to me, and was reassurance I trusted the right person with this song. I set the release date to January 14th, our one year anniversary.
And that’s the story of my latest release, ‘The Heart of Us’. I couldn’t have created this song without my producer, Kevin McNoldy, or my partner. Thank you.
Thank you all so much for the love you have shown for ‘The Heart of Us’, and be sure to stay tuned for more projects on the way! :)
Tags: the heart of us
