#kaela sinclair

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Kaela Sinclair

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hayley kiyoko (and kaela sinclair) at the mod club (toronto, march 28 2017) 

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Spooky haunted underground pool singing w the best band in the world @adamchristgau @sheplaysdepiano @kaelasinclair @alex_pachino

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PREMIERE: Kaela Sinclair Creates a Captivating, Cinematic World in the ‘Half Asleep’ EP

Photo: Nightdove Studio Whether you’re aware of it or not, chances are you’ve heard Kaela Sinclair’s music. The Los Angeles-based artist originally had the music world’s eyes focused on her upon receiving the chance to join French electronic band M83 back in 2016 and is continuing the trend, currently touring with pop superstar Troye Sivan. You would think Sinclair would have her hands full, being a much sought out after keyboardist, but despite all that, she has managed to find the time to create a sonic wonderland to lose yourself in.

Half Asleep is a five-song collection of larger-than-life, synth-driven alternative pop that sees Sinclair making a name for herself outside of her notable musical associations. There is a cinematic quality to the entire affair. It’s the sort of wondrously put-together soundscape that excels as a standalone project but would be equally fitting placed alongside a full-length feature film. That is not to say Sinclair blindly pursues grand heights of electronic-infused ecstasy without any clear goal in mind. Even at its most ambitious moments, there is an underlying sentimentality and tenderness behind every track on Half Asleep. Sinclair was kind enough to share the following with us on the underlying meaning of the EP,

“I named the EP ‘Half Asleep’ because to me the themes of that song run throughout all the songs: a sense of surrealism, the wisdom of dreams and imagination (or trance), and a type of idealistic bravery. Romanticism as a virtue.”

Photo: Anna Maria Lopez It is a sentiment that Half Asleep beautifully explores in its five-track run through sweeping electronic-tinged pop. It truly transports you another plane entirely; it is a feat that words don’t quite do justice. So, rather the attempt to capture the intrinsic beauty behind Sinclair’s latest offering to the world ourselves, we figured it would be best for the artist herself to walk us through her vast new world.

“Like This”

“Like This’ is a song I wrote about a long-distance relationship. We met on tour, he lived in another country. I found myself feeling the same things over and over again. I would get so sad every time we said goodbye and it would always leave me (probably both of us) struggling to get back to a good place. It’s hard to always be missing someone.”

“Midnight Swims”

“I wrote “Midnight Swims” about this one night in Amsterdam with my boyfriend of the time. I had just finished up a tour in Europe and he lived in London, so it made sense for me to stay on that side of the world for a while. It was a wild time, and we were falling in love. We both liked psychedelics so we bought some truffles and went back to our room at the hostel we were staying at. It was one of those “I laughed, I cried” sort of nights that I wouldn’t ever regret, despite having some dark moments. But there were funny, strange, and intimate moments too. In our Dutch mod-but-80’s bathroom was a spaceship-like black bathtub filled with water that had turned pink from my hair...we thought it looked like a womb. We talked until 7am and almost missed our train to Paris. I wrote this song because I don’t ever want to forget that night. I think to experience life’s highs you have to be ready to experience the lows. That’s just...how it works.”

Photo: Nightdove Studio

“I Cry Too”

“’I Cry Too’ is really about vulnerability. I think sometimes we close off and hide our inner pain because we don't want to seem weak or overly emotional...or we don't want to burden those we love with it. It can be incredibly powerful for someone like a significant other, best friend, parent, or even national leader to show their truly human side.”

“Isobel”

“I wrote ‘Isobel,’ on the island of Orkney, off the tip of Northern Scotland, where I was playing a small festival. Not many people have been to Orkney, because it’s pretty isolated, but it’s beautiful and has a really rich history. It’s located in the North Sea and mostly treeless, with windswept plains and dramatic ocean cliffs. It’s been occupied for 8,500 years and has ancient Neolithic remains all over the island. It often felt otherworldly, and sometimes even eerie. I was exploring the coastline and stopped at an old cemetery. No one was around, Orkney is not touristy. I noticed the gravestone of Isobel Sinclair, dated from the 13th century. She’d died young, as a teenager, and partially because of her last name, but also because the weather had suddenly shifted, I felt connected to her. All of a sudden the sky became dark, the air became cold, and the sea became black and angry. I couldn’t help but imagine what it must have been like to live there. She probably never left the island. I wonder what she would have thought if she had known that 800 years later someone from across the world would write a song about her. I don’t know anything else about her, but I wanted her to be heard, whoever she was. No one is unimportant. Our every thought, word, or action has the potential to ripple out and affect others and impact the world.”