Phrases / Rory Alvarez
Images / Felipe Zavaz
LADYGUNN and Vowels celebrates the premiere of “SPIRAL,” the beautiful new music video by Kitty Umiña, superbly directed by Carolina Salazar. An ideal mix of artistry and elegance, it’s a visible and musical second made for the daring and the gorgeous. Don’t miss out on this enchanting new chapter.
What impressed your debut music?
What impressed my debut music was this quiet however deep love i’ve all the time felt for spirals (possibly not so quiet now). After I began exploring my spirituality, it was one of many first symbols that actually spoke to me not simply in a visible approach, however in the way it made me really feel.. like I used to be being proven one thing historic and true. I’ve all the time been drawn to what the spiral holds… this sense of mild progress, of turning inward, of transferring by cycles that by no means actually finish.. like transformation in movement. One thing we’re all the time going by in our personal approach. I see spirals in every single place in nature, within the sky, in the way in which we heal. They remind me that life isn’t linear. It doesn’t unfold in a straight line however in loops and returns and quiet revelations and one way or the other, each time we come again round, we’re not the identical. To me, spirals really feel like portals mushy, sacred openings and that’s the sort of power that formed this music.
Are you able to stroll us by the story behind the lyrics?
Spiral begins with these easy however very huge questions: Am I afraid to fall? Am I afraid to let go? That’s actually the place the spiral begins for me, in that second of self-questioning. The music follows that interior journey, that push and pull between clinging to what feels protected and daring to step into the unknown.
Because it unfolds, you hear me tracing loops, transferring in circles, as a result of a lot of my very own life has felt like shrinking myself down for others. Writing Spiral was my approach of breaking out of that, of selecting myself once more, of letting my voice and my spirit rise again up.
By the top, after I sing “I give up, I ascend,” it’s all about that second of launch once you lastly belief that the universe is holding you, and in letting go, you really rise. Spiral is about displaying {that a} spiral doesn’t solely transfer downward, it might additionally spiral upward into your truest self.
What does this music imply to you personally?
Spiral means so many issues to me directly. On one stage, it holds the anxiousness, the concern, even the heartbreak I’ve skilled in my life. What first pushed me to start out writing it was a extremely painful ending that I didn’t see coming, one that actually pulled the rug from below my toes. In that second, I used to be afraid to fall, afraid to let go and people feelings started the music
How would you describe your sound ?
Describing my sound all the time makes me a bit shy, as a result of generally I’m not fairly certain and I really like exploring so many various issues. But when I needed to put it into phrases, it will very a lot be New Earth you recognize lush, experimental, ambient textures with this shimmering heat and grounded earth beats. I need it to really feel like a religious expertise of therapeutic.
What impressed the idea for the music video?
The idea for the music video originates from the that means behind my artist identify Umiña. In Ecuadorian folklore, Umiña is a deity seen because the goddess of well being, fertility, and rain worshipped by Manteña tradition. She was believed to be a princess whose coronary heart remodeled into a wonderful emerald which grew to become the item of therapeutic and divine regard. Being half Ecuadorian, and never understanding that facet of my household as a result of my father was adopted, I’ve all the time longed for a approach to join extra deeply with that a part of myself and my ancestry. Discovering the story of Umiña felt like a doorway into that lineage, and bringing her essence into my work permits me to honor and reconnect with my roots. Within the video Umiña awakens in a cave, disoriented and fragile mirroring the beginning of a psychedelic interior journey. As she explores her environment, she encounters visions of her greater self asking, “Am I afraid to fall? Am I afraid to let go?” The cave acts as this sacred womb area when Umiña faces her fears, begins to heal, and learns she has the facility to rise. The video ends along with her again within the cave protected centered and entire glowing with newfound power and readability. It’s a spiral, an immersive metaphoric loop of unmaking and turning into. A visit that’s inward, guided by spirit, and most significantly tied to the journey of rediscovering my ancestry and truest self.
Have you ever all the time wished to be a musician?
Truthfully? No haha and that’s why this query makes me snigger as a result of I by no means grew up pondering, “I’m going to be a musician.” However on the similar time, I feel some a part of me will need to have identified, as a result of after I look again, I used to be all the time fascinated with story telling, and world constructing by artwork. Rising up, What I admired most in my favourite musicians was that it wasn’t simply in regards to the songs, it was in regards to the ideas, the visuals, the tales. That all the time has stayed with me. And I’ve executed numerous inventive work over the years- Modeling, make-up, inventive course so story telling has all the time been aside of my DNA. Humorous Sufficient, I’ve dated a couple of musicians, and I used to joke with them that if I ever made music, my first music can be referred to as Spiral. They might inform me “You’ll be able to’t actually plan your first music” and I’d simply be like “Says who?” So it’s sort of wild that Spiral did actually find yourself being my debut single however I knew I wouldn’t have it every other approach. I’d solely ever sung in entrance of two individuals in my life earlier than this. The second individual was my producer + co-writer Xander Amahd who’s been such an unimaginable collaborator and help system. Engaged on Spiral with him, being within the studio recording vocals for the primary time, I felt this rush I’d by no means felt earlier than. It was like, “Oh.. that is what I’m meant to do.” It appears like I’ve discovered one area the place all my passions come collectively. With music, I may be the muse, I can create the visuals, I can construct worlds. It lets me convey collectively the whole lot I really like and that’s why it feels so proper.
How do you hope individuals really feel once they hear your music?
I hope individuals really feel hopeful, highly effective, optimistic once they hear Spiral. I need it to ask openness and vulnerability, to remind listeners that even when they really feel misplaced, scared, or hopeless, there’s all the time gentle on the finish of the tunnel. I actually love the concept that when life feels unclear or unpredictable, thats typically how we all know we’re on the fitting path. As People, we crave routine and luxury, however it’s in surprising moments the twists and turns we by no means noticed coming that form us essentially the most. So I hope when individuals hearken to this music, they’ll mirror on their very own private journey and what it means to spiral for them. Everybody experiences it otherwise and I hope the music sparks that connection of their very own progress, give up, and self- discovery.
How concerned have been you within the inventive course or storyline of the video?
I used to be 100% concerned within the inventive course and storyline of the video. Storytelling is such a core a part of who I’m, and it was actually essential to me that the story felt utterly genuine and true to my imaginative and prescient.
That stated, I completely couldn’t have executed it with out my Director Carolina Isabel Salazar. We bounced concepts off eachother continually, and it was such a particular expertise as a result of this was her first time directing, and my first music and music video. So we have been navigating so many firsts collectively, and it made the collaboration actually magical. Our purpose was to completely immerse individuals on this planet of Umiña and present the very starting of her story. We wished the visuals to speak the narrative on their very own, with out having to say a phrase. it was actually a staff effort and each body is infused with each our hearts and visions.
When you may collaborate with any artist proper now, who would it not be and why?
Oh wow, I’d like to collaborate with Arca actually. I’ve been an enormous fan for years. I really like how experimental her music is , how fearless she is, and the way she blends so many various sounds and feelings into one thing utterly her personal. I additionally actually admire her vocals in Spanish and the way in which she brings her tradition into her work. One other artist I’d like to work with as nicely is Raveena Aurora. Her music is simply so related to the earth and the religious, thats precisely the sort of power I really like creating. She is also such a candy soul. The final time I noticed her was at her listening social gathering for “The place Butterflies Go In The Rain” and I used to be asking her for any recommendation or tips about begin making music. A really tender second for me.
What was the vibe or message you wished the video to seize?
The vibe I wished the video to seize is that it doesn’t matter what occurs, even when you really feel misplaced or uncertain of the place you’re going, you all the time spiral again into your self. Embrace your journey and notice that each twist and switch brings you nearer to your truest self.
Who did you collaborate with on the video?
I collaborated with so many unimaginable individuals on this video. my director was Carolina Isabel Salazar and my cinematographers have been Juan Pablo Terra, and Ko. I had an exceptional motion director Asha Benjelloun, an incredible set designer Estefania Martinez who created a wonderful mossy dreamlike area you see within the video.
My Stylist was the unimaginable Gabby Weis, with help from Oriana Aponte, and the designs got here from my gifted associates Angel Ladino, and Mel Diosa. Cheeky Ma did the beautiful hair I nonetheless take into consideration to today haha. Nikia Antoniou labored on make-up to make it appear like I rolled into the filth, My photographer and expensive buddy Brian Vu shot the duvet, Alex Kuma was on nails. Each single individual actually made my imaginative and prescient come to life. I actually wished the whole lot from hair, make-up, styling, set design, location, enhancing to really feel prefer it got here from the earth, like I’d been residing in nature and was rising as this earthy magical being. I cherished the way in which Ko edited our video because it appears like a misplaced file you uncover in nature. Everybody actually hit the mark, and I really feel like I got here throughout because the earth angel power I wished to seize.
How did you are feeling seeing the ultimate lower for the primary time?
Truthfully I used to be in a state of shock. It wasn’t that I anticipated something much less, however seeing it for the primary time actually made me sit again and assume, “Wow that is an precise music video.. my music video. That is the story telling I hoped for.” It actually exceeded the whole lot I may’ve imagined. I even teared up as a result of I used to be seeing myself in a approach that I don’t all the time see because of imposter syndrome moments. The ultimate lower didn’t simply meet my expectations, it surpassed them, and that felt superb. What was actually particular is that the method of the making of the video mirrored the music itself . We had numerous twists and challenges alongside the way in which, moments the place we have been like “ Oh my god, what’s taking place?” However in the end, the journey of making it spiraled completely into what it was meant to be . It matched the essence of Spiral. Embracing the uncertainty, trusting the method, and discovering magnificence within the journey .
