“There were moments where I was very lonely, being in a one bedroom apartment with no job other than writing this record. There, she said, she was surrounded by the “stagnating” scenery of the city. Growing up in the scenic landscapes of New Zealand, the young singer found herself closely drawn to nature for her early music, before being signed by a management company and moving to Melbourne, Australia at age 17. Kimbra, who is currently on a US tour supporting indie-pop band Foster the People, teamed up with lead singer Mark Foster and Canadian DJ A-Trak on a remix of her single Warrior, and she is happy to lend her vocals to other people’s songs, hoping to work with Rufus Wainwright, Outkast and Pharrell Williams down the line. She takes charge of the spotlight with a confidence beyond her 22 years, letting her voice wax and wane with the tempos. The soft-spoken singer embraces her creativity onstage with artistically styled hair and brightly coloured outfits. The singer cites bands such as Dirty Projectors and tUnE-yArDs as influences, but she also drew on surrealist artwork such as Salvador Dali to bring a “feeling of something cinematic” to the record.Īsked to define her own music, Kimbra is reluctant to assign it to one category, calling it “progressive pop” as it explores different styles and preferring to “describe it perhaps in colours and moods rather than genres”. The song Home is a more recent addition, tapping into the singer’s long touring schedule and making peace with “home not being a tangible thing”.ĭefining a specific musical genre for Vows is complex, as Kimbra touches on jazz funk on Come Into My Head, soul sounds with Something In The Way You Are, and retro electro-pop beats in Warrior. Lead single Settle Down and second song Cameo Lover explore romance and were both written early and fine-tuned over three years. I want to create a body of work that people will grow with and feel like they continue to evolve with me,” she said. “The album lyrically talks about what promises I’ll make for myself and to others. She describes it as “a big period of self-discovery for any woman”, exploring themes of love, identity and coming of age. Vows, which was released in Australia in September 2011 and hit US stores and online recently, spans five years of Kimbra’s life from age 17 to 22. “I’m very glad I’ve waited this long to put this record out because you only get one shot at a debut, and I wanted to make sure it was right,” Kimbra said. New Zealand native Kimbra Johnson, 22, took three years to create Vows and two more before its US release, timing it to ride the wave of success Somebody. These songs are the six songs used on the Australian Tour/New Zealand Deluxe Edition bonus disc.US music fans may know Kimbra as the female vocalist with heartfelt lyrics on Gotye’s smash hit single Somebody That I Used To Know, but the sultry singer is stepping into her own spotlight with her debut album, Vows.The 2012 edition, also known as the deluxe edition, featured six new songs."Cameo Lover" (Sam Sparro & Golden Touch Remix)Īustralian Tour/New Zealand deluxe edition It can be heard after 1 whole minute of silence after track #11. This hidden track is track #12, "Somebody Please".The 2011 edition consisted of 11 tracks and a hidden track that was exclusive to the vinyl release.There are two versions of Vows, the first being the one released in 2011, and the second one being the deluxe edition. " Vows say a lot about who you are, and even more when we choose to break them." Singles Kimbra has stated the following quote as a summary of the album's concept and overall feel: The genre's of the album consist of indie pop, soul, jazz, and art pop. Kimbra has said many times that she chose the singles for this album by visualizing music videos for each of the songs and chose the top six ideas. She found Nina Simone as a huge inspiration for the track Plain Gold Ring. She wanted the album to have an overall jazzy feel, thus trying make a record that pushes boundaries but still be considered "pop music". Musically, Kimbra was heavily influenced by Björk, The Mars Volta, Jeff Buckley, Rufus Wainwright and others during the creation of Vows. The songs on the record follow a theme of love, loss, romance and want. Kimbra recorded the album at her home and other various studios throughout Australia. The album's lead single Settle Down was the earliest song she had written, being when she was sixteen years old. Kimbra started recording and writing the album in 2008. Shortly after being discovered by Mark, she moved to Melbourne, Australia to follow her path in the music industry, signing with Forum 5. Kimbra was originally discovered by her soon-to-be manager, Mark Richardson at the age of 17.
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