Brooklyn based songstress Sonya Kitchell finds renewal with ‘We Come Apart’ LP

A seasoned music industry veteran at the age of 26, Brooklyn-based songwriter Sonya Kitchell took her time crafting the follow up to her breakthrough debut LP. In that time, Kitchell grew from adolescence to adulthood, moved from Western Massachusetts to New York all the while learning from and touring/writing/recording with musical legends.

Kitchell’s sophomore effort, We Come Apart, will see release on January 22nd via Thirty Tigers. Groundsounds caught up with the artist ahead of the anticipated drop.

Check out our interview with Sonya Kitchell below and stream her new single, “Mexico.” If you’re in the New York area on 1/22, be sure to catch her at Mercury Lounge for the big record release show.

 

Hi Sonya, what was 2015 like for you? Any major highlights for you artistically?

2015 was great. I’m excited to be releasing We Come Apart this January. Musical highlights were preparing for this release and playing shows with a most excellent band for the new music.

Other than that, it’s been a treat to work with Blue Foundation and collaborate with Neal Evans for our new band & Co.

2015 has been a year of incubation. I’m looking forward to cracking the shell.

It’s been about seven years since the release of your last album. Obviously a lot can change in that time, but what would you say are some of the biggest lessons you’ve learned since then?

I’ve been greatly humbled in that time & I’ve learned perseverance. I’ve learned to let things be light. A big theme on the new LP is renewal.

Could you elaborate on that for us?

Renewal & disintegration have always been present in my writing. The fleeting nature of things has somehow always captivated me and felt close by. It’s an understatement to say there is a great deal of death and birth on this planet. I feel it’s my duty to sing for it.

As a writer, sometimes a lot of intangible, existential worry or anxiety creeps into the process. Given the particular seven years in which this album was written, how did you settle on its final sequencing? 

In the end the album was easy to create. The songs weeded themselves out & the order felt natural. I think the difficult part for me was finding the palette with which to tell the stories. I tried a lot of different sounds before landing on one that felt right.

Are there any songs on the album left from when you originally set out to write it? What’s the oldest and newest song and where were you at when you were inspired to write it?

I believe “At First” is the oldest song & “Stay for a While” was written while recording the album. I think I had about 60 songs to choose between when I finally sat down to record this album so there were many left to the side. I’m sure a few will pop up down the line at the right time.

You’ve moved to New York since the release of your last album. Are there any songs on the new album that you would say are particularly inspired by the city? 

They are all inspired by my time in the city in some respect but “Fight or Flight” in particular, is a tale of lives in the city.

I grew up in the woods and I would often say to a friend how I missed the trees. She would reply, “New York City’s people are our trees and we’ve got the best ones with the most spectacular variety!”

I believe that to be true in some regard. You meet the most inspiring array of folks in New York & they drew these songs out of me.

You’ve worked with an impressive list of music veterans. What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given?

“Always be honest and true in your work,” Herbie Hancock told me and I do my best to abide by it. He would also say, “I am a human being first and a musician second.”

I try to remember that principle as well in that we need to meet person to person first, with an open mind and heart instead of coming from a place of what we do or who we are.

Any idea of what your live set up will look like for your upcoming shows?

A guitar based four piece — Rock & Roll standard.

Plans for 2016 following the record release?

Looking forward to touring & to releasing the next album in pipeline! There will be much less than seven years in between releases this time. I had time to store up.

Stay in touch with Sonya Kitchell: FACEBOOK | WEBSITE