American singer-songwriter’s new release is a tribute to her late father
TIME Stands Still is the entirely inappropriate title of the new release from American singer-songwriter Kaiza. For so much has happened in the recent life of the 22-year-old, who has family living in the Principality, and will be heading to Monaco for the Grand Prix this month after taking in the Cannes Film Festival. Kaiza was experiencing a prolonged period of success after signing with a new record label when her life was turned upside down after a phone call informing her that her father with whom she shared a deep and resonating connection, had unexpectedly passed away at the age of 65.
“I’ll never forget the shock of losing my favourite person when everything else around me was giving me reasons to be happy,” she tells Monaco Voice. “I still remember, just a few days after his death, I was expected in the studio. I had only just signed the contract so I knew I had to power through my feelings and start putting music out. I ended up recording my songs ‘For the Making’ and ‘Object of Desire’ with all of that fresh in my mind. If you listen closely, you can hear those raw, freshly-wounded emotions in both songs.”
The singer has spent the time and put the effort in on working through her emotions. Staying in tropical, warm places such as the Maldives and Barbados has greatly enhanced her healing and self-discovery process. Now, almost a year after her tragic loss, she has decided to release this new song with a fresh energy. “I listened to a lot of really peaceful songs; ones that made my soul feel really calm and full of light. I really wanted my next release to be something that brought that same vibe to it.”
As a recently renewed independent artist with full creative freedom, Kaiza’s Time Stands Still is a taste of peace, paradise and romance with an inspired Caribbean touch marking her showcase of growth and an entirely different side to her style of musical exploration. Time Stands Still, which is available on all major music streaming platforms, marks an important step in Kaiza’s career journey. After ending her distribution contract with a well-known record label which boasts a roster of top artists including Summer Walker and 6LACK, she has decided to return to being an independent artist.
The latest song will be the first independent release for the former child opera performer and classical pianist since she made the decision to walk away from the record label contract. “Being signed to a record label has been known to be a major milestone for singers and recording artists,” she says, “but I found that in today’s modern music world it’s not as crucial as it may have been in the past. My personal experience being signed to a top label was neither good nor bad. The label has some really amazing people working for them and have definitely done some incredible things for their artists.
“I just think that I was the only artist I know of that signed to them with my style of music, and it felt like they weren’t really as passionate about promoting my sound as with some of the other genres they wanted to see become mainstream. So, I did end up doing a lot of the work on my own, which is great because now I know I don’t necessarily need to depend on a label. Before the contract, I had been independent so I already know what that’s like, and I actually think I grew more fans when I was in full control. I feel that as an indie artist, you have more creative and performing freedom. I’m really excited to have that again and I am hoping to make good use of it.”
As you would expect, social media has a huge role to play in the success of modern musicians on the path to becoming superstars and Kaiza boasts well over 100,000 followers on her accounts, drawing international audiences with her constant jet-setting posts and creative direction. She feels confident that social media has been a huge help in attracting new listeners to her music, which has contributed to the fact she has clocked up more than a million streams on her songs.
Kaiza’s music is available on Spotify, Apple Music, and other major music streaming platforms.
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/7iHVAIES6t21jVI9BLI8Zd?si=trFJObwzT3SXJsYY3u5x6w
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/realkaiza?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw==