Kee Avil released what she calls her “controlled and synthetic” debut album ‘Crease’ in 2022. Now she is preparing to release the “raw and bony” follow-up, ‘Spine’.
“I wanted to write songs that I could sing on guitar, to combine the energy of folk music with dry, sharp electronics”, she says of the new album. Opening track and first single ‘Felt’, she continues, ”is when all this started to come together. There’s a kind of chaos in it, an almost ecstatic energy, hanging on at the brink of collapse, with a smile on my face. Consuming someone until you become them”.
To attain the sound she was aiming for, Avail limited herself to using no more than four elements when recording each song - guitar, electronics and up to two other instruments. “I wanted to show [the songs’] core, to strip off the excess, to dig myself out”, she says.
The result is an album that balances sometimes precarious fragility with a bold confidence. Reflecting the different aspects that make up a person, there’s a darkness and optimism that becomes intertwined, as she reminisces on what is and what might have been in her life.
‘Spine’ is set for release on 3 May.
🎧 Watch the video for ‘Felt’ below.
