Naarm/Melbourne-based 17-year-old singer-songwriter Kaiyah Mercedes has unveiled her intimate album, ‘Trying To Hate You’ – produced by Seetali Mack and mixed by Garrett Kato (Julia Stone, Ziggy Alberts).
‘Trying To Hate You’ shares nine heartfelt tracks that showcase Kaiyah Mercedes‘ visual lyricism and vulnerable songwriting. With each song, Kaiyah offers a unique perspective on unrequited love, intertwining field recordings with emotive delivery, casting a soul-stirring spell.
Kaiyah Mercedes talks about the inspiration behind ‘Trying To Hate You’: “‘Trying To Hate You’ is about unrequited love at its simplest level. Each track explores a new perspective and a new situation when it comes to loving someone who doesn’t love you back. The album is a journey of the emotions that come with this situation, from professions of ‘trying to hate’ this other person to the acceptance of the beauty of love despite its unrequited nature.”
The End. beckons with vintage piano chords, echoing amidst a lively pulse of electronic embellishments, before a subtle click cues Digging Graves. Unfurling with rising synths and swirling vocal layers, the velvety vocals of L.i.E blend with Kaiyah‘s, radiating a spellbinding melody.
Painkillers follows, a cascade of rhythmic production and sound design snippets, mirroring Kaiyah‘s compelling storytelling. Seamlessly, Salvation emerges with electric guitar arpeggios anchoring her angelic falsetto, weaving through the urgency palpable in her vocals.
Falling Is Fatal emerges with pulsating synthesisers and guitar picks, ascending against an ambient backdrop painted in ethereal hues. Likewise, If We Never Speak Again and How To Get Over You delve into an otherworldly realm, sculpting an atmosphere both uplifting and bittersweet within the piano’s warm timbre.
Title track Trying To Hate You opens with shimmering pads and lush production that fuse indie sensibilities and electronic innovation, with whimsical lyrics that share a vivid portrait of modern-day romance and introspection. Cinema Girl concludes the record with a balance of euphoria and melancholy, weaving tender memories into resonant melodies.
Accompanying the release is the vintage-style music video for the title track directed and edited by Lindsay Davies, co-starring Amy Staunton. Heavily influenced by the golden age of 1950s Hollywood, the video seamlessly draws on iconic scenes from classic films to play on gender roles and depicts tangled relationships, mirroring the song’s themes of unrequited love.
Previous releases off the album have garnered support from Apple Music, triple j Unearthed, Pilerats, The AU Review, Futuremag Music, Australian Music Scene, AAA Backstage and Something You Said. Single If We Never Speak Again received radio rotation on both JOY Media and SYN Media‘s ‘The Hoist‘, along with support from RTR FM and other Australian community radio stations.
With thanks to Good Intent
