Kaya Stewart made a big impact with her breakthrough single ‘In Love With A Boy’. Reaching 6.5 million streams, the track set the first chapter of her career in motion as she went on to release her self-titled debut album and become the youngest female artist to perform on the infamous Warped Tour.
Now Kaya is back with an edgier alt-pop sound, which she expressed in her latest single ‘California’. Having been premiered by BlackBook, the track’s profile is now boosted with a new version featuring Childish Major, the rapper who released his debut album ‘Dirt Road Diamond’ last year and who has previously collaborated with J. Cole.
Blending Kaya’s expressive vocal delivery with punchy synths and an unhurried, sunstroke beat, ‘California’ sounds like an evocative love letter to The Golden State. Yet one listen to Kaya’s lyrics gives a darker impression, a timeless coming-of-age story in which love goes array. The track is then elevated courtesy of Childish Major, who weaves his taut rhymes around Kaya’s sweetly soulful vocal harmonies.
Kaya wrote the song in Nashville with neo-soul talent and former Warp Records artist Jamie Lidell.
She commented, “I felt like California was going to be the answer to all my problems at that time in my life, it was going to be the move that changed everything for me. But the song turned into a metaphor for that moment in your life where you think, ‘If I could just fix this, I’d get my life in order.’ It’s about having to face what’s going on and being able to accept what your real problems are.”
The song is released alongside an official video which shows Kaya performing the song in everyday locations in Los Angeles. It represents an extension of the song’s meaning. California is blessed by sun and glamour making it a magnetic appeal for people with big dreams. But for many, the reality it doesn’t necessarily change your circumstances. Watch HERE.
Born in London but raised in Los Angeles, Kaya Stewart grew up surrounded by music. In her earlier years, her father former Eurythmics frontman and producer extraordinaire Dave Stewart, was a major influence. Kaya was writing songs by the age of six and had made her impression on Los Angeles’ live music scene by her early teens.
Now she’s constantly exploring and redefining what it means to be a pop artist in today’s world – especially one which is currently filled with so much uncertainty. As she concludes, “There was never a moment of ‘Oh, this is what I want to do.’ It’s always just been a part of who I am.”
