Image: Minori Ueda
Published: 7 March 2024

ARIA nominated Australian singer-songwriter KYE today releases her first new music in over a year with the stirring new single ‘Gospel’.

Written by KYE with Adrian Hogg and superstar G Flip, ‘Gospel’ is a pared back pop track that gradually builds its soundscape throughout the song, starting with a sparse, organ driven sound before gradually bringing in a fuller, electronic beat at the end. KYE’s voice has never sounded better: gorgeous, emotive and tender.

The lyrics look starkly at the darkness present in the world today but with an emphasis on the fact that throughout it all there is always beauty and hope. ‘We’ll take our fear and wear it well / We’ll face the truth, the time will tell / And life is heaven throughout the hell.’

“Coming out of the last EP, which was a lot of fun and upbeat, finishing that era off and returning to this writing phase…the number one thing was that I wanted to write something that was true and that felt deeply, deeply personal. Something that felt like an insight into my actual life and what’s been happening,” KYE says “‘Gospel’ really plays on that idea of gospel truths and debunking what I’ve always seen as gospel truth. Saying, '“What does the word ‘gospel’ really mean to me?” – it’s taken so many forms in my life. Reaching that point where I’ve gone, “I need to write my own gospel now.” A session with G (Flip) was one of the first I ever did, when I first started music. I was super nervous, super green; we wrote a really great song and remained friends from there. Obviously, we hadn’t seen each other in a while, but being in the room with them again…It did set the scene for being able to write something that felt indicative of that feeling that we’ve grown, we’ve changed. It was really easy to write ‘Gospel’ with G.”

Starting her musical career as a live backing vocalist for singers such as Jessica Mauboy and Sampa The Great, KYE released her debut single ‘Good Company’ in 2019. She has since released multiple singles and two EPs, and in 2023 received an ARIA nomination for Best Soul/R&B release for her Ribena EP. She has also toured with major names including TLC, Genesis Owusu, Meg Mac and Peking Duk.

‘Gospel’ launches KYE’s next musical chapter and with the promise of a lot more to come in 2025, it is just the start of something very special. “This next batch of music is deeply personal and so different to anything I’ve released,” she recently said on Instagram and now has never been a better time to have KYE on your playlist.

‘Gospel’ is out now via Sony Music Australia. You can buy and stream here.
Follow KYE on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok.
Read our four page feature on KYE in issue 14 of Women In Pop magazine