Kirklandd will release debut EP The Love Divide this Friday. Ahead of its arrival, we’re premiering latest track ‘Too Late’, which sees the Canberra artist’s idiosyncratic rap delivery and introspective lyricism paired with melodic acoustic guitars and understated but effective percussion.
The poppy, somewhat folk-inflected cut is another collaboration with The Love Divide producer Cam Bluff, and follows previous, sonically diverse singles ‘SIIYE’ and ‘Feel Alive’. As the rapper explains, was written at a much more relaxed time earlier this year.
“I ’d just spent 3 days at NYE on the Hill, my first festival outside of my hometown, earlier this year in January. I played back to back with The Living End on New Year’s Eve, and shared the experience and all of my close homies. I was there with my producer, Cam Bluff, and the second we left we wanted to channel the energy of the experience straight into the studio,” Kirklandd says.
“Cam had some acoustic guitar loops he’d tracked with his homie Mitch (you can hear Mitch at the start of the track saying ‘I think I’ve got a pattern in there’ as he finds the loop). It aligned with our energy, and within 10 minutes I said the line ‘tell me if I’m too late’, with the melody you’re now hearing in the track – everything was in place. We laid down some synths, vocal loops, dope percussive claps that sounded almost folky, and some 808s – we still wanted to have a strong hip – hop element to balance the track’s pop feel.”
Kirklandd says ‘Too Late’ captures what the emerging artist wants his music to embody – live instrumentation, eclectic production, flows that are reminiscent of the hip-hop era he grew up listening to.
Stream ‘Too Late’ below.
