A Pop Music Feature
With a breakout hit song that put her at the center of the dance music crosshairs, KIESZA returns with a new exploration of the genre on her latest EP and marries the tracks to a series of music videos that only ups the ante.
Some have proclaimed that once upon a time, “video killed the radio star.” It seems like a generation ago, MTV [Music Television] was the heat source for examining the music industry’s virility and influenced popular culture that defined its legacy with the advent of music videos. From its introduction in 1981, the network provided music artists a platform to reach their audiences in a way that had never been tested before. For those fortunate enough willing to exploit this inspired direction, the music video became a valuable and provocative tool that added an entirely new means of marketing and relevancy.
With the advent of the digital age (into the new millennium) and the propensity with which consumers could more easily procure audio indulgences on the internet, the music video, and MTV by extension soon reached their apex of influence. The music video, as an art form slowly lost its luster and its audience no longer felt mesmerized by its allure, unless they were included or controlled by the extent of the narrative. Enter the era of reality television, social networking, and YouTube, where everyone is the next big star! In essence: YouTube killed the Video Star, who had trampled its predecessor, and MTV, became something else.
The times it would appear, they are (again) changing. As with everything in pop culture, everything old is new again. Music artists that rose out of the last two decades, and the discarded attraction of the music video as higher art, have most recently re-embraced the ethos of the mini-movie. We can cite pop princess Ariana Grande for bringing about a music video renaissance. Her recalculation proved a considerable success with the release of “yes, and?” to herald in her seventh full-length album entitled eternal sunshine. Critics immediately compared the maneuver to something that could only have been engineered by the Queen of Pop, herself, Madonna.
Proving the music video remains a relevant force by which to present new music and conspiring to bring together mediums including visual storytelling, dance, and production value, Kiesza returns and sets a precedent by releasing a new EP Dancing and Crying: Vol. 1. Accompanied by a series of interconnected music videos that further push the boundaries of any expectations, the artist who first landed on our radar with the profoundly influential 2014 Sound of a Woman, had a hit with the dance single “Hideaway” and its innovative all-in-one-shot music video.
The artist remained on an upward trajectory collaborating with dance/EDM’s biggest names including Diplo, Skrillex, deadmau5, and pop music icons Duran Duran, making her indelible mark on dance music. Tragically, a car accident forced Kiesza to reprioritize her creative efforts. She sustained a brain injury, and during her still ongoing recovery was determined to get back to her passion for making music. She released her sophomore album Crave in 2000 and remained on track. Her latest music the new EP, the artist reveals is deeply personal.
“This new volume,” Kiesza said, “comes out of a personal chapter of letting go and embracing the way things are, as they unfold. The nucleus of this sound storm is held together by a community that has been dancing, crying, and growing together through the entire journey.” Her collaborators on Vol. 1 include Sugar Jesus and K. Sotomayor. The 6 tracks represent an existential musical journey through the constant evolution of dance music. It’s most vibrant in “Dancing and Crying” and the beat-heavy “I Go Dance”, even mixing genres with the two-step tinged “Heaven Ain’t Calling”.
As the PRIDE and EDM Festival season return to the buoyancy they enjoyed pre-pandemic, no doubt Kiesza's music will have a resonance with the crowds that so much became enamored with "Hideaway" and made it a runaway hit.
The series of interlocking music videos also brings an entirely new dimension to the tracks and irreverently pays homage to the music video. “What sets this project aside is the foundation of trust at its core,” Kiesza expressed. The music video is alive and well, and Kiesza proves that. “I’m truly grateful for all the magic this music brought into my life. And the best part is that it’s still only just beginning!”
Here is your #FanzEyeView of Kiesza’s “Strangers” appearing on the new EP Dancing and Crying, Vol. 1:
DANCING AND CRYING: VOL. 1 - EP | by KIESZA | is now available for digital download on most platforms including iTunes.
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