Hot on the heels of her Fleeting EP, New York-based alt-pop songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist Sarah Kinsley talks creative freedom, needing “real heart” as an artist and a Chappell Roan co-sign...
INTERVIEW: Lisa Wright
PHOTO: Florence Sullivan
You’ve always produced your music and have been vocal about a lack of female producers in the industry. Do you think that it’s changing?
“It’s better, but it also feels like it’s worse. Honestly, I don’t check [statistics] any more because it just makes me depressed. When I was first starting out, I was so desperate to be validated by this kind of amorphous, ambiguous creature called ‘the industry’. But over time, I became increasingly frustrated with being put into this box of, ‘You’re a fantastic female producer.’ I want to be something independent of that.”
How would you describe your experience of being an artist in the music industry so far?
“I think being a super layered person and artist is kind of expected in artistry now. There’s no longer this binary of what people expect from music. When I was growing up, my brain categorised music into what was mainstream and then everything else. Now there are so many more pathways to express yourself in. Constant change is expected now, which is really beautiful.”
Chappell Roan has posted about your music – that must have been an exciting moment for you?
“It was funny because I’m not an early riser. When I woke up and checked my phone I thought somebody had literally died. It definitely changed things in those few months. It was right after her Grammys speech, where she called out labels and asked for artists to have healthcare and support, and it was really strange to be a part of that.”
Are those topics ones you also resonate with?
“I mean, almost every single musician that I know in New York has a part-time job, which should tell you something about the state of what’s possible. I was really lucky because my career started right as I was leaving college, so I had a place on campus to live and my parents gave me financial support. I don’t know what I would have done without that. New York is a tough city to be an artist in, for sure.”
You’re releasing your new EP, Fleeting, through Fontana in the UK. How have they been to work with?
“What I really love about both of my teams at Fontana and Verve Forecast [US] is that they allow my creative world to be my own. I’m trying to cultivate intuition within myself and they’ve really allowed me to grow through that process. I like that they’re a more boutique, bespoke label underneath a giant. It’s compelling for me because they have a lot of strength being part of Universal. The people I work with look after classical and jazz, and there’s an understanding of the sensibilities in those worlds that also apply to mine.”
Finally, what is key to cutting through as a new artist now?
“It just takes heart. There’s a place for almost anything in this day and age; you can be anyone, you can become anything. If the thing that you’re reaching for is done with real intention and real heart, people are going to find it.”
