I love a good costume drama. The romance, the elegance, the opulence – it feels like some tangible fairy tale, a window into someone’s real life storybook ending. It’s so easy to grow accustomed to seeing these love stories through an idealised, cinematic filter, that we forget life in those days wasn’t all lavish balls and longing glances. There’s so much strife, hardship and unfairness just out of view. That’s so often the truth behind romance, even now. Scottish singer/songwriter Kohla draws inspiration from her own love of period dramas with her latest single ‘Fantasy’, the title track from her forthcoming sophomore album. Adorned with all the richness and elegance one would expect from her gossamer vocals and lush orchestration, it follows a journey of approaching love from a place of trauma. Seeing the idyllic romance you long for, but knowing how painful the act of reaching for it can be. Going against every self preservation instinct trying to keep you from getting hurt again, in pursuit of a meaningful connection. This bittersweet ballad, rich with tenderness and soulful melancholy, reflects on the mental toll worth paying for a glimpse at a fairy tale ending.
kohla
Top Tracks: Kohla – Sweetest Love
There’s something about ‘Sweetest Love’ that feels like listening to a vinyl record for the very first time. Flicking through an old crate full of them until a particular cover catches your eye. Sliding the record from it’s sleeve with a delicate touch, blowing away a fine coating of dust. Dropping the needle, being absorbed by the analogue hum and crackle, before some warm soulful voice spills out of the speakers like witchcraft. The tactile intimacy of the whole ritual. Hearing a piece of music that may have stirred generations of listeners before you, and yet in that moment it’s just you and the song. Between the soft record-like rustle to the production, the hushed romanticism of Kohla’s gossamer vocals, and the austere elegance of the piano arrangement which plays like a lullaby from a cherished music box, ‘Sweetest Love’ has an enamouring air of timeless beauty to it.
Top Tracks: Kohla – Golden
I love a song that practices what it preaches. Listening to ‘Golden’, the sensual new single from Scottish singer/songwriter Kohla, it would be all too easy to wax lyrical about the moments where her gossamer vocals soar. There are points where it feels like you’re listening to the most faultless new voice in modern soul. Yet at its heart ‘Golden’ is a song about self-love, body positivity, and holding the highest standards when it comes to love. A longing to connect with someone who isn’t just enamoured with an idea, with the finely tuned façade we try to present to the world, but who’ll trace a finger across your skin and find every line, pore and imperfection as equally worthy of worship. The arrangement here, as lush and tropical as it feels, is often as soft and subtle as a summer breeze, leaving Kohla’s voice exposed for the world to hear. Moments of almost imperceptible breath, the delicate tenderness of her whispers, or the way she almost seems to hang on to certain words to savour them before letting them leave – these are the moments where the song truly shines. The lover-like intimacy of this track asks you to worship and adore every second of it – and the only answer is yes.
Belwood Music 