It's hard to believe that five years ago the world didn't know KIAN.
Looking at his songwriting credits, you could be forgiven for thinking he's been in the industry for decades.His debut song 'Waiting' is 4x Platinum certified, he has two APRA Awards, is a two-time ARIA nominee, and has collaborated with Baker Boy, Vince The Kid and Duckwrth. Did I mention that he's only 20?
Three years after his debut EP 'Bliss', KIAN is blessing us with 'Shine', a seven-track EP that will take you on a roller coaster of emotions. Through each twist and heartbreak of his stories, his heavenly, honey voice guides you through, somehow letting you know things will be okay.
Title track 'Shine' bursts in, irresistibly boppy with running synth lines. "Always tryna cover me with shame, because when I shine they only wanna hate," KIAN sings. "Imma keep on shining." He is shining indeed.
The EP takes a pensive turn with 'Direction'. The lazy, syncopated guitar line's juxtaposition with the bouncy trap beat mirrors KIAN's struggle to do what's right when it will hurt someone else.
"So many nights I wasn't there for you, it ain't fair for you," he sings, knowing letting go is the right thing to do. "Do you put other people first or do you put yourself first? There's time for both," he says regarding 'Direction'. "It's about balance and navigating that."
"I left school in Year 11, and I was travelling a lot. I had to learn to be independent." - KIAN
'Close' opens with KIAN singing over a solo guitar, and you feel like you're sitting with him in his living room. As the track instrumentation builds and recedes, you feel this back and forth of intimacy and distraction.
It's as if just when you nearly touched, you are pulled away. The song ends mid-line, and you're left alone in the living room. "I know you're too perfect for me," KIAN sings at one point, in his perfect voice.
"['Close' is] about trying to understand someone in a relationship," he explains. "I’ve opened up to you fully, but I need you to do the same.
"The idea was to keep it pretty intimate. I wanted the vocals to feel super lush, the production is relatively simple and then the strings come in and the guitar solo starts to get pretty hectic. In my mind, it was about creating that intimacy and making it feel super lush and big in the end."
For the EP, KIAN worked with producer Willie Tafa (ONEFOUR, Ariana Grande, Baker Boy), and musicians Jerome Farah, Lachlan Bostock (Mansionair), and Djeisan Suskov (BENEE).
"I love the whole recording process," he shares, "but when everything is tracked, and you sit back and listen to it really loud on the speakers – when everything clicks and the vocal is in the pocket – that's the moment where I get the most joy out of making things."
The EP takes a surprisingly cheerful and hopeful turn on 'Come Through', with rayo, goyo and DALI HART (known from 1300) providing Korean rap lines.
The track feels very well balanced and smooth, like drinking an expensive whiskey. "Won't you come through so we can talk about the things that's on your mind," he asks.
Regarding 'Come Through', KIAN says there is power in being able to articulate your feelings, and everyone needs people they can rely on to listen and help them through things.
"It's always interesting to get other people's perspective on a song," he remarks regarding the collaboration. "It's funny how people can interpret it in different ways, and how they want to talk about it. I found it fun."
Sonically, 'Fit In Here' is unexpected, but not unwelcome. Sombre vocals begin over a high plucked guitar, before the track bursts into a dance chorus. It is certainly danceable. "Only a teen tryna fit in a scene. . . true colours they never show," he laments the change in a friend, before pleading: "Stay true to how you feel."
KIAN explains the sonic change. "It was the second song I ever wrote. It resembled my growth, and shows that I can do different styles of music within my project."
The song's creation was delayed several years due to the producer's laptop being stolen. "Sometimes I think things like that happen for a reason," KIAN muses. "A lot of people loved the song, so I had an obligation to recreate it."
'Sunrise' is a shot of sunlight to the soul. Bouncy keys and guitar sit on a lush bed of warm strings, as KIAN croons: "I'm gone to chase the sunrise." The song is about letting go and starting anew, and it feels good.
KIAN recently said goodbye to his teens, but hasn't felt much change. "I feel like I've been living the adult life for awhile now.
"I left school in Year 11, and I was travelling a lot. I had to learn to be independent. I feel like compared to people of my age, I'm a bit more advanced in terms of the responsibilities that come with losing the teens. Everything feels the same."
'Too Good' feels perfectly dramatic, building from the get go. It's a fitting end to the EP. "Maybe I'll be bad for you," KIAN ponders, but it's hard to imagine KIAN being bad at anything.
KIAN is selfless and 'Shine' is brilliant. It feels like a coming of age for the young star, wading through insecurities and uncertainty, always trying to do good to those around him and learning how to ask for help.
Perhaps the EP play-through is best served by returning to the title track, to be reminded that KIAN came through all of that shining. "The whole project is about learning, growing, and finding out what it means to be a normal functioning human," he says.
KIAN has said that if his music helps just one person, that's all he wants. We didn't know KIAN five years ago, but it's a better world now that we do.
KIAN launches the 'Shine' EP with a release party at Mary's Underground 2 September with special guests Becca Hatch, Friday*, Sollyy and Dylan Atlantis.
