Where are you currently based?
I’m living in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada!
How did you first start playing music?
As a child, I was forced on stage by my school music teacher who saw something in me – haha. I had no idea I could sing, and this led to me performing more and more at school events. In high school, I started performing in musical theatre, talent shows, and coffee shops. Eventually, after high school, I moved to Vancouver to pursue songwriting and recording original music!
What’s been happening recently?
Lately I’ve been preparing for the release of my first ever album, “Louder Than Words”. It’s been such an exciting time for me! I’ve been wanting to put out a larger body of work for so long. The first single and video just came out for lead single “Can You Hear Me”, and I have a couple more singles and a few more videos to coincide with the lead up to the album drop later this year!
Your latest single “Can You Hear Me” is out now, what influenced the sound and songwriting?
“Can You Hear Me” is a pop anthem with a bit of a rock edge. It was important to me to have a song that had a great, melodic flow in the verses similar to something OneRepublic would put out, but then have a huge Queen inspired rock-esque chorus to go with it. The song itself is about staying true to yourself, living in the moment, and having no regrets… It was important for me to have the first song released from the album lead with a really positive message.
You wrote the single with Andrew Allen and Jeff Dawson, how did this come about and how was the experience?
Jeff and Andrew had both worked together before, and I had worked with Jeff on music for a while already at that point. Andrew was in town and we thought we’d get together and see what our combined perspectives could create. Andrew always has a really positive outlook, and I wanted to tap into that and make a really upbeat song with a strong message of empowerment. I’m so happy with how it all turned out!
What does this single mean to you?
This single means a lot to me. As the lead single from my first ever album, already there’s a sentimental value that’s attached to it. Being able to write it with my longtime collaborator Jeff Dawson, and an artist from my small hometown of Vernon BC, also brings a degree of sentimentality to the song for me. Having it be such a great message of being true to yourself and living life with no regrets, and just the feel of the vocals and how it all comes together, it’s exactly what I wanted to lead off the album with.
Where and when did you record/produce/master and who did you work with?
This song was actually originally written and recorded way back in 2014! I was going through a bit of a personal ‘artist development’ phase where I was writing and recording a bunch of songs with Jeff Dawson and kind of seeing what would stick, genre-wise. I always loved this song but we never quite got it completely finished back when we started working on it… later on when I committed myself to finally record the album and we had most of the songs done, I rediscovered the original version of this song and we decided to update it and revamp the production. We got Ryan Dahle to master Jeff’s mix of it and now it’s here!
Please tell us about your working relationship with producer Jeff Dawson:
I’ve had a great relationship with Jeff for years now! I did this entire upcoming album with him we’ve have done prior singles over the years. I always get a great result from our collaborations! Jeff is so patient and detail-oriented, and lets me be as overly obsessive with the vocals as I feel necessary – sometimes weeks and months later, I will have a new idea for a vocal or one of us has a slight lyrical tweak and we will go back and fix things. As a writer, he’s always super open-minded and willing to try anything. Overall, it’s a great collaborative environment where I feel safe to share ideas and keep working until the finished product is just how I want it.
How did the concept for the music video come about?
The music video was a fairly simple shoot! I was referred to AJ Astle of Roadhouse Productions and after chatting with him, I decided it would be a great fit to go to Toronto and work with him! I wanted something that would suit the vibe of the song, and since the song is poppy and has a rock edge, AJ suggested this really cool neon studio space that was both edgy (to suit the rock aspects of the song) and colorful (to suit the pop side of the song). We wanted it to be a very performance-based video where the bright coloirs and vibrant/edgy imagery would really bring life to the visuals. We wanted it to be super clean and modern. I’m really happy with how it turned out.
Where and when did you film and who with?
I filmed the video in April of 2022 in Toronto with AJ and Roadhouse Productions. We ended up filming several videos that you’ll be seeing over the coming months. For this one, that great studio space was called Neon Demon and it was such an awesome and unique space.
Please tell us about your upcoming album:
As mentioned, the album is called “Louder Than Words” and I’m so excited that it’s almost out. It’s a great mix of modern pop singles, some with a slight rock edge to them, some soulful piano-based ballads similar to Sam Smith’s style, and some singles that are more throwback to some older Motown or soul vibes. These are all songs I’ve written with incredibly talented writers and artists. I wanted the album overall to be a powerful, positive, pop experience, and then have a little bit of a nostalgic vibe on some of the more emotional songs.
What’s the music scene like in Vancouver at the moment?
The music scene is wonderful in terms of there being a huge artist community. There are a crazy amount of songwriters and producers and players all around town. I love reaching out to other artists to work on co-writing music and I’m really looking forward to getting out and doing more shows to get these new songs out there more in a live setting.
Who are you listening to?
Right now, I’m listening to new stuff all the time, especially new songs by all-time fave Kelly Clarkson, Adam Lambert’s new cover album, the new Bebe Rexha album, singles by OneRepublic, GAYLE, Valley, and new tunes by fellow Canadian LGBTQ artists like Mathew V and Tafari Anthony. I try to keep up with what pop artists new and old are coming out with so I can see what’s resonating with the public, and I live on my phone Thursday nights when the new songs drop and make sure to listen to anything new and noteworthy.
What’s planned for the remainder of 2023?
For the rest of this year. I’m looking forward to releasing another 3 music videos, and my full album! I’m really excited to be finally getting this body of work out there, and in the meantime, I may be planning some studio sessions and writing sessions for some upcoming stuff to launch post-album! There might even be an acoustic version of the album ready to go as well…
Favourite food and place to hangout?
I love a good burger! And I spend way too much time at the theatre catching new movie releases!
Social Links:
Instagram: @TurnUpTheKyle
Facebook: @TurnUpTheKyle
Twitter: @TurnUpTheKyle
YouTube: @TurnUpTheKyle
Spotify: tinyurl.com/
TikTok: TikTok.com/@turnupthekyle
