By Luke Byatt

It’s one of the best feelings when an impeccable artist appears on your radar without warning! This is exactly what happened with Melbourne’s Kaiya and her single ‘Don’t Hold Back’. We had the pleasure of catching up with the Melbourne creative to chat about her relationship with music, the new single and more!

Futuremag Music: Hey Kaiya, how're you doing? What's happening in your world?

Kaiya: I'm well thank you, hope you are too! My world has been revolving around ‘Don't Hold Back’, learning how to cook vegan mee goreng and rewatching New Girl haha.

Futuremag Music: Congratulations on the release of 'Don't Hold Back'! Before we jump into the single, could you tell us about your relationship with music over the years?

Kaiya: Thank you so much! My relationship with music is a very unconditional one, I believe no matter where I'm at in life, there's a genre or playlist for that. Even in phases where I don't make or listen to as much music, it's still a musical experience for me. I tune into the sound of my breath and heart beat (hence the little breath break in ‘Introspect’) and get inspired through organic sound.

Futuremag Music: 'Don't Hold Back' swells with intimacy and raw emotion. Can you break down the production and writing process?

Kaiya: Production wise, I had the best time creating this track with Iconic. We went back and forth with so many ideas, some of them stuck (like the beat break at 2:52) and some of them didn't haha. But I believe that's what makes the track so great, it was our freedom to explore all the ideas we had that makes it the journey it is to listen to. As for song writing, I was feeling very raw from a recent breakup when I jumped into my first studio session with Iconic. Once I started writing, it was like facing my feelings head on, not only about that relationship but anyone in the past that I undeservingly hung around for. The lyrics are very healing and empowering for me.

Futuremag Music: A bit of a random one... If 'Don't Hold Back' was a cocktail, what would be in it to best describe the single?

Kaiya: The whole concept of ‘Don't Hold Back’ is to have the confidence to say how you really feel, so I'd say it's less of a cocktail and more of a straight shot of hard liquor - no chaser.

Futuremag Music: To round it out, In partnership with Your Favourite Team, what is a piece of advice or something you wish you knew when starting out following a career in music?

Kaiya: Educate yourself along the way, most of the things that feel out of your depth are very easily found on the internet. There are also lots of wonderful people out there who want to help you, just ask them!

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