K Soul, is a multi-genre singer and songwriter hailing from London UK. A talented woman in the game, K Soul best describes her sounds as ‘World Dance Music’ a contemporary jazz-soul groove amalgamated with the growing Afro House / Amapiano, afro-pop and Drum And Bass genre. K Soul prides herself on expression, understanding and clarity – a trait she champions from her Ghanian and Jamaican background, thus bringing Afro-fusion & Deep Soul in to her music. The foundation of her sound includes artists she’s grew up listening to including Erykah Badu, Jill Scott, Amy Winehouse, Tiwa Savage and Fantasia. K’s ethos includes a drive to not allow her sound to be boxed into one genre. By her own standards: “The vibe is where the soul goes”.
She returned with a drum and bass remix of her track “Endless”. We caught up with her around this new release to learn more about her artistry, influences and evolution as an artist.
– Can you please start by telling us how you got started in music?
I first started making music in 2018, after being a performance arts student in college and university I took it apon myself to then start working on and releasing my own work.
I always been sorry who would sit and write, whether is be songs, poetry, and spoken work; or even simply an expression of how I felt.
So 2018 I took to the studio and Soundcloud, releasing my first ever single called Grooving, which wis an afro house dance track. In 2018 I was around 19 0r 20, and I feel this was the time where my musically creativity started to thrive as I was a uni student being encouraged by friends.
– What’s the story behind your stage name K Soul?
My artist name is pretty simple, my government name being Kharise, my family and friends call me K for short and I was always told from a young age I’ve got an old soul, and my vocals stem from old jazz soul ancestry so at university my friends decided so call me K with the Soul and we made the name K Soul as it only made sense.
– Your music is a blend of Neo-Soul, R&B, AfroBeats, Amapiano, and now Drum and Bass. How do you approach blending these diverse genres and what do you think each one brings to your overall sound?
I personally like to class myself as a world dance musician specifically Afro/soulful house, amapiano, afro beats and drum and bass, the Neo-soul/rnb isn’t a genre that I’d say I am championing, but it is the sonic sound of my vocal delivery. I believe that the 4 genres I’d say I am solidified in have a beautiful way of blending together as it is everything dance music. Naturally the amapiano and afro beats will blend being originally rooted from south and west africa, which gives me the opportunity to delve into my heritage culture within music, as will as globalising my music to audiences across the mid Atlantic ocean. The house and drum and base music most defiantly merges and believe those two sounds are my European audience giving me an audience outside of my culture which may even be more mainstream.
– “Endless” started as an R&B track and has now been transformed into a Drum and Bass hit. Can you share more about the creative process behind this transformation and how you felt about the final result?
The creative process to creating Endless was most definitely on the virtual side. Funny enough I hadn’t met the producer Gosha, he had messaged me saying he created a dnb version the my rnd track, and I said cool send it over. He sent it over and I absolutely loved it, there were a few changes I noted down; I got the stems, forwards everything to my producer for him to master and bob was your uncle.
– The music video for “Endless” was produced by Chinn Films. How important is visual storytelling in your music and what was the vision behind this particular video?
The story behind the visuals were more semiotics and making oxymoron comparisons to express hidden points. IE; being in a busy environment such as a train station in London with somewhat of a chaotic busy background but still singing about love and warmness.
– You describe yourself as a “World Dance Music Artist.” Can you elaborate on what this term means to you and how it reflects your artistic vision?
Being a world dance to me allows me to merge the four genres I believe I have masters and create a lane for myself were I am able to freely be versatile whilst still niching myself as a dance musician.
– How has your music evolved since your debut EP “Petals Of Me” in 2018? What personal and artistic growth have you experienced over the years?
Since 2018 I believe that my sound has evolved both professionally from experience and vocal training, and I have taken a lot time out to learn the maths of creating music, within sound a song writing. I Also think that getting older and experiencing life changes has allowed my to have more creation with writing, because I have stories to tell.
– “Endless” is an exciting new direction for you. What can fans expect next from K Soul, and are there any upcoming projects or collaborations you’re particularly excited about?
The year my plan is to let out 5 songs within each genre I do giving me a total of 20-25 songs if I included addition collaborations. So overall my plan is to fight myself to be as consistent as possible whilst still having quality control.
