If you're not hip to Kali Uchis yet, now's a great time to get familiar. She just released her debut album Isolation today, which includes the funky single "After the Storm", featuring none other than Tyler, the Creator. She pulls a variety of influences for her music, and is devoted to her creative vision.
Uchis sat down with Vulture, to speak about her process in the creation of this album. When asked about why her music sounds so varied, Uchis responded with, "I think I’m just at a place where I don’t really believe in labeling things, or trying to fit anything into boxes, trying to make things on brand all the time," adding that, "I’m not a Barbie doll, I’m just a multidimensional human being who likes to make things."
She then goes on to answer questions about her influences for her videos (old movies), and what she listened to growing up (albums taken from dead people's apartments).
One thing that Uchis is dead set on is maintaining complete control over her creative vision. She remarks that the one time she surrendered creative control for a video, it ended up being one of her least successful. The lesson she learned from this was, "if you have an idea, you should be the one to execute it because you have the vision."
She also mentions how Tyler, the Creator was one of the first people to reach out to her and invite her down to L.A.
Check out the whole interview if you want to read more, and listen to Isolation if you haven't already!