Okay Kaya Photo: supplied
Review: Okay Kaya, the musical venture of Norwegian-American artist Kaya Wilkins, continues to captivate with her eclectic and introspective sound.
Known for her dual career as a model and actress, Wilkins has channelled her multifaceted talents into a singular musical vision, culminating in her latest album, Oh My God - That's So Me. This record emerges from a period of personal and artistic transformation, marked by a European tour, a solo exhibition in Copenhagen, and a serene retreat to a remote island near Oslo.
Wilkins's relocation to this isolated haven has profoundly influenced her creative process. The solitude provided by the island has afforded her the space to produce a more intimate and stripped-down album.
Unlike her previous work, the instrumentation on Oh My God - That's So Me is minimalist, yet textured, incorporating strings from cello, violin, and viola. This pared-down approach allows Wilkins's sophisticated lyrics, inspired by Greek mythology and ecological themes, to take centre stage.
The album opens with 'Picture This', a track that invites listeners to envision themselves as "Sisyphus as a health-nut geologist". This imaginative premise sets the tone for the record's exploration of both the mundane and the extraordinary.
Okay Kaya's signature style - where she oversees every aspect of her music - shines through once again. Her 2022 album, SAP, was entirely self-produced, engineered, and written, a methodology she continues with Oh My God - That's So Me. This hands-on approach ensures a deeply personal and cohesive artistic expression.
In tracks like 'Inside of a Plum', Okay Kaya maintains her fascination with cosmic and intergalactic themes, a motif that resonates throughout her work. This song, along with her cover of Shirley Collins' 1960s track 'Spacegirl', demonstrates Wilkins's continued exploration of the universe through her music. Her penchant for the ethereal and the bizarre lends a unique charm to her work, creating a soundscape that is both original and thought-provoking.
The album's minimalist aesthetic is exemplified in 'The Wannabe', which feels like a raw, unadorned acapella performance. In contrast, 'The Groke' was written in the extreme cold of -25 degrees, inspired by the Moomins, a beloved Finnish creation by Tove Jansson. This melancholic track delves into the heart of the lonely creature from Jansson's stories, reflecting on themes of isolation and emotional coldness.
'Den Samme Jodlen' offers a folkier twist with its looping melody that gently circles back on itself. This track embodies the playful and introspective nature of the album, contrasting with the more grounded Oh Minutiae.
Here, a thick bass line anchors the track as it ponders humanity's inclination toward cliché, encapsulating the album's reflective and philosophical bent.
Oh My God - That's So Me is a record that defies easy categorization. It is a quirky, charming, and original work that exists within its own creative universe.