Okay Kaya aka Kaya Wilkins has dabbled in film, modelling and song-writing, and in 2018 released her first album Both. Three years prior she walked away from invasive and corporate management in order to take control of her own experience and truth. The honest, witty and unapologetic nature of Both clearly illustrates what could have not been had she stayed. Kaya weaves ethereal tapestries of her lived experience as a woman in film, modelling and music through the album. Most of which was recorded in her Brooklyn apartment, where we are welcomed into the intimacy of her melancholy yet self reflective mind, and dreamy home studio. It’s no surprise then that her album is dreamy bedroom pop with elements of folk and synth.
“IUD” is my favourite track off the album. It is a wonderful and much needed moment of candid oversharing. She shamelessly claims her inherent sensuality as well as her reproductive rights. “Habitual Love” is arguably the biggest ‘bop’ on the album and as it should be. It’s confidently restless, with a refusal to settle for out-of-habit love. And finally, “Fake It”, a great reminder that feeling the way you’re feeling is exactly how you should be feeling in that precise moment. The album is emotionally-intelligent with her own mental health struggles infused throughout, making a home for those who might just feel the same.
