Sarah Kinsley’s new EP Ascension was released on June 9th. You may have heard her song “The King” from TikTok. The song went viral in 2021 with a mystifying piano intro that sounds as what Kinsley describes it “to be truly alive”. Her music is created in her New York City apartment in solitude. Ascension is about ascending to a place that is full of memories, love, and bliss. She calls it a “heavenly narrative”.
With her ethereal production and lyrics, it is easy to imagine yourself as the main character in your own theatrical production. When asked if she was inspired by any other art forms to create this project, Kinsley said that “The hues and brightness in films” were prevalent in the creative process, especially with choosing the EP cover. Ascension’s cover image strikingly depicts the journey of ascending and light. It looks like a scene out of a movie.
Sarah is currently on a tour run, just finishing up her performance at Governors Ball in New York. Because she now has more songs to choose from, it is harder to narrow down what to play. She says that she “…lists all of the songs to try to bring narrative on tour”. Kinsley wants the audience to feel the music in a cohesive way. For instance, she is currently opening up the show with her song “Karma”, because the opening line is very literal to the beginning of a concert.
“Now come on in, Take a seat and let's get started”.
Her latest music video, for “Black Horse”, plays on two different themes: inside vs outside, and different hues of color. The song and video feel so freeing from the confusion of being young and in love. The song opens with the line: “Sanity, baby, have you been looking for me?”. It ends with a question as well, a chanting of “Are we still too young?”. It is a beautiful display of how life and love can be messy, but you can choose to lose yourself in it.
Kinsley can be seen at festivals such as Lollapalooza in Chicago and Music Midtown in Atlanta, and on tour.
Listen to Ascension here.
Watch the music video for “Black Horse” here.
Find tour dates here.
