Robin Kenny is an emerging artist from Canada. With influences ranging from Hiatus Kayote to Bright Eyes, intermixed with the jazz and soul sensibilities of her music background, she is known for weaving dreamy neo-soul vocals with lush experimental sounds through her songs. Recently, I chatted with her about her upcoming EP, creative process, influences, inspirations, artistry, and future direction.
Can you tell me a little bit about your upcoming EP?
It’s my first EP, so it’s been a bit of a learning process for me. I’ve been working on the EP for a long time, on and off. It’s just been hard to really pick and choose what songs I’ve wanted on it because it feels like I’ve been putting a lot of pressure on it. The first EP feels big to me. I’ve been working with my lovely friend Ben Kissner for about a year or so now on it. He’s part of Monscene, his own production label from Ottawa based in Ottawa. He’s helped me record all the songs on it so far. Two of them, which have been released, ‘OLD MAN’ and ‘Shuteye.’ We’ve just kind of been experimenting with different recording techniques and instrumentation. It’s been very fun. I feel like it’s been a learning process with this EP. Hopefully, it’ll be out by the end of this year.
You mentioned Ben. How would you describe your experience working with him? How was it having him in the process?
I’ve known Ben for quite a few years. I met him in music school at Carleton, so I had the honour of being his friend first before co-working together on the EP. It’s been really great. Not only do we mesh well musically, we also just mesh well as people. It’s been a really positive experience. He adds a lot to the songs and we’re always just bouncing ideas off each other. It feels like we get the best results through a lot of experimentation and trying things together. He has a lot of great input and it’s definitely turned out for the better with him. It’s been a great experience with Ben.
You’ve already released two singles, ‘OLD MAN’ and ‘Shuteye,’ from your upcoming EP. How is it to release your EP piece by piece?
I think it’s just kind of a shift in listening habits because people are more playlist and single-song oriented when they’re listening to things. Not all people, but I think this is my marketing side of what I’ve been told is good to do. I’m just trying that strategy of publishing singles because it might do better that way. Sadly, I think people are more likely to listen to single by single as it comes out, rather than if they listen to the whole EP. Maybe, they won’t get through it. I think it just gives each song a better chance. I’m thinking of doing one though that won’t be released until the whole EP is out. There will probably be one or two more singles and then the full EP.
What does your usual songwriting process look like?
It’s pretty varied. Usually, I’m not always trying to write a song. I usually struggle when I am sitting down with the intention of just wanting to write a song. That’s probably the hardest way for me to do it. I don’t do that too much. Usually, throughout my day, maybe I’ll think of something, write it down, and then come back to it later. I feel like throughout the day I pick up or make up little lines in my head or something somebody said that I kind of twist around and use. I write little-by-little, kind of like chipping away at it. Then there’s been times too like with ‘OLD MAN.’ I wrote that one pretty fast. I have a notebook. I have five notebooks for some reason. I write little pieces and then try to put things together, kind of like a puzzle. I wish I could do it all at once, but I’m too scatterbrained for that, I guess.
How long would it take then for you to write a song? What’s the longest you’ve taken to write a particular song?
Because I do it little-by-little, sometimes, I just keep going and I don’t know when to stop. For ‘Shuteye,’ I had the music super in advance. I was kind of jamming around those chords I liked. I was really into Major 7th chords, and I was listening to a lot of jazzy stuff like Hiatus Kaiyote and that had me really inspired. I was really happy with the music, but the words just kept feeling wrong. That one took me probably a full year before I was super happy with it. That’s probably the longest. The longer recent one was six months or so. Honestly, coming up to, maybe, closer to eight. I guess the downside of the way that I write my songs not all in one session is that sometimes they take quite a long time.
A lot of artists choose to create a stage name or alternate persona to promote their music, yet you chose to use your real name. What factors helped lead you to that decision?
I don’t know. There was nothing. I had some ideas here and there, but nothing just felt genuine enough or really fit me. I don’t love my name, but nothing else really felt right. At the end of the day, I was like, “Well, that’s who I am, so I’m just gonna leave it.” I was listening to a lot of Phoebe Bridgers when I released ‘Nothing Ever Feels Right’ and artists like Elliot Smith. I don’t know if that’s his real name. It sounds like it could be his real name. I’m not sure. It just felt a bit more right, I guess. I couldn’t think of anything. Also, nothing I thought of was good enough. I just wanted to be Robin Kenny.
Fans of yours know that Fiona Apple is one of your biggest influences. Are there any other artists that have significantly influenced your music?
Nai Palm from Hiatus Kaiyote. Singing-wise, she influenced me a lot, but I love her lyricism too. She just writes about nature, and she catches a lot of magical things in life. I love her jazzy chords and she’s great. Also, I love Bjork too. I wouldn’t say I sound anything like her, sadly. She’s such a free spirit. I think she writes really interesting songs and about cool things that not everybody writes about like throwing cutlery off mountains. I also love Bright Eyes and the Microphones. I think those are some of the best lyricists today and Adrianne Lenker from Big Thief too. She’s great for lyricism, especially, but also a great singer too. Then an influence in general that I don’t think comes through as much as I wish it could in my original songs is Ella Fitzgerald cause I studied a bit of jazz at music school. She was the first jazz artist I listened to in high school. She was a jazz singer that I knew was like, “Oh, okay, I’m listening to an amazing jazz singer.” So, yeah, she really had a big influence on the way I sing when I’m improvising. She can sing every song differently, especially for live shows. I wish could be more like her.
A few years ago, you began learning guitar. Can you walk me through the instruments you can play to date?
There’s not many that I can. Piano was my first instrument. The first introduction to music I had was playing piano when I was about five with a family friend who’s a great piano player. She taught five minutes away from my house in the country, which is so rare, so I started lessons with her. Piano is definitely my home – my most comfort. Then there’s guitar. I started seriously trying to play guitar about two years ago. I got a guitar with the intention of practicing a lot. I wouldn’t call myself a guitar player, but I do know some chords. I like playing the guitar because I don’t know how to play it. It’s fun to try to songwrite and write some chords without really knowing what you’re doing. With piano I have these fingerings that I’ll use that’ll make me fall into these patterns, but if I want something different, the guitar is really great for that. I have an accordion that I am also learning to play. That’s also really hard. I thought it’d be easier cause I know the piano, but all the buttons are really confusing, so I have them labelled now. It’s also really heavy. You have to be really strong to play the accordion, so that’s tough. I would say those three, but I also have a keytar too, which is just a keyboard, really.
How about singing? When did you start singing then?
I started singing when I was in my Taylor-Swift phase when I was 12. I grew up singing in Sunday school in the choir. I actually wanted to quit piano and just do singing, but my dad forced me to keep up with piano too, which I’m very grateful for now. I started singing, I guess grade seven.
It’s been close to three years since your debut single, ‘Nothing Ever Feels Right,’ was released. How do you feel your sound has evolved since then?
I’m definitely reaching out more into different kinds of genres and influences that I’ve discovered through those three years. I’ve just become a bit more experimental in how I’m recording and the things I want to sing about. I recorded that song with a good friend of mine, Nick Hayashi, who produced both ‘Nothing Ever Feels Right’ and Harbinger. Now, I’m really open to working with more people too and bringing in other people in my songs. A lot of the differences are due to those other people who have added and contributed a lot, so it’s partly who I am playing with now. I love Nick. Nick moved to Montreal though, so that’s why I can’t work with them anymore. Also, just the more music I hear, the more I’m intrigued wanting to explore different sounds.
What music are you listening to these days?
I’m just going through a proper Bjork phase now. I still need to go through more of her discography, but Post is really great. The one with ‘Army of Me.’ I had that album spinning in my car for a long time. I also listen to lots of Broadcast. I just picked up a cool Broadcast album in Montreal too. The name of it is Tender Buttons. Also, I’ve been getting into Broken Social Scene. Ben Kissner put me on that. Also, Gabriel Comba and Kero Kero Bonito. They’re really cool too. I’ve gotten into them. And I’ve been listening to lots of Disney music with my summer job being around kids, so I’ll say that too – the Frozen soundtrack.
Lastly, what does the future look like for Robin Kenny?
Scary. I think just trying to keep doing what I’m doing. Playing more shows with a band. So, maybe getting a bigger band together. I usually do a three-piece with me, a drummer, and a guitarist. So, maybe expanding that a bit. Maybe, adding a bass to the mix. That’s something that I should do finally and an album. Hopefully, many albums just for fun, continuing to write music for myself, and collaborating with my amazing talented friends.
