Australia is brimming with hip-hop talent right now, and Kirklandd is at the forefront. The Canberra artist expertly marries off-kilter trap beats with soaring pop punk-influenced melodies.
Today, Kirklandd unleashes his latest single ‘SIIYE’, the first instalment of his planned three-single trilogy titled The Love Divide.
“‘SIIYE’ takes place in the moment where I finally found the strength to ask what I’d been too afraid to,” explains Kirklandd. “When I did, that relationship ended shortly after. My intuition told me that something was wrong, I addressed it too late, and I was left wondering if I ever should of brought it up in the first place”
To celebrate the release of ‘SIIYE’, Kirklandd talked us through five tracks that inspired the track. So pop it on below and see what he had to say.
Cam and I started the idea for SIIYE the day after I played New Year’s Eve on the Hill, and after a beautiful few days at the festival, we wanted to start a trap/punk idea with some wild electric guitars. Here’s a few of the tracks we played before making the track:
Iann Dior – ‘Flowers’
The simple approach led by Iann’s melodies and guitars paved the way for my delivery and the minimal production in SIIYE. I wanted to craft a simple concept with the song, and drew inspiration from the line “I hate to see you cry I should of bought you flowers”. Using that as a guide but with a much more mellow and emotional approach was the starting point.
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Corbin – ‘Ice Boy’
You might’ve heard Corbin on The Kid Laroi’s new album. I first came across Ice Boy track a few years back, and it’s one of the most pure emotional tracks I’ve heard. The way Corbin’s voice breaks at certain times in the verses inspired the tortured tone you hear at some points in SIIYE.
Trippie Redd – ‘Love Me More.’
For me, Trippie Redd is one of, if not the best, melodic rappers there is. His ability to channel so many painful, inspired melodies is wild, so I hit play on Love Me More to inspire the emotion and feeling I wanted to channel in SIIYE as I was writing it.
6lack – ‘Switch’
What I love about this track is the dual perspective; 6lack will say one thing and follow it with a lyric that changes the meaning of the previous line completely. I play with the idea of a dual perspective in SIIYE, so it shifts between my eyes and the person I’m talking to.
Bryson Tiller – ‘Exchange’
I feel like this track and the entire Trap Soul record was a turning point in modern R&B. Bryson Tiller blended Omarion/Mario R&B vibes with modern trap, and it made for a rhythmic, relatable style that still maintained the impact of trap. SIIYE similarly has a clear emotion to it, but hits with some fire trap hi hats and guitars in the hook. This balance of being emotional but still impactful was our goal from the start with SIIYE.
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7BZlOnALEUlVeO5svi8t7n?si=dW809wx4QI-v1bc4Ti9vBQ
