Born and raised on the East Coast of the United States, Kristina Kamakas has been drawn towards music since a young age, being to take piano lessons from the age of six, before finding a talent for signing and picking up the mic later down the line. The singer-songwriter set her later teen years hopping between European nations like Spain and Italy and the US, before finally settling in Oslo, Norway.
Forming her first band, Kamakas, in 2017, the artist had been a regular on the Oslo gig circuit, before using the backhanded opportunity of lockdown to focus on songwriting and her musical manifesto. Now, we hear Kristina in her purest, most personal light thanks to her debut solo offering, “Shaky Waters”.
The single is a groove-infused, emotionally potent offering that draws on jazz influences to concoct an R&B pop cut that draws its listener into the sonic universe of Kamakas. Produced in collaboration with Swedish producer Karl Aberg, the instrumental backdrop of celebratory horns, grand piano, lively bass and naturalistic drums provided a dazzling palette for the singer to vocally paint upon, devising a narrative that revolves around the joy ad relief felt immediately after breaking up with someone that wasn’t right, in that idealistic period before the regret, nostalgia and heartache fully settles in.
Commenting on the single, Kamakas comments, “I wrote this song with the intention of leaving a lot of space for experimentation with different sounds and production techniques. Karl and I wanted to play around with the post- production since we were in lockdown. It was difficult to get people into the studio and we needed something to work on from home.”
Listen to “Shaky Waters” below…