Inspired by the story-telling qualities of Billie Holiday and Tracy Chapman and the narrative rapping of Lauryn Hill, Kimberly Anne started out performing poetry nights accompanied by keyboard in South London. She then took a very resourceful turn and began producing live demos and events from her bedroom using drum kits made from £5 Ikea tables and condenser microphones taped to mops.
2013 saw the unsigned, unpublished, independent release of her very well received debut EP 'Bury It There,' which was produced by Julian Simmons (whose credits include Ed Sheeran); a string of UK shows that saw her share the same stage with the likes of The Rolling Stones, and support mainstream favourites such as Haim, Jake Bugg, and John Newman.
Now signed to Polydor Records, Kimberly Anne's new EP 'Hard as Hello' will be released on 24th March and should see her catapult further into the hearts of many new fans. The EP features four introductory tracks, fronted by the title track 'Hard as Hello' which is described by Kimberly as "a personal battle of self-worth".
Kimberly merges urban and acoustic music to create a genre that has been dubbed as "afro-folk" with her rich vocals, cutting melodies and heartfelt lyricism. Check out the single 'Hard as Hello' below with its happy hand-claps, warm Caribbean vibe and quirky video that shows Kimberly being 'pampered' or in this instance, being made a mess of, and feed by several other hands of which do not belong to her!
Tour dates
25th March – The Social, London
1st April – XOYO, London (w/ Bipolar Sunshine)
3rd April – Think Tanks, Newcastle (w/ Bipolar Sunshine)
4th April – King Tuts, Glasgow (w/ Bipolar Sunshine)
5th April – Academy 2, Manchester (w/ Bipolar Sunshine)
Pre Order || 'Hard As Hello' EP || iTunes
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