Q&A: Kevitch Encapsulates Elusiveness in New Single “Don’t Let Go”
DRAWING THE LINE BETWEEN OPENNESS AND MYSTERIOUSNESS — Kevitch hopes to refine her artistic persona and play by her own rules. Born Lindsay Kevitch and hailing from Philadelphia, the stylish LA-based artist released her single “Don’t Let Go” on March 17 with an accompanying nostalgia-infused music video.
Directed by Zach Sulak — who has directed music videos for Fousheé and Duckwrth — the retro visual is set in Venice Beach, with Kevitch drifting aimlessly under the palm trees and along the sparkling ocean waves, eyes teeming with wistfulness. Her vocals cascade over production that feels like a daydream lullaby, eliciting feelings that are part lovelorn, part sentimental. Lyrics such as “the winter breeze’s growing colder / Let’s never forget when we’re older” express Kevitch’s acceptance of how time does not stop for present tenderness — tender memories can live forever.
“Don’t Let Go” can currently be found on Spotify’s “Chill Vibes” playlist, and fans of Sabrina Claudio, Snoh Aalegra, and Kali Uchis will find themselves captivated by Kevitch’s atmospheric R&B-pop tracks such as “Secrets” and “Sunrise.”
Read below to learn about Kevitch’s fascination with the past, her recent years as a musician, and how she protects herself in music through authentic world-building and aesthetics.
LUNA: I noticed you had a string of singles released from 2020 to 2021, but you seemed to take a break until this recent release. Tell me more about that.
KEVITCH: I finally had a song [where] I was like, “I think this is my sound.” This is finally something I'm proud of that I want to put out. I'm not like, “Ugh!” about it. Two months after I put that out, COVID hit. At that time, I finally started working with producers that I like and [who] understood my vision because now they hear something, and then right when that happened, COVID happened. So it kind of felt like this dampened all the cool ideas we couldn't finish.
It was this cluster of things happening. Then I moved back to LA, and all the producers I was working with were New York. So I had to find the guys in LA who got my vibe because I feel like LA is definitely more of a mainstream producer type of land. It was definitely an interesting sequence of events. I didn't know the song was going to do well. So all of a sudden I have everyone calling me and I'm like, “I don't know what to do right now.”
LUNA: I can imagine that's like a lot to handle. You said something about producers catching your vibe. How would you describe yourself?
KEVITCH: I think, music-wise, I would always say it's very easy to listen to. You can always put it in the background, whether it's happy, sad, upbeat. There's still stuff that feels melancholic, there's still stuff that feels happy, more upbeat, faster, chiller. I really love creating the setting, whether that's with the visuals or with the lo-fi ambiance in the song. I always wanted to create that world. I also like keeping the mystery alive. I love old-school VHS and Polaroid. I think I just wanted to keep that mystery and that dreamy world.
LUNA: That's how I felt about [the visuals]. They felt very candid, day-in-the-life, like, “Where are we going?”
KEVITCH: The Pinterest girl — that's how I feel in my head.
LUNA: Describe the creative process of your latest single.
KEVITCH: I worked with this guy Yale on it. He's an artist himself, and we kind of lined up. In my mind he was like, “I'm going to produce, I'm going to sing,” but that was the first thing we made. I want to say in… 30 minutes? We worked really well together. I think it just flew naturally, the both of us. There’s no time where we both [were] stumped. It was just such an effortless process with us, and we both brought cool vibes together.
LUNA: How did you get interested in music in the first place?
KEVITCH: Honestly, I've always been. I feel like my whole life I've always been the loser kid in class singing and doing the craziest things. I definitely was way more fearless when I was young. But I think it was always in me. I was always recording, trying to produce little songs when I was young, and I bought my first mic. Always was doing that kind of thing. So I don't even remember a specific thing — I think I was just born with it.
LUNA: Who or what are your musical inspirations?
KEVITCH: I think … female artists that keep that vintage and cool [vibe]... I love artists that feel like a character, or like you walk in their world and feel like you're getting taken away. Obviously, old Lana Del Rey. I love how she portrayed a character. Along with that, I think Snoh Aalegra … her songs are so cool. She keeps that very retro, vintage … jazzy feel. And [she’s] mainstream; she's so cool. I love Kali Uchis. I think she keeps a very fresh character around her as well. I've always been inspired by the [women] who keep that artist's character.
LUNA: I noticed it with you too — kind of like this mysterious femme fatale.
KEVITCH: It's so easy to give so much of you. We're not left with anything. With everything, it's so easy to see every part of this person, and it doesn't feel like that character anymore. So I like to keep somewhat of the mystery, and it's [about] finding the balance in today's modern age of social media.
LUNA: Are your lyrics based on real experiences and emotions?
KEVITCH: A lot of stuff is what I'm feeling mood-wise or something, or [an] experience, but I don't base it on that. The lyrics [and melodies] come from a feeling. Obviously, my mood when I'm writing. But I definitely do think I start to tap into this scene and I like to see where we can take the scene, but it's always inspired by a mood, if that makes sense. I'm not gonna sit there and be like, “You broke my heart.” I was here, this was there. I think I like to paint a story.
LUNA: It’s more applicable for every situation, rather than specific to you.
KEVITCH: It's also like, when you go in and you make a song– I'll start freestyling and if I'm happy, if I'm feeling good from a relationship, it's definitely gonna come out in what we make. If I'm feeling sad that day, it will come out, but I think the initial thing is inspired by the feeling. It follows my story and takes it to a place.
LUNA: I would love to know some of your favorite movies.
KEVITCH: I'm such a ride or die for Titanic. I do love Tim Burton visuals. So anything he makes is so sick. It’s weird; I think he's so cool. I love creepy, weird stuff.
LUNA: What advice would you give to other artists on maintaining authenticity or their vision?
KEVITCH: Don't overthink it. There were so many years where I felt like I was too scared or over-thought it and self-sabotaged, because you're in your head. At the end of the day, be authentic to your sound. I think a lot of people today try to fit a mold of what they think people hear, and I feel like if you just stick to what you want, it's going to sound so much more refreshing and authentic and different. In order to create the space in the lane through yourself, you kind of have to create your own direction. If you kind of stick with that and don't overthink it, people will like it. They will hear it and like what you're making.
It definitely shows when you hear people trying to fit what they think people want to hear — like what the modern trend is in music or they're trying to do that for you. You can sometimes hear that with some artists. But there will always be someone somewhere who likes your stuff.
LUNA: What do you have planned for the rest of the year?
KEVITCH: I'm excited to keep putting out all the music we have [as well as] the project and just keep building. There wasn't that much circulating about me, and I'm excited now to finally put out actual stuff — [I’m going to] keep putting out music and the visuals and keep developing this world. I'm excited to have people see it and then what's yet to come.
LUNA: Hopefully nothing crazy and world-changing happens again!
KEVITCH: Yeah, don't anticipate that. It'll be really cool to have some stability and get the ball rolling.
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