Grow Playlist - Seventh Sense By Lydia Kaye

A shining example of local musical talent presents in the form of singer-songwriter, Lydia Kaye. With the release of her debut album in late November, I can wholeheartedly say that ’Seventh Sense’ was one of the standout albums from last year.

The 11-track record starts with one of my most rotational tracks of recent times. ’Divided’ creates an instant sense of captivating presence, with the lush vocals and wonderful fingerpicking style guitar. While immediately resonating with the evocative lyrics that Lydia so eloquently portrays to the listener, it is with ease that one gets truly lost amongst the gorgeous vocals, juggling strength and power, whilst being incredibly delicate. 

Another highlight of this spectacular debut has to be ’Yours’, which includes serene strings along with Lydia’s soft vocals; full of raw emotion.

It is evident that the lyrical content expresses a particular time of great challenge for the singer-songwriter. At times, it is indeed the greatest heartbreak that enables the artist to create their most personal, reflective work for listeners to hold in their own hearts, which develops that true connection to the music.

Lydia’s Creative Process

When tackling the subject of how freely the creative process flowed, with very challenging and evocative points on ’Seventh Sense’, Lydia spoke of it eloquently, stating that:

‘the creative process was quite a labour of love but once I was in…I was in!’

The album was co-written and co-produced by the talented Lydia Kaye, alongside ‘Stardelta Mastering’ producer, Lewis Hopkin.

Lydia spoke of the process with Lewis, as he:

‘would also write instrumentals and together we would set a “tone” for each track. We’d live with the instrumentals for weeks sometimes until the essence and mood began to build within my lyrics and harmonies and then we recorded vocals on my next trip. The process was quite slow and steady, which worked really well for what we were creating’.

The lyrics are so prevalent on this debut that I was incredibly keen to hear how the creativity of lyrical content flowed:

‘As with all writing, some of the lyrical ideas flowed freely once I’d got into the vibe of a song and there were some that became a real struggle. The album felt very autobiographical in some ways to how I was feeling at the time, so the darker, melancholy songs almost wrote themselves. I’d had quite a long pause from writing music before “Seventh Sense” so this felt like a huge release and was a long time coming.’

‘Seventh Sense’ is undoubtedly one of the significantly complete debut albums that I’ve had the pleasure of listening to, which is hugely powerful in its presence.

It’s unforgettable in such a way that I’m certain Lydia Kaye will get the recognition she deserves for her art while becoming a name we remember.

Your monthly music recommendation is brought to you in partnership with Hannah O’Brien. Photographer, music journalist and founder of Exeter Uncovered Magazine.

Written by Hannah O’Brien
Artwork by GAK Design, Photography by Jessica Lennan