Interview by Amanda Daubert – Kyle Richardson is a singer, songwriter, and musician known for his soulful voice and captivating performances. He began his music career at a young age, honing his skills and developing a unique sound that blends elements of soul, R&B, and pop.
Throughout his career, Kyle has gained recognition for his powerful and emotive vocals, as well as his ability to connect with audiences on a deep and personal level. His music often explores themes of love, heartache, and personal growth, resonating with listeners from all walks of life.
In addition to his solo work, Kyle has also collaborated with a variety of artists and bands, showcasing his versatility and ability to adapt to different musical styles. With a dedicated fanbase and a growing reputation as an emerging talent in the music industry, Kyle Richardson continues to make his mark as a passionate and talented musician.
First and foremost, congratulations on your debut album, Louder Than Words. For any artist, no matter how long you’ve been in the industry, recording and releasing your debut album is a huge milestone. What were some of the emotions you felt leading up to this release?
It’s been a long time coming, so it’s been really exciting to get these songs out there. I’ve released singles kind of sporadically before but I felt like I really needed to commit to a larger body of work, so that I had something a bit more substantial to point to as a representation of who I am as an artist. It’s been really gratifying to see the reactions so far and hear feedback about what songs are resonating with the audience most!
There are several tracks throughout the album that seem very personal, either a nod to your willingness to share your personal life with your fans or an exemplary display of your amazing songwriting abilities (or both). How would you describe your song writing process?
The process kind of changes from song to song if I’m honest. I typically prefer to spend time leading up to writing sessions and studio sessions coming up with little ideas that I save to my voice notes… either a melody idea or a short lyrical concept… or sometimes it’s a rough idea of a verse or chorus. I bring these ideas to collaborators and see if any resonate with the people I’m working with, so we’ll work on finishing the idea and getting the song to a state where we can demo it.
Other times, I’ll go to a writing session without any set ideas, and we just talk about what’s going on in our lives and see what we want to write about… or we’ll have a vague idea of a reference song we are enjoying and try to create something in a similar style but from our own perspective.
Listening through the album fans will notice the blend of different pop genres, which probably stems from your personal musical influences which range from Stevie Wonder to John Mayer, Colbie Caillat to John Legend. If you could pick a track on the album to collaborate with another artist, which track would you choose and who would you like to have featured with you?
I love so many artists, and I love collaborating so that’s tough! I think “Memory Lane” would sound really great with John Mayer on guitar. He could add a lot of little parts to it and would sound great on the vocal as well!
If you could go back 10 years and talk to the Kyle Richardson that released “So Hot it Hurts,” what would you tell him? What have you discovered that really inspires you, or has been a lesson learned the hard way that you wish you could tell yourself a decade ago?
I would tell the version of me from 10 years ago to focus on what I love about singing and music and worry less about what is popular currently. Focus on making timeless music and something that really resonates on a personal level, and stuff that makes my voice soar.
Alright, enough about the past, let’s talk about the future, what’s next? Do you already have your song book out planning for your sophomore album, or maybe a few tour dates in the works so fans can hear these amazing tracks live? Give us the scoop!
So far I’ve been planning a release of an entire acoustic side to the album, which should be coming out pretty soon! I’m also starting to figure out some things to get started working on for 2024… a couple songs that are already done and then I want to get back to the studio to start some new material! And I definitely want to start doing some live shows, I’m really excited to sing these songs live for an audience!
