Kaeto is on the rise

From forward-thinking soundscapes to captivating visuals, and even crafting her own sustainable merch with t-shirts from her local charity shop, as Kaeto prepares to release her debut mixtape INTRO, the boundaries to her creative potential are limitless.

“Any artist should be able to try on different hats and create different things,” she explains. “It’s less interesting when you fall into a rhythm of the same sounds and looks; I like artists who go through phases. All humans do that. You go through life, you keep shedding skin.”

Born and raised in Scotland until the age of seven, the now London-based artist attributes her subtly fluctuating accent to her roots north of the border. Coincidentally, when it comes to making music, Kaeto’s vocal versatility is one of her key assets. Citing Kendrick Lamar as a favourite artist, as well as Nina Simone, Nick Cave and Björk, it’s inimitable voices such as these who showed Kaeto that performing your own music your own way is what tends to make the biggest impressions.

“I'm not overly precious about what my singing voice sounds like – I'm very precious about whether or not I believe what I'm saying,” she proclaims. “I spent a lot of my younger years trying to sing like Britney Spears, Beyonce or Kelly Clarkson and feeling like I really couldn't sing. It wasn't until I started writing my own music and saying things that I thought were interesting that things started to change.”

Originally pairing poems and short stories to sounds, it wasn’t until 2019 when Kaeto began bringing her ideas into the recording studio. A few years later, Polydor Records came knocking at the door after the release of her “unhinged” first single “Good Morning”.

“I wanted the first thing I put out to be super weird... not very demure of me!” she laughs. Demure or not, it’s an approach that worked. With its wild shrieks and Prince-esque funky character, it’s also the track which Kaeto describes as her favourite to perform live - which in turn, translates to her creative experiences of joining clown school.

“I think I'm most comfortable when I'm slipping into a character,” she says. “That song feels the most like clowning, and I was at clown school at the time when I made it.” She’s previously talked about how her experiences there helped her to connect with live audiences on a new level. Interestingly however, she divulges that combating stage fright was actually one of the main reasons she joined clown school. “I wouldn’t have admitted it at the time, but I think I hadn't really come to terms with the stage fright I was suffering with,” says Kaeto. “I told so many people that it didn’t bother me. So, this was like shock therapy for performing.” Again, perhaps not the demurest approach. But for Kaeto, it worked.

Now, she’s carved out her own vibrant, vulnerable and versatile niche which flows through her debut mixtape INTRO to dazzling effect. The tender opening track “U R MINE” was written as a poignant love letter to her body, having previously struggled with eating problems and body image issues. “DISTANCE” explores finding release from rejection in relationships while “YOU’RE ON MY MIND” signals the biggest left turn in the mixtape, adopting dancefloor ready beats and infectious synths for a club-fuelled earworm.

“We live in an age where you can make anything,” says Kaeto on the mixtape’s broad soundscapes, co-produced with her friend Mathias Wong. “There's no temporal link between the songs, so at first, I had a difficult time feeling like there was an obligation to create a sound world within a body of work. But with this being my first project, I’d never want to close myself off in terms of sound.”

As she talks more about the project, from crying in the studio to gratitude for her friends who helped realise her ideas, it’s also evident that INTRO is a wholly-personal body of work for Kaeto, and creating music is something that allows her to be more in-tune with herself. “I think I've discovered that I am very sensitive [through making INTRO],” she ruminates. “I’ve found ways of managing that sensitivity; the more stuff I’ve put out, the less anxious I’ve felt. But I really enjoy being truthful in my music. To be able to recognise things I’ve done or situations I’ve been in and turn them into something that I think is beautiful, it’s so cathartic.”

Arguably just as beautiful are the visual worlds that she conjures up to accompany her music. Working closely with directorial friends to bring her ideas to life from a minimalist, yet intuitive angle, she describes making videos as her “second love” to making music. “I love FKA twigs’ videos. I think her ideas have such depth,” she says. “Aidan Zamiri as well, who’s worked with Charli XCX recently. I think that the Von Dutch video is such a work of art. Kate Bush's videos are also really inspiring to me.” Each of INTRO’s eight tracks have their own music videos. Judging by those which are already out – from the hauntingly atmospheric “CARRY YOU” shot on a misty Icelandic coast, to the emotionally raw and intimate “HERO” – there’s set to be more vivid treats in store. “One of my favourites which isn’t out yet is ‘ALMA’,” says Kaeto. “We also shot this one in Iceland which was such a privilege, and we managed to capture it in one take, which felt so effortless. I’ve loved making all the videos – even though I’ve been incredibly stressed juggling it all!”

At the time of writing, Kaeto finds herself heading off to support The Last Dinner Party on their hotly anticipated UK tour. She admits she does hold some nerves going into the performances. “I sometimes find the live stuff very stressful,” she says. “With this being a support tour, you feel like you have to win people over and make the wait time more entertaining. I want to make sure I do that, but of course I’m also very excited too.”

There’s little need for her to hold much doubt. With INTRO marking her first body of finely executed, idiosyncratic work, its wide ranging sonics and reflective themes contain the right ingredients to permeate enchantingly through to her live performances. Matched with her penchant for connecting with audiences, these shows look poised to be a big stepping stone for the rising artist – of which many more are sure to follow.