Ea Kaya debuts with the sharp, forward-thinking pop of “Don’t Complicate It”

It all began for Kiberg with a guitar and a YouTube channel where she began to cultivate a fanbase releasing her lilting reworks of popular songs.

Working with No3 (Chinah, KIll J) amongst others, “Don’t Complicate It” sets Kiberg on the path for pop stardom. There’s no flirting with the idea of releasing something more alternative first and then going for the pop jugular; Kiberg is a pop star and this is a pop single.

We spoke to Kiberg to get the lowdown on the new single and to find about more about promises to be an exciting project.

I can narrow it down to one sentence; YouTube was a hobby. Writing music and performing it is what I aim to be my job. On YouTube I sang other people’s songs. It helped my musical understanding, and it taught me a lot about social media. I somehow made it to 1 million views at [the age of] 15. That means that I shared quite a bit online. Many of the videos were alright, but some of them weren’t exactly amazing. I received compliments, but I also learned to accept critique. With the views, I gradually figured out how to grow a fanbase, and made friends from all over the globe. It was a fun couple of years. At a point, I got tired of interpreting songs; writing came naturally. At 17 I’d lost interest in YouTube and what I stood for on there. I wanted to focus on my own music, so I put my account on hold. I sure have learned a lot outside the big video bubble, as well.

I’ve always made music that was based on pop. I started out writing pop with an edge of rock. In my late teens, I met a couple of boys with a passion for soul and funk – and that left a clear mark on my songs. I even began writing in Danish. After leaving the band, I went into a pop-project with two new guys. The project was doomed and amateurish, but it was partly here that I found I actually liked electro-pop - a lot! It was obvious, though, if you took a quick look at my playlists. I changed direction once again. It felt just right.

I’ve considered a stage name for a good while. My actual name is VERY Danish, and it would be an understatement to say it sounds awful in English. Throughout the last couple of years, I’ve been writing down every name that I fancied or found interesting. As I told my label; if I had two daughters now, I would call them Ea and Kaya. These two are my favorites. And they even happen to be a great combination.

The first two lines of the pre-chorus sums it up; “I say it like it is, when you don’t say shit / All I want is just one lie, don’t complicate it.” You are in your early twenties, and you’ve begun to tire of running after people who don’t want to be chased. You’d rather have a straight-forward answer than waste your time. In the majority of the cases, you already know the answer. In a twisted way, you’d prefer a lie. But the certain someone will appear in your head every now and then, until he actually tells you that you don’t appear in his.

It’s surreal, but extremely cool to release my own music. I’ve been working to get to this point for almost a decade. I’m excited, nervous, stressed, relieved and anxious at the same time. Quite the cocktail.

Lots and lots and lots of tunes. I’m always writing. Studio time is what I love the most. We’re currently figuring out which single to send out next. But everything’s new – I signed with No3 last month. I expect to release an EP within the next six months, though. Also, I’m very likely heading out to play a bundle of shows this spring. But I’ll keep you updated!