This new track from Kita Menari grabs me exceptionally early... Those first drum snaps feel like a playful slap to the face, an encouragement to wake up, followed by the loose tickle of a muted guitar line.
Kita Menari is the musical project of artist Micha de Jonge, who came up with the name following a near death experience whilst scuba diving in Malaysia. His air tank stopped working, leaving him fighting to reach the surface in time to snatch some air. Having blown off steam by partying the night away in celebration of life, Micha woke with a piece of paper in his pocket - on that paper were the words ‘Kita Menari’, which he later found out is Malay for ‘we dance’. He took it as a sign and set about making music from a different, more reflective perspective.
Pretty Sure’s vocal has a high gloss 80s feel to it that really shines. In combination with the backing track the the result is something that feels like unwrapping something new and still perfect. The record bounces along with its unfazable falsetto vocal before exploding into a crescendo of colour at around two-minutes-forty... It feels like someone letting a barrel full of coloured baubles fall from a great height onto the floor - the result is fractured and chaotic but beautiful.
That moment in the record is actually a pivotal one. The song itself is describing the pressure the artist feels in creation - the simultaneous desire to create weighed against the feeling it might not be good enough. That explosive moment is the point where fear is abandoned. Talking about the song Micha says:
“The song revolves about a common conversation I have with myself: whether or not what I’m doing creatively is good enough, and the fear of letting that feeling go. Having big ambitions and dreams can sometimes have a negative effect on the process of achieving them. It’s like having an angel on one shoulder telling you to go for it while a demon sits on the other telling you it’s not good enough. I wanted there to be a sonic build throughout the song that would erupt after the second chorus, as a sign of letting that fear go and having creativity burst free.”