Tour Dates & CDQ MP3: Kesington Kross to Open for Kat Dahlia’s East Coast Tour
Retro-Future Singer-Songwriter Kesington Kross To Open Up for Rising Star Kat Dahlia Later This Month & Releases CDQ MP3 of “Gimme Your Love” Single
2.5.2014
Critical Praise for Kesington Kross:
“This whole thing’s solid” – The FADER
“TRIPLE THREAT ALERT! Every track on Audio Justice is equally stellar. Like, we’re talking songs that are drop-what-you’re-doing AWESOME.” – MTV Buzzworthy
“He melds contemporary R&B with its ’80s equivalents—think Trey Songz if he were soundtracking a Don Johnson-era episode of Miami Vice.” – Complex
“This kid is going to be making noise for years to come.” – Okayplayer
The tour and song:
Behind the synth-driven amalgam of pop, R&B, electro-funk, soul, and New Wave, is the retro-futuristic singer-songwriter Kesington Kross. Kross has been described as a once-in-a-lifetime artist with a knack for crafting contemporary-sounding pop-RnB songs deeply rooted in ’80s synth pop, complete with picture-painting, brutally honest lyrics. Today, Kesingston Kross announces that he will be opening up for rising star Kat Dahlia for a nine-city tour of intimate east coast venues starting on February 17th at World Café Life in Philadelphia, PA and wrapping up on March 4th at Masquerade-Purgatory Stage in Atlanta, GA. For tickets and more info, please visit kesingtonkross.com. He is also releasing a CDQ version of his first single “Gimme Your Love” from the Audio Justice EP he released late last year. The video for “Gimme Your Love” is set to premiere February 18th on VEVO.
Kesington Kross’s Audio Justice EP was received astounding well for a virtual newcomer, with VIBE declaring, “If you’ve got any type of soul living inside your skin, Kross’ genre-bending new EP Audio Justice will become a fixture in your iTunes,” and MTV Buzzworthy stating, “Start the ‘Kesington Kross Takeover’ countdown clock, ” and The FADER commenting, “This whole thing’s solid.” Written, performed, and partially produced by Kesington Kross, the EP demonstrates his preference for big, orchestral instrumentation and vintage soundscapes, making for a varied playlist unified by retro stylings. Starting with a series of breathy world music-flute stabs, Kesington Kross adds vocals and rhythmic guitar to quickly morph “Gimme Your Love” into an undeniable two-step commanding song that so comfortably channels ’80s pop that it almost sounds familiar. Declaring his infatuation a rare treat, Kesington describes the day she walked into his life with, “From my heart, skip a beat soon as you smile / cuz I ain’t seen nothing like you in a while.”
Born in Orange County, Los Angeles, Kesington’s mother moved the family to Compton following a family setback. Although Kesington adjusted quickly to his new surroundings, he never forgot witnessing the gap between the haves and have-nots, which influence his songwriting. As a fan of David Bowie’s escapism, Depeche Mode’s industrial feel, Phil Collins’ ethereal melodies, and Prince’s limitless sexual energy and storytelling, Kesington uses these influences to create an futuristic retro sound all his own. From the East Indian influenced, “Arabian Paradise” to the ’80s nostalgia of “Gimmie Your Love,” all five songs on Audio Justice show an incredible range in both production styles and songwriting techniques rarely seen contained within a single artist.
Tour Dates:
2/17/14 Philadelphia, PA – World Café Live
2/18/14 Boston, MA – Brighton Music Hall
2/19/14 New York, NY – The Studio at Webster Hall
2/23/14 Washington DC – The Howard Theatre
2/24/14 Pittsburgh, PA – Altar Bar
2/26/14 Chicago, IL – Schubas Tavern
2/28/14 Indianapolis, IN – White Rabbit Cabaret
3/2/14 Springfield, VA – Empire
3/4/14 Atlanta, GA – Masquerade – Purgatory Stage
Audio Justice Tracklist:
- Redemption
- Horses
- Gimme Your Love
- Carry On
- Arabian Paradise
CDQ of “Gimmie Your Love” here: https://soundcloud.com/kesingtonkross/03_gimmie_your_luv
Enter for a chance to win a Valentine’s Day $250 gift card here: http://kesingtonkross.com/
Stream/Download the EP here: https://soundcloud.com/kesingtonkross/sets/audio-justice-ep-1
Download the EP here: http://www.audiomack.com/album/kes/audio-justice-ep
To interview Kesington Kross (NYC in-person schedule currently being booked for 2/20), please contact Michelle.
Kesington Kross’s Background:
“I’ve always been an all or nothing kind of guy,” says Kesington Kross” and living in Compton, coming from Orange County was a test of that.” Unable to leave any of his influences out of his music, Kesington worked to combine everything he loved. From David Bowie, he took escapism and Bowie’s ability to create alter egos. When listening to Depeche Mode, Kesington fell in love with the industrial feel of the music, the haunting melodies and the unconventional drum patterns. Phil Collins had ethereal melodies and emotional lyrics, Rick James had an incomparable ghetto groove and vulgarity that explored the psyche of men, and Prince represented the freedom of boundaries within sexuality, image as well as his music and lyrical perspective. Kesington used the contrast of all these iconoclastic enigmas through his well-defined storytelling, his concepts and production and his pushing-the-envelope imagery. For Kesington, being a rogue spirit is in his DNA. Alternating between the rave, rock and hip-hop scenes, he is continuously in search of a sense of familiarity and the ultimate pursuit of feeling closer to real life society and pop culture.
Links:
official site | twitter | facebook | soundcloud
“Gimme Your Love” – https://soundcloud.com/kesingtonkross/03_gimmie_your_luv
“Arabian Paradise” – https://soundcloud.com/kesingtonkross/arabian-paradise
Audio Justice EP – https://soundcloud.com/kesingtonkross/sets/audio-justice-ep-1