Synth-pop project SINES, made up of Kitty Richardson and Jason Wann, recently dropped their latest album, entitled Gravity.
Despite never actually meeting in person – Richardson lives in England, Wann lives in Portland, Oregon – the pair worked for two years to put Gravity together from 6,000 miles away. The distance didn’t matter, as this album is cohesive, relevant, and seems to combine the talents of both artists perfectly, showing physical proximity truly doesn’t matter when creators are on the same wavelength.
Relatable, visceral, and full of pop punch, Gravity, and SINES are a testament to what can happen when two great artists come together. The duo is already working on their next album.
Tattoo.com spoke with Kitty Richardson to find out more about the inspiration for Gravity, how SINES formed, and how she got started in music.
What three things can’t you live without?
Movies, chocolate, and movies.
What inspired your new album, Gravity?
Once I grasped the concept of a man who’s been lost in space returning to Earth, I was able to relate this feeling of alienation and loneliness to the autistic experience. It was interesting to explore this frustration through the metaphor of, essentially, an alien coming to Earth, and finding the musical tone through which we felt appropriate to express the story.
How, when, and where did the two of you first connect?
We first collaborated on a song for the previous SINES album, ‘Something in the Way,’ in 2021. We met on an online platform to connect producers with vocalists and soon discovered that we could both offer each other something that would be beneficial in the long term.
How did you get started in music?
In a very cliché fashion, I started singing before I could talk. In terms of writing, I wrote my first song when I was 12 years old soon after being diagnosed with the connective tissue disorder, EDS. I felt such relief about finally receiving a diagnosis that my heart poured out in song. The song was then adopted by the UK EDS charity— I still have people reaching out to me saying the song helped them feel seen to this day!
Where are you from?
Rutland, England. i.e., the smallest county in England.
Did your hometown impact your sound?
Ummm… not to any great extent. Growing up in England, I was encouraged (forced) to train classically and so I tend to opt for relatively classical chord progressions. More prominently, my voice has been developed to fit the ‘choir girl’ type, and, as hard as I try, it refuses to translate to pop. So I just try to make the pure soprano tone work!
Did your sound evolve naturally, or did you deliberately push it in a certain direction?
As I get older, I try to push myself into avenues that don’t necessarily come naturally. This is why I was so excited about forming a partnership with Jason as, for most of my songwriting career, I tended to write quite melancholic music— both musically and lyrically. For SINES, we kept the melancholic lyrics but contrasted them with an upbeat, synthtastic track.
What inspires your writing? Do you draw inspiration from poems, music, or other media?
I would say I write over 50% of my songs about movies and TV shows that I love. Other than that, I write about all sorts— although I typically avoid the topic of romantic love.
What can you share about your writing process?
If the song I’m working on isn’t finished in 1-2 hours, then it isn’t worth pursuing any further. Maybe, by using this method, I’m missing out on some songs that could be great but typically I find that if I push a song further it ends up being one of my worst. With Jason, we have various ways of writing. Sometimes he sends me a track and I write a topline and sometimes I will write chords and a topline and send them to him to produce. I don’t think either of these methods works better than the other.
Which artists in your opinion are killing it right now?
I think the fact that Kylie Minogue is entering her 5th decade in the charts is astonishing— and with such bangers like ‘Padam Padam?’ Woah.
How do you define success?
Success = Happiness.
