Kerli Makes A Colorful Comeback
Media: Via Fanpop
The #Estonian #chanteuse returns after a long enough pause from her music career with her new single '21st Century Kids' and a new concept, character, and visuals from her original BubbleGoth style inspired by the goth, anime, futuristic and alternative aesthetic.
#Kerli is an Estonian singer and composer that earned attention in her country when she was 14 years old by winning several local contests and participating in festivals. Her big chance came with her debut album, Love is dead' in 2008. Her debut single made her known all across Europe and the United States.
One interesting about Kerli is how she creates different worlds and characters with beautiful concepts that match her music and current stage in life. As she describes it, her first album was very dark, introverted, and angry. In 2013 she created 'Utopia' an album that was more "radio friendly" back then.
For all the video singles that came from Utopia, Kerli was very involved in all the crafting and dressing since she learned how to become an auto-sufficient artist; she proved herself by recording the whole album in her bedroom and almost directing the video for 'Zero Gravity' in which she designed her costumes taking inspiration from the air spirit.
Although Kerli wasn't pleased about the 'Utopia' concept, she wanted to move forward artistically and decided to part ways with her record label just five months after the release of her second album. She confessed she didn't like how the music industry worked and gave hints on how it goes for women.
In 2014 She moved back to Estonia to give the Utopia era a closure and start working on her next project, and the most important one: herself. To do so, she decided to hide in the forest and built her hut, called 'The Moon Temple,' and started meditating, healing mentally and physically, learning about plants and herbs, and chanting.
She was still creating music for other artists and experimenting with a new sound to birth her most remarkable work. Yet, finally, 'Shadow Works,' the album is minimalist, ritualistic, and filled with ancient Estonian magic. This album is also led by the most beautiful visuals that she created to tell us the story of her deepest roots.
But before releasing this masterpiece, she published three singles for free, 'Feral hearts' was the first single that would give an opening to this new era. In this video, she becomes all the magical creatures and spirits she found in the forests of Estonia. She portrays shades from the trees, a naiad, a spider Goddes, and the legendary white stag.
Her second single preceding Shadow's works was 'Spirit Animal,' a tribal song that allowed her to be a contestant in Estonia's music festival, which is like a preliminary to participate in Eurovision. She quickly became the public's favorite but couldn't win due to evident fraud in the voting process since all people who called the hotlines to vote for her reported these were not ringing.
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But despite being sabotaged not only that time but several times before coming back to the United States, she continued her path. She released a fierce track named 'Diamond hard' in which she asserts her femininity but strength persona that no matter what, she'll move forward with or without help.
Finally, 'Shadow works' is released with a beautiful, tasteful song named 'Savages,' with the classiest and most magical visual Kerli has ever delivered. This album perfectly balances the dark and light described in the human experience. The concept is based on Kerli's therapy sessions with this relatively modern technique that involves visiting the darkest self that lives within every human and the lighter and highest self one can be.
As aforementioned, this album is a ritual itself; it has a preparation for the listeners, cleansing and purification, and then a respectful goodbye—a whole experience in sound and images.
Not long ago 2023, she came back with a new character to introduce her new era and a brand new concept that embraces femininity and youth in the realistic panorama when she said, "we can't be forever young" to embrace the future and be kind with the idea of getting old, the new concept it's all pink and is embodied in the unique character she named JOY.
Kerli is an exemplary independent artist, the absolute queen of handcrafting, and a DIY expert. She's one of the most revolutionary, inventive, and creative artists, along with Bjork, ARCA, and others that don't follow the mainstream wave just to be famous.
Kerli is Estonia's banner for artistry, independence, and creation.
Watch the 21st Century Kids music video
Stream 21st Century Kids on Spotify